Adhirangam Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple – Adhi Thiruvarangam

 

Adhirangam Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple is located in Adhi Thiruvarangam in Sankarapuram Taluk in Kallakurichi district of Tamilnadu State.

It is one of the 108 Abhimana Kshetras of Lord Vishnu

Sri Ranganatha Swamy is the presiding deity who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Rangavalli Thayar is the consort of Lord Vishnu

Ranganatha Perumal is believed to have appeared to King Mahabali and the Alvars at the temple's site.

This temple was built in Dravidian style of architecture

The five-headed snake Adisesha is sported as an umbrella for the presiding deity made of stucco.

The sanctum also houses the image of Sridevi near his head and Bhudevi near his foot. The festival deity, Rangarajan along with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi are also housed in the sanctum. A mace made of silver is located near the arm, and the image of Garuda is seen in a praying posture near the presiding deity's foot.

The granary is one of its kind as in other temples like Srirangam, Jambukeswarar Temple at Tiruvanaikaval, and Palaivananathar Temple at Papanasam.

There are shrines of Kodandarama, Hanuman, and Krishna around the sanctum.

The temple is considered a Periya Perumal temple, meaning the image of the presiding Ranganathar is larger than the one found at Ranganathar Temple at Srirangam

The temple is believed to be older than the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam and hence came to be known as Adhi Rangam, meaning the original Rangam.

As per Hindu legend, a demon king named Somukan stole all the Vedas from the Devas and all the sages were worried. They appealed to Vishnu, who appeared as Ranganatha at this place to emerge from the water to rescue the scriptures. He is also believed to have advised Brahma at this place. As per another legend, a king named Surakeerthi who was childless worshipped Vishnu at this place to get children. Chandra, the moon god, lost all his glow on account of a curse he incurred. The celestial deities advised him to worship Vishnu at this place. He established a tank and worshipped Ranganatha with the holy waters and is believed to have been relieved of his curse. The temple tank, Chandra Pushkarani, is believed to be the tank he established. The celestial deities wanted Vishnu to show them his true form during the night time. Pleased by their devotion, Vishnu is believed to have appeared in Rangantha form and given darshan permanently.

The chariot festival celebrated during March- April(Chittirai) is the most prominent festival celebrated. Other than this Vaikunta Ekadasi, Krishna Janmashtami, Ramanavami, and Adi Pooram are celebrated here.

Timings

6.00 am to 8.00 pm

How to reach the Temple

20 km from Thirukovilur

200 km from Chennai

55 km from Villupuram