Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Trichy

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is located at Sriramapuram in Trichy. It is the most ancient temples of India and also is the biggest temples that leave the people with such satisfaction after visiting the temple.

Lord Ranganatha is a form of Lord Vishnu who self-manifested here and graced his devotees. Also known as Booloka Vaikuntam, this temple has taken the main place in the 108 Divya Desam Temples that has been dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Here, Lord lies on a small pillow and near his head resides Adhiseshan (a snake with five heads).

Goddess Lakshmi stays in a separate place and doesn’t come out even during festivals and processions. Hence, she is also called as ‘Padi thaanda Patthini’ which means a wife who never comes out.

During festivals, Lord Vishnu is taken to the temple where Goddess Lakshmi resides. The temple has 21 Gopuras and the gopuram at the entrance of the temple is known as the Raja Gopuram. Ayiram Kaal Mandapam (Mandapam with 1000 pillars) is famous and known to all.

Carpeted over an area of 156 acres of land, the temple houses plenty of shrines that includes various forms of Lord Maha Vishnu.

Festival celebrations happen 250 days a year and Marghazhi Tamil month festivals are celebrated with a pomp. Paga Pathu (10 days) and Ra Pathu (10 Nights) festivals attract many devotees here. It refers to 20 days long celebrations that happen here.

On the whole, if you visit the temple, you get the chance to see the Dravidian style architectural temple that also showcases the heritage of our country.

Image Attribution : Simianwolverine