HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE

A debate broke out between Ganga, Yamuna, Kaveri, and Saraswati as to which of them is the best. Yamuna and Saraswati withdrew from the debate but a decision could not be taken in Ganga and Kaveri. Both sought the answer from Lord Vishnu. Ganga said that she has emerged from the feet of God, therefore she is superior. Lord Vishnu also said yes to Ganga's yes, then Kaveri did penance to Lord Vishnu to become superior to Ganga. Lord Vishnu was pleased and granted Kaveri a boon that he would be established in a place where Kaveri would flow like a garland around his neck.

Brahma ji also did penance to see 'Maha Vishnu', the real form of Lord Vishnu at the beginning of the creation. After this, Lord Vishnu appeared in Rangviman from Kshirsagar. This plane was propelled by Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. Adisesha had cast a shadow over the Lord and was accompanied by his Vishvak army. Great sages like Narada were praising him and all the gods and goddesses were hailing him. As per the orders of Lord Vishnu, Brahma ji established this form of him on the banks of the Viraj River and started worshiping him daily.

After Brahma ji, Suryadev, then Manu, and Ikshvaku, the king of Ayodhya, worshiped the great form of Lord Vishnu. Later, when Lord Rama came to Ayodhya after the Lanka victory, he allowed Ravana's brother Vibhishana to take Ranganathaswamy to Lanka and establish it. When Vibhishan reached the banks of the Kaveri River with him, he put him down there for his daily worship but failed when he tried to pick him up after the worship. At this Vibhishana became sad and prayed to God. Then Lord Vishnu told him the story of Kaveri's boon. Since then, there are beliefs that Vibhishan comes daily to worship Sri Ranganathaswamy even today. There are many beliefs that Vibhishana comes to Srirangam every 12 years.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE MODERN TEMPLE

The Ranganathaswamy temple was first built by the rulers of the Chola Empire. However, the construction of the temple continued and many parts of it were renovated even by the last rulers of the Chola Empire. Apart from the Chola rulers, the Pandya rulers also contributed to the construction of the temple. Inscriptions from the Chola, Pandya, Hoysala, and Vijayanagara dynasties are found in the temple.

However, the temple also came under attack from Islamic fundamentalists during the 14th century. The ferocious army of the Delhi Sultanate led by Muhammad bin Tughlaq came to attack the temple but by then the Hindus had removed the idols of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple away from the temple. Hindus kept wandering in many villages of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu carrying these idols. The temple was finally renovated again in 1371 under the rule of the Vijayanagara Empire and the idols of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi were installed in the temple.

The Ranganathaswamy temple is surrounded by walls in 7 layers from all sides. The total length of these walls is about 10 km. Apart from the main temple, there are 50 other temples in the temple complex. There is a total of 21 gopurams in this complex including 17 huge gopurams. There are a total of 39 pavilions and 9 holy tanks in the complex. The main mandapam of the temple is the Aayiram Kala Mandapam, a huge hall with 1000 pillars.

In the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the idol of Lord Vishnu sitting on Adisesha is installed. He is called Ranganathaswamy or Ranganathar. Apart from this, the idol of Goddess Lakshmi is also installed in the sanctum sanctorum, which is called Ranganayaki Thayar.