THE
TEMPLE COMPLEX
The sacred shrine consecrating the hill with
the beautiful image of Mother Chamundeswari is undoubtedly rendering
the position of Mysore conspicuous and heightening its glory to
enviable degree. Its majestic tower greets the visitors approaching
Mysore from all directions, and is visible for miles afar. The
temple is quadrangle in shape and has a massive prakara with a
imposing Mahadwara, facing the east. There are many mini-shrine and
pavilions enshrining the images of Ganesh, Kumaraswamy Maheswar. The
spick and span and eyeful decorations of each niche with
multicoloured bulbs lift the souls. The beautiful image of the
Mother draped in shimmering silks and dazzling diamonds transport
the viewers to blissful regions for a while. Among the jewels, the
Nakshatramala with thirty sanskrit slokas engraved o it makes the
beautiful Mother, more beautiful, and if one rivets his attention on
her for a few seconds more she appears most beautiful, the like of
which cannot be found anywhere. The priests who offer several kinds
of ritualistic poojas are quite solicitous and narrate the
Sthalapurana and the miracles of the Mother ably and effortlessly on
request.
In the
inner prakara the statues of Krishna Raja Wodeyar III with his
queens in standing posture are installed and the workmanship is
quite commendable. The sculptural adornments found on the walls and
ceiling are remarkable for their craftsmanship and maintenance. The
descendants of those illustrious patrons made beautiful additions
including a palace for their stay. And it is grand externally and
internally. The flight of stone steps numbering one thousand built
by Dodda Deva Raja around 1659 is maintained well with tube lights
all along and is used by old and young alike, though there is a
motorable road laid out for vehicles plying to and fro round the
clock. On the way to the temple, there is a colossal figure of Nandi
about 16 feet in height and it is on par with its counterparts found
in Brihadeeswaralayam and Nataraja temple in Tamil Nadu. Its
gigantic size, couchant posture and adornments of trappings and
bells are superb and the artistry of the stone cutter detains langer
. It is a grand feast to connoisseurs and visual treat to the
devotees.
POOJAS
This shrine has built up very many
commendable traditions and introduced several changes over the
years. Conducting special pujas on Tuesdays and Fridays is one among
many attracting people in their thousands. The temple wears festive
appearance on these two days every week. The solace it confers on
the visitor is infinitely great and hence some made their visit a
regular feature and routine work. The shopping arcade in that little
temple village with restaurants and snack bars together with rest
houses made it a mini-paradise for devotees, and a joyous picnic
spot for the modern west turned minds. Of the periodical festivals,
the Sarannavatras draw people in lakhs. Why, the whole city of
Mysore goes gay for 10 days, and the gaiety, festivity, religiosity
touching he meridian reign supreme, and hardly one finds a parallel
in the whole of Punya Bharat. Seeing is believing, and believing
elevates and exhilarates; for, the creative faculty unable to grasp
its elusive charms, ceases expression to drink in with eyes all the
splendour, overflowing the whole city with exhibitions,
entertainment etc. A visit alone gratifies the sensory organs and no
reading substitutes it. The Mysore Dasara far surpasses the
celebrations of this kind anywhere in India.
WORTH
SEEING PLACES
Down below this holy hill temple, there is an
enchanting world within the world akin to Disney land that none but
Mysore alone could stand comparison. The eye-filling sights of
palatial buildings and majestic royal residences, broad well-lit
streets, commercial establishments in multi storeyed mansions amidst
the old palaces like Lalitha Mahal, Jaganmohan palace, and
Zoological garden, Museum, Palace garage, Ramakrishna Mutt,
Technical Institute, University complex detain the visitors for
weeks and send them home completely rejunevated physically
spiritually, mentally. In all to be precise.
The
Brindavan Gardens adjoining the Krishna Rajasagar dam on one side of
that enchanting city of Mysore and the famous Nanjundeswaralayam on
the other side lying at about 15 km each admitting the visitors into
Kailas shower instant emancipation. Make a visit for enjoyment that
ensures sure emancipation. To one and all always. 
Vedakkundham Temple(Aerial Viety)-Trichur
LORD
RANGANATHA OF SRIRANGAPATTANA
INTRODUCTION
The holy river Cauvery, one of
the premier rivers of the Dakshinapatha and the veritable Jeevanadi
of two prosperous states in down South has been playing a vital role
in enriching the cultural life of the south, besides yielding bumper
harvests to the farmers, particularly turning TamilNadu into the
granary of the south. Its very source, long course and merging with
Ratnakara - the Bay of Bengal have a special sanctity and oddity
that glorified Hinduism with certain happenings at the origin, on
its banks and at its confluence. They are enshrined in the
scriptures and have been inspiring the theistic community from time
immemorial. The legends are quite numerous, and varied, and they
indeed threw a halo round her head due to divine association it has,
and encircling the lives of some of the illustrious sages and
dauntless warrior- emperors, who were moulded by her, and they in
turn adored her in an exemplary manner. By its perennial flow and
intrinsic virtues, it produced intellectual giants of a superior
calibre whose contributions are deemed masterpieces of eternal
importance, in addition to filling the granaries of two states as a
matter of fact. More prominently, the temples built on its banks
have deified it first and last. And of the many Srirangapattana
occupies a pre-eminent place and it is the first of its kind by
virtue of embodying certain uniques like the scat of administration
of enlightened Kings, reputed for their religious tolerance etc.
UNIQUENESS The unique features of the temple begin
exactly with emergence at Talakaveri, and there are many versions
about the origin. According to one version she was the daughter of
Rajarshi Kaveru, and after marrying the redoubtable Agasthya, she
turn herself into river for lokodharana. Another version attributes
her origin to the sages -who to averting the calamity of severe
drought affecting the Dravida desa for 12 years continuously,
propitiated Lord Maheswar, and when satisfied, he sent the Ganges to
flow in the rain-famine land. she did. Both these glorify her
position. She too with a view to retain her touch with heaven and
particularly of Vaikuntanatha from whose feet she came down to the
world has created three islands for temples along its long course.
And in every one of them Srimannarayana in the name of Sri
Ranganatha is enshrined in gigantic temples for people to adore and
for her to worship the Lord eternally. No river claims of having
such number of islands; here the devotional activities are going on
round the clock at it. Secondly, it is here in Srirangapattana, on
the bank of Cauvery the renowned sage Gautama did penance and
pleased Lord Mahavishnu to that extent that he granted his eternal
presence near him, as evidenced by the presence of his image and
adoration along with the archamurthi -Sri Ranganatha; thirdly this
island town is noted for its Hindu Muslim unity rather popular as
the All-Faith centre as seen by masks beside temples, and temples
inside the Muslim fort along with lain Basadis; fourthly it is h in
the garbhagriha, the images of Sridevi and Bhudevi are conspicuous
by their absence, but enshrining the statue of river kaveri at the
feet; fifthly as common in other Sri Ranganatha temples, the image
of Brahma seated in Lotus, rising from the naval of Sri Mahavishnu
is not found; sixthly it is here Sri Ramanujacharya lived for
sometime and introduced several traditions in the temples; seventhly
the confluence of the two branches of Cauvery at a little distance
is luring theists for holy bath and other ritualistic worship;
eighthly the temple houses two Chaturvamsi pillars with 24 forms of
Mahavishnu carved on them and finally there are several vestiges of
Muslim and British rule in the form of mosques built side by side of
the Hindu temples and by bungalows with English names.
ANTIQUITY
The origin of Srirangapattana strangely
enough is linked up with the river Cauvery and it is her priceless
gift to the nation, and it is purely her creation -emerged out of
her devotion to the Lord of Vaikuntha -Sri Mahavishnu. As the story
goes the Cauvery flowing from Talakaveri -its source and reaching
the Bay of Bengal is in fact the Ganges flowing here at the bidding
of Kasi Viswanath. It has an interesting story and is imbued with
divinity. Tradition narrates that there visited a severe drought in
the Dravidadesa in the dim past and lasted for 12 long years. As
there were no rains for over such a long period, the suffering
experienced both by man and beast was excruciating. Not a drop of
water anywhere and so beasts died like flies. The scenes of parched
lands, dried up water sources, striking greenlessness, hot winds
were pathetic and humans also perished in great numbers. Neither the
kings, nor the institutions did anything to bring rain that could
avert this disaster . The humanist sage Sayana moved by the ghastly
sights did penance on the Brahmagiri mountain, propitiating Lord
Maheswar. The Lord descended and asked him the purpose of his
penance. The Sage said that what all he wanted was instant rain to
revive the barren land and a river to flow perennially with water
acting more than nectar to land and its people. Highly elated, Lord
Maheswar said 'Thadastu' and anon he bade Ganges to flow in this
land making greenery greet the eyes permanently and eternal spring
delight the animate and inanimate worlds. At once, the Ganges taking
its birth at a holy spot called Talakaveri started flowing eternally
under a new name -Cauvery. The land enjoyed heavenly bliss once
again and people reaped peace and treasured up prosperity to their
hearts' content. Lord Maheswar too enchanted by the sight of the
bounteous Nature made Brahmagiri his permanent dwelling place and
lived with the pramadaganas thenceforward.
EMERGENCE OF THE SHRINEThe Ganges though acquired a
new name and moved on in new surroundings did not snap her
connections with Vaikunta or its Lord Sri Mahavishnu. As she came
from the holy feet of Sri Mahavishnu, she wanted to adore him always
and wash his feet eternally. So she created three islands during her
course and made theists erect gigantic temples dedicated to
Ranganatha -another name for Mahavishnu who is worshipped in his
reclining posture. The three islands containing unusually huge
temples go by the names of Adi Rangam -Srirangapattana situated near
Mysore, Madhya Rangam at Sivasamudram, lying near Maddur and Antya
Ranga located near Trichirapalli. And at each of these three
MahaVishnu is the presiding deity and great rulers endowed them
lavishly with jagirs etc. for conducting prayer services regularly
on a grand scale. It is here at Srirangapattana the image of river
Cauvery is installed in sitting posture at the sacrosanct feet of
Lord Ranganatha, holding the lotus in her hand. It is indeed a
befitting honour that prayers of all kinds are offered to her along
with the archamurthi-Sriranganatha. The town later thrived by royal
patronage and some monarchs made it their capital too. So there is
no wonder that it was placed on par with great cities like Banaras,
Gaya etc. There are many relics of the immortal rulers in the form
of monuments and memorials. Srirangapattana was called in the
legends as Gautama kshetra. It was here the sage Gautama did penance
and when expressed his desire to remain with Lord Mahavishnu
permanently, it was granted. Hence the presence of his image in the
garbha griha of the Lord. Thus, the fame of Srirangapattana is
embedded in the puranas, histories - itihasas, besides devotional
literature.
THE SAGE KAVERU EPISODE
The river Cauvery
according to another legend was daughter of Kaveru, whose penance
blessed him with a daughter and who in turn did penance to obtaining
Sayujyamukti to her father. She married Agasthya in her amsa as
Lopamudra and took the form of river to cleanse the people of their
sins. As her humanitarian ideal is highly laudable, she is given a
place in the garbha griha and so is receiving all types of prayers
along with the chief deity. It is indeed a standing testimony of
gratitude of the people whose lives were revived by its nectarine
water, and lands bloomed beyond description by its perennial flow
flooding to the banks almost throughout the year. It is at
Srirangapattana -the Adirangam, she is deified and her image is
installed in the garbha griha.
HISTORICITY
Srirangapattana etched its name on the
pages of both legends and history of our Punya Bharat and it started
with the formation of island by the river Cauvery. Indeed it is the
gift of Cauvery out and out. Its location was found to be highly
covetable strategically. Rulers realising its importance built forts
and battlements for their safety. They built temples too and it was
in 1894 AD. Tirumalaraya built a grand temple with imposing tower
and enshrined the image of Sriranganatha -Mahavishnu in reclining
posture. And he named the then flourishing city as Rangapura or
Rangapattana. Later Udayadithya, the brother of famous
Vishnuvardhana renovated it in 1120, rather expanded it in all
directions. Il came later under the suzerainty of Vijayanagara
emperors. The Wodeyars wrested it from the viceroys of the
Vijayanagara and then it passed on to Haiderali and Tippu, but the
Jackal Britishers managed to occupy it by their damananiti. Whoever
may be the ruler -Indian or alien, the temple remained as a place of
worship and received adoration from all sans sacrilege. There lies
the glory of the Lord, and that speaks the catholicity of the
people, who lived" thrived and died on this punyadham. And it has
been luring a steady influx of tourists and theists due to its
natural beauty, architectural splendour and spiritual sublimity
since 10th century historically.
THE TEMPLE COMPLEX
The unique
feature of this mokshapuri is that the holy river Cauvery encircling
it washes the temple precincts with its sacred water. It is built in
the centre of the island and is enclosed by two prakaras with a
grand lofty tower designed in the Dravidian style of architecture.
The temple complex houses many shrines and niches, and the
multiplicity of gods enshrined in them makes it veritable Hari-Hara
kshetra, where the principal deities of Saivities and Vaishnavates
are coexisting and are receiving due prayers sans difference of any
kind from any section of the theists. That perhaps speaks volumes of
the spirit of toleration the Mulavirat is instilling and advocating
since inception. Side by side of the principal shrine there are many
other shrines dedicated to several deities. Mini shrines are housing
an infinite number of adorable deities of the Hindu pantheon.
Devotees move from one to another praying, just as they move from
stall to stall admiring everything exhibited. Verily, the soul of
Mother Cauvery at whose instance it came into being has been
safeguarding the sanctity with her eternal vigilance. And the
universality of this shrine, partly due to several al1 commendable
traditions built up by the Maharshis are made to continue by the
priests and partly by the great humanist Vaishnava matapravakta Sri
Ramanujacharya, who lived fairly a long time here. Essential unity
and commendable fraternity among the worshippers seem pervading the
entire complex, making it specimen of the highest ideal of Hindu
Dharma -"Sarvejana Sukhinobhavanthu".
THE ARCHAMURTHI
In the garbhagriha there
greets the visitors with a huge image of Lord Ranganatha in the
recumbent pose, but with a difference. Normally, Ranganatha's image
is adorned with Brahma seated on a lotus sprouting from the navel,
here it is conspicuous by its absence. Another surprise that it
springs up here is the absence of Sridevi and Bhudevi, normally
found in all the Ranganatha temples. Here strangely enough, the
image of Mother Cauvery is installed at his feet in a sitting pose
with a lotus in her hand representing her adoration, and
Mahavishnu's compassion in receiving her into his Sannidhi without
providing space for Sridevi and Bhudevi, his own consorts. The image
of Goutama is placed near the archamurthi indicating thereby his
vastalya and asritapakshapatha, as a matter of fact. It only
heightens his status and wrings veneration. This unique feature is a
plus point not found anywhere in the Ranganatha alayas existing the
Bharatha Varsha. In the second prakara, there a separate cell for
the famous Alwars and Acharyas, responsible for dissemination of
Vaishnava cult through out the length and breadth of the country.
Here the craftsmanship of sculptors and artisans, who made the
lithic and metallic images of gods arrests attention and demands
reverence. The figure of Chakratalvar, another name for Mahavishnu
feasts the eyes and lifts the soul. It is certainly a superb
sculptural piece. Another object of attraction is the Chaturvimsati
pillars placed in front of the entrance, which captivate the viewers
and they illustrate the 24 forms of Mahavishnu with labels inscribed
below. This uniqueness of this image speaks the patron's spiritual
culture and sculptor's artistry. The temple contains a many valuable
inscriptions and several precious objects donated by kings, Tippu
Sultan's endowments of articles are used and preserved with care
due. The time spent in looking at them and admiring the sculptural
embellishments is quite paying and elevating too.
In the
complex there are many shrines and are dedicated to gods like
Gangadhareswara and Narasimha built in the Dravidian style. In the
Navaranga of the Gangadhareswara temple, icons of Ganapathi,
Subrahmanya, Saptamatrikas, Narayana and Chamundeswari beckon
attention and they are worth-seeing. And some of them resemble the
images of the famous Halebid temples. The images of the planets
Chandra and Surya flanked by female deities are found at the sides
of Navaranga. The Utsavavigrahas of Gangadhareswara are extremely
handsome and are mirroring the mastery of artisans and afford feast
to the eye. The figures of Dakshinamurthi, Bhairava and the Shiva
devotees are executed superbly. Here is found the image of
Virabhadra with his consort and it is extremely grand to the sight.
In the Narasimmha temple the statues of Wodeyars -the builders are
kept with weapons adornments along with the images of Child Krishna.
Another factor that distinguishes this famous shrine from others is
the exist of several temples housing Jain deities like Adisrava,
Adinath Temples for Raffia, Kalamma, Ankalamma, Lakshminarayana,
Jyothirmayeswara and Anjaneya etc. are found and the icons are
adored with due prayers. Some of the temples built and maintained by
barbers, goldsmiths, Dalavayis etc. are quite attractive and
inscriptions reveal many interesting facts. In some of the cells,
images of Ramanuja, Satakopa, Vishvaksena are installed and
venerated fittingly.
Another
feature that surprises the visitors is the existence of mosques
beside these sculptural marvels. They came into existence during the
reign of Haidarali and Tippu Sultan, whose religious toleration is
worthy of emulation. Their endowment jagirs, vessels. and jewels are
preserved and are shown, when requested by the visitors. Hindu
Muslim unity existed to such enviable degree that none but
Srirangapattana claims equality , it. Aren't both of them bred and
fed by Mother Cauvery with equal attention? Did she ever
discriminate one against the other? Hasn't she been cleansing the
sins of all? Hence the unity in diversity; sublimity in divergency
and divinity amidst animality.
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