Sarangapani Temple

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Sarangapani temple
)

Sarangapani Temple
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictThanjavur
DeitySarangapani
(Vishnu)

Komalavalli Thayar
(Lakshmi)

Aravamuthar
Location
Location
Cholas
Part of a series on
Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
Consorts
Related
Holy scriptures
Puranas
Sampradayas
Others
Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions

The Sarangapani Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the

Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or Alvars.[1] This temple is along Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams.[2]

The temple is one of the

Lakshmi was born as Bhargavi- the daughter of Maharishi Bhrigu. The other four temples of the Pancha Kshethram are Sundararaja Perumal Temple, Salem, Oppiliappan temple, Nachiyar Koil and Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala
.

The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity with contributions at different times from

Madurai Nayaks. The temple is enshrined within a huge granite wall and the complex contains all the shrines and the water bodies of the temple. The rajagopuram
(the main gateway) has eleven tiers and has a height of 173 ft (53 m). The Potramarai tank, the temple tank, is located opposite to the western entrance of the temple.

Sarangapani is believed to have appeared for sage Hemarishi. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple chariot festival is the most prominent festival of the temple, celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai (March–April). The twin temple chariots are the third-largest in Tamil Nadu, each weighing 300 t (660,000 lb).

Legend

As per Hindu legend, the

Sharanga, the bow of Vishnu, and pani meaning hand.[7]

History

The Mahasamprokshanam also known as kumbhabhishekam of the temple was held on 13 July 2015. A large number of devotees took part in the Mahasamprokshanam.[8]

The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.[9]

Architecture

Sarangapani is the largest Vishnu temple in Kumbakonam and has the tallest temple tower in the town. The temple is enshrined within a huge wall and the complex enshrines all the water bodies of the temple except the Potramarai tank. The

Vriddhagiriswarar Temple, Vriddhachalam and Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur.[10] There is a sculptural representation of the sage Hemarishi in the western part of the temple.[11] The central shrine, the sanctum is approached via a 100-pillared hall. The inner sanctum in the form of a chariot is guarded by Dwaraplakas facing the outer entrance. From the outer entrance, there is a perforated window axial to the sanctum.[4] The central shrine of the temple houses the image of Sarangapani in pallikonda posture, with his head resting on his right hand. There are other images of sage Hemarishi, Lakshmi and festival images enshrined within the sanctum. There are two stepped entrances to the sanctum named as Utharayana Vaasal and Dhakshanayana Vaasal, each open for a six-month period. From 15 January to 15 July, Utharayanya Vaasal is opened while Dhakshanaya Vaasal is opened during the other half of the year. The Potramarai tank has a central hall called Hemarishi Mandapam.[6][12] The temple has two processional chariots carved out of wood stationed outside the rajagopuram.[12] It is classified as Karakkoil, a temple fashioned after temple chariots which are taken in procession around the temple during festivals.[13] The shrine of Komalavalli Thayar is located in the northern part of the temple in a shrine parallel to the sanctum.[14]

In

Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram.[15]

Religious significance

image of a temple tank with temple tower and complex in the background
View of the temple from the Potramarai tank

Sarangapani temple is considered third in the line of Srirangam and Tirupathi temples.

divyadesam, the 108 Vishnu temples that are revered in the Vaishnava canon. As per a Hindu legend, Nathamuni, who compiled Divya Prabandham by the twelve alvars, found only the first ten verses sung on Aravamudhan. Nammalvar recited the remaining 3990 verses unconsciously while he was in deep meditation and Nathamuni compiled all of them.[6][16]

The temple is counted as one of the temples built on the banks of

Parimala Ranganatha Perumal Temple or Mayuram at Indalur, Mayiladuthurai and Vatarangam at Sirkazhi. The Sarangapani temple at Kumbakonam is mentioned in place of Vatarangam in some references.[2][18][19]

Five Vishnu temples are connected with

Varahaperumal Temple.[20]

Worship and festivals

Temple chariot of the temple

The temple follows

tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas
(sacred text) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly, fortnightly and monthly rituals.

Akshaya Tritiyai - 12 Garuda Sevai Chaitra Brahma Utsavam celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April - May), Vasantotsavam during Vaikasi (May - June), Pavitrotsavam - Ekadasi Jyeshotsavam during Adi(July - August), Sri Jayanthi - Uriyadi Utsavam during Avani (August - September), Navaratri Utsavam - Saraswathi Puja - Vijayadasami during Purattasi (September - October), Deepavali - Shraddha of Sri Lakshmi Narayanaswami during Aippasi (October - November), Deepa Utsavam - Unjal Utsavam during Karthigai (November - December), Pakal Pattu - Ira Pattu Pongal Sankaramana Utsavam during Margazhi (December - January), Kanu Utsavam - Amavasya - Ratha Saptami during Thai (January - February), Masi Magaham - Float Festival during Masi (February - March) and Brahmmotsavam - Tirukkalyanotsavam during Panguni (March - April) are the festivals celebrated in the temple.[22]

Religious importance

Five Vishnu temples are connected with

Varahaperumal Temple. This temple, one among them, is situated in the north of Big Street.[20]

As per a temple legend, once a staunch

Deepavali day. The ritual is performed annually by the priests and is one of its kind where death rituals are performed in the precincts of a Vishnu temple.[6]

The temple is called Ubaya Pradhana Kshetram as the mulavar (presiding deity) and utsavar (festive deity) enjoy the same importance. As per legend, Tirumalisai Alvar was singing praise of Aravamudan and he requested him to raise up from his reclining position. Aramudan started raising to gargantuan proportion forcing Thirumalisai Alvar to request him to recline again. The idol stopped midway and the current posture, Uthana Sayi was established. It is believed that the presiding deity asked Nathamuni to compile the four thousand verses of Nalayira Divya Prabandham at this place.[23]

Temple chariot

The twin temple chariots weigh 300 t (660,000 lb) each and has been renovated in 2007. The chariots were not drawn for some years during the preceding period. The chariots are next only in size to the ones in

Andal Temple in Srivilliputhur. The chariots are pulled by hundreds of devotees across the streets around the temple twice a year, once during the Brahmotsavam during April–May and other during Ratha saptami in January–February. The festival idols of Sarangapani and Kamalvalli are brought to the thermutti (chariot station) after elaborate religious rituals.[24]

Thirumangai Alvar's Tiruvelukkutrirukkai, a single verse in 46 lines, when seen in numerical order, makes the image of a temple chariot. The painting depicting the verse in the chariot form is seen in the temple. It is believed that the first temple chariot of the temple was instituted by Thirumangai Alvar himself.[25]

See also

  • Mahamaham
  • Mahamaham tank, Kumbakonam
  • Hindu temples of Kumbakonam

Notes

  1. ^ M. S., Ramesh. 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams: Divya desams in Malai Nadu and Vada Nadu. Tirumalai-Tirupati Devasthanam.
  2. ^ a b "Pancharanga Kshetrams". Indiantemples.com. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  3. ^ a b Ayyar 1991, p. 324
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-93-83440-34-4
    .
  5. ^ V., Meena (1974). Temples in South India (1st ed.). Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 25.
  6. ^ a b c d Gopal, Rupa (5 March 2004). "Immortalised in stone". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 July 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b c "Sthala Varalaru". Kumbakonam: Sarangapani Temple Administration. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Mahasamprokshanam of Sarangapani temple done". The Hindu. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  9. ^ Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959
  10. ^ H., Sarkar (1974). The Kampahesvara temple at Thirubuvanam (PDF). Madras: Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu. p. 9.
  11. ^ Ayyar 1991, p. 534
  12. ^
    ISBN 9788120618893
    .
  13. ISBN 978-81-7823-542-4
    .
  14. ISBN 978-81-7907-053-6
    .
  15. ^ T.S., Subramanian (23 September 2010). "How karana sculptures in Big Temple were discovered". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  16. ^ Ayyar 1991, p. 327
  17. ISBN 9781684666041
    .
  18. ISBN 978-81-7755-280-5
    . Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  19. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6
    .
  20. ^ a b Mahamaham Festival 2004 (in Tamil), Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Administration Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, 2004
  21. ^ a b "Puja Timings". Kumbakonam: Sarangapani Temple Administration. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  22. ^ "Festivals". Kumbakonam: Sarangapani Temple Administration. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  23. ^ R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001). An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam (1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. pp. 473–4.
  24. ^ "Immortalised in stone". The Hindu. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  25. ^ Krishnamachary, Suganthy (29 March 2019). "Marvels in wood". Friday Review. The Hindu. p. 10.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sarangapani temple.

Mahasamprokshanam 13.7.2015

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarangapani_Temple&oldid=1186845317"