|
Lord Ranganatha graces in a reclining form as
He did on the Milk Ocean. Lord Brahmma is not in the
naval chord. It is believed that Lord Brahmma worships the Lord
just before sunrise each day. Chandra Theertham that cleanses
the devotees of His/her sins is within the temple. Lord grants
the Muthangi Sevai darshan to devotees for six days after the Vaikunda
Ekadasi festival. This is a very famous event in the
temple. A priest of the temple threw a stone on Tiruppanazhwar
(one of the 12 Vaishnavite saints) Perumal had it on His bleeding forehead
and granted salvation to Azhwar in this temple.
Daughter of a king of Delhi was too
devoted to the Lord. To remember her, Lord is dressed with Lungi
the Muslim dhoti and Roti is offered as nivedhana on Ekadasi and new moon
days. Brahmmotsavam is celebrated thrice a year during January-February,
February-March and April-May. The temple is believed to have
come into being from the milk ocean. This is one of the Swayambu
Kshetras with Lord facing south. The vimana of the Lord is
covered with gold.
Except Madhura Kavi Azhwar, all Vaishnavite
saints had sung the glory of the Lord of the temple. Of the 108
Divya desas, Sri Rangam the first and Tiruchirupuliyur the 11th are
the only ones facing south. Vaishnava Acharya Sri Ramanuja stayed here
rendering his services to the Lord and also attained salvation here. His
disciples interned the Acharya in a sitting form. After some
time, Acharya came alive resurrected in the same form. Tirumanjanam
is not performed. There is a separate shrine for Sri
Ramanuja. On the Arudra star day in Chithirai month (April-May),
a blend of kumkum and other
items are applied on the Acharya.
On the Kaisika Ekadasi falling on the full moon
fortnight in the month of Karthikai (November-December) an event of
covering the Lord with 365 blankets is celebrated throughout the
night. This is said to make up for the errors committed in the
day-to-day clothing of the Lord during the other days of the year. As
November-December happens to be winter, it is also said that the event is
followed as a token of the love of devotees to comfort the Lord from the
cold weather.
Aani Jeshtabishek is performed to Lord (abishek
with perfumed oil) with Sandal water. Same day, abishek is
performed to Namperumal the procession deity after removing the gold
coverings. Abishek to Namperumal is performed with 22 pots of
Cauvery water. It is said Mother Cauvery Herself performs the
abishek to Lord Namperumal. Abishek on other days are performed
without removing the golden coverings.
Aadi Perukku Utsav is celebrated on the 48th day
of the Jeshtabishek to Lord on the Aani Jeshta star day. This is
celebrated on Aadi 18 or 28 in some years. Lord graces from the
Amma Mandap and offers gifts to Mother Cauvery with silk sari, bangles,
betels etc. This is taken on an elephant and dropped in the
flowing river.
While staging the Kamba Ramayana in the temple,
some objected to the mention of Lord Sri Narasimha in the Ramavatar
story. Kambar said that he would withdraw this part of the epic,
if Lord Himself so demanded. Lord Sri Narasimha emerged from a
pillar and approved Kambar’s writing as true. Lord Narasimha in
the temple graces from a separate shrine in the name of Mettazhagia Singar
near the Mother’s shrine. The mandap where Ramayana Arangettram
took place is opposite the Mother’s shrine. Lord Narasimha is
holding only the conch. No discus.
Three Brahmmotsavam is celebrated in the temple
during Chithirai (April-May), Thai (January-February) and Panguni
(March-April). Lord Brahmma celebrated the Brahmmotsava for Lord
Ranganatha in Panguni in His Satyaloka which is called the Aadhi (first or
original) Brahmmotsava. Uthiram star falls during this festival
when the Lord graces darshan with Mother Ranganayaki. The Thai
Brahmmotsava relates to the one celebrated by Lord Sri Rama in Ayodhya. As
Rama is considered Lord of Earth, this festival is also called Bhoopathi
Festival. It is considered that Lord Rama Himself is still
celebrating this festival.
There is a shrine for Sri Garudazhwar (eagle
vehicle of Lord Vishnu) holding
the nectar pot and also the Vedas handed over to him by Perumal after
recovering them from the demons. The idol is made of
Salagrama. Devotees offer dal, jaggery and sweet pudding balls
as nivedhana to Sri Garuda. Special pujas are performed to Him
on Garuda Panchami day.
Dhanyalakshmi: A separate shrine is
dedicated to Mother Dhanyalakshmi in the prakara of Anna Perumal
temple. Mother Dhanyalakshmi graces with Lord Krishna on
the right and Lord Narasimha on the left. Those afflicted with
adverse aspect of planet Venus (Shukra) worship Mother with while silk
sari, garland of white flowers and offer white pulse as
nivedhana. During the Brahmmotsava, Lord Ranganatha visits
this shrine and enjoys the paddy measuring event.
Lord Anna Perumal (Lord of Food) has His shrine
in the second prakara, holding a staff, pot and a ball of rice. It
is believed that worshipping Perumal in the shrine would keep the devotees
free from hunger.
30 metre dhoti to Sri Garuda: 25
feet tall Sri Garuda graces His Vishwarupa darshan opposite the Lord
Ranganatha shrine. He appears in such a majestic form ready to
take off with the Lord wearing Ashta Nagabaranam a jewel of 8
serprents). The dhoti vastra of Sri Garuda is 30 meter
long. Abishek is not performed to Sri Garuda. Kozhukkattai
the sweet pudding balls are offered as nivedhana on Thursdays. Sugriva
and Angatha are the dwarapalakas – securities in the shrine. A
festival for him is celebrated on the Margazhi Tiruvadirai star day.
The temple also has a shrine for Danwanthiri,
Lord of medicines, with Mother Mahalakshmi on His chest. He
holds conch and discus in His hands and also a leech. Those
suffering from prolonged diseases light lamps with castor oil. Offer
curd rice as nivedhana. On Fridays, a perfume paste called
Punugu is applied on Lord Ranganatha. Along with nivedhanas, a
medicine made of dry ginger and jaggery is also offered to the Lord for
digestion. It is believed hat Lord Danwanthiri Himself offers
this medicinal preparation. Also a medicinal preparation is used
for the abishek of Lord on the seventh day of Brahmmotsavam festival.
Three mothers in the shrine: While traditionally Perumal is seen in Vishnu temples with
Mothers Sridevi and Bhoodevi, Mother Ranganayaki Thayar (Thayar-Mother) in
the temple is a procession deity with Sridevi and Bhoodevi behind Her in
the same shrine. During Arati to Mother, drum
instruments are also played.
Lord Sri Ranganathar graces in a reclining
form. The naval chord with Lord Brahmma is absent. Yet,
it is believed that Lord Brahmma invisibly worships the Lord just before
sunrise every day. Muthangi Sevai during the six days after
Vaikunda Ekadasi is a grand event in the temple.
Srirangam is the sacred soil where the Lord
granted salvation to saint Tiruppanazhwar accepting the stone aimed at him
by a priest of the temple. Remembering the devotion of the
daughter of a Delhi king, Lord is dressed in Lungi with Roti
nivedhana on new moon and Ekadasi days.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment