Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple

Sthala Purāṇam

Srirangam, hailed as Bhoolokavaikuntham (Vaikuntha on earth) and the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams, enshrines Lord Ranganatha (Periya Perumal) reclining upon the serpent Adisesha within the sacred Pranava Vimana, shaped like the Om syllable. According to the Sriranga Mahatmyam, this self-manifest archa was worshipped by Brahma in Satyaloka and passed down the Ikshvaku line to Ayodhya, where Rama venerated it. After vanquishing Ravana, Rama gifted the deity to Vibhishana, the righteous Rakshasa king, who bore it toward Lanka. Halting on the island formed between the Kaveri and Kollidam rivers to perform his sandhyavandanam, Vibhishana found the Lord would not be lifted again, for Ranganatha chose this isle as His eternal abode, promising to gaze ever southward toward Vibhishana's Lanka. This is why the Lord reclines facing south. The early Chola king Dharmavarma consecrated the shrine, and Killivalavan later rebuilt it after a Kaveri flood. Uniquely among Divya Desams, Srirangam is sung by all twelve Alvars, garlanded with 247 pasurams; Andal is believed to have merged with Ranganatha upon completing her vows. The consort Goddess is Ranganayaki (Sri Ranganachiyar), the form of Mahalakshmi. The names signify the Lord (natha) of the stage or sanctum (ranga), worshipped here as the supreme refuge of all souls.

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📍 10.86250, 78.68972

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