The Story Of Srirangam

On the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadashi, I thought of posting the story of Srirangam. Srirangam , which is a town in Southern India has the famous temple of Sri Ranganatha or Lord Vishnu.

There is an interesting story on how the Lord Ranga came to stay at this place on the banks of the Cauvery River.

The ‘Ranga Vimaanam’ consisting of the reclining ‘Murti’ of Lord Vishnu on Adisesha, along with his consorts in his chamber was being worshipped by King Ikshwaku, who was the ancestor of Sri Rama.

This Ranga Vimaanam is believed to have been manifested by Lord Vishnu himself and gifted to Brahma for his worship. King Ikshwaku had obtained that from Lord Brahma and it came to be the family deity of the Ikshwaku clan.

As we all know, King Dasaratha who came in the line of Ikshwaku kings, conducted the Ashwamedha and the Putrakameshti yagyas for begetting children. He had invited all kings from all over the country and one Chola king from the South by name Dharmavarman also attended the sacrifice. He was mesmerised by the Ranga Vimaanam possessed by King Dasaratha and wanted to take it to his kingdom in the South. However King Dasaratha was not willing to part with his family deity and offered Dharmavarman other gifts instead.

Dharmavarman, disappointed, returned to his kingdom and started to do penance to attain the Ranga Vimaanam.

In the course of time King Dasaratha had four sons Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shatrugna and we all know the story of Rama. Now, after Rama came back from Lanka and his coronation performed, was giving away gifts to all who were present.

Vibheeshana, the brother of Ravana, was also attracted to the Ranga Vimaanam, which was now being propitiated by Lord Rama. He asked permission from the Lord to take the Ranga Vimaanam with him to Sri Lanka. The Lord granted his wish but told him that it should not be kept down at any cost till it reached the final destination, that is Lanka.  Once kept down, it would remain grounded and could not be moved.

Vibheeshana agreed and left for Lanka with the Vimaanam.

Dharmavarman had prayed hard all these years that he should get the Ranga Vimaanam to his Kingdom. His prayers were to be answered shortly.

As Vibheeshana was crossing Southern India, he remembered he had to perform his evening prayers. He looked around and saw a boy there. The boy was none other than Lord Ganesha. Vibheeshana called the boy and told him to hold the Vimaanam till such time he finished his prayers. He specifically told him not to keep it down at any cost. The boy nodded his head and took the Vimaanam from Vibheeshana.

After a while, the boy called out to Vibheeshana thrice. Vibheeshana was deeply engrossed in his prayers and did not respond. The boy kept the Vimaanam down and ran away. When Vibheeshana finished his prayers, he was alarmed to find the Vimaanam placed on the ground and try as he might, it would not come off from the ground. It was stuck there. Vibheeshana was extremely sad and disappointed.

Lord Narayana, then appeared before him and told him that He would stay there but He would always have His eyes resting on Lanka from there.

And therefore, the Lord lies majestically at Srirangam, with His head on the Western Side and eyes looking to the south. The entrance to the temple is also from the south and the sanctum also faces the southern direction.

Dharmavarman was greatly pleased and built a nice temple around the Vimaanam and was worshipping the same. Years passed by and over time the Cholas had shifted their capital to Tanjore. As it happens always, the fury of nature prevailed, and in the course of time, the temple was buried under the sands and its existence became unknown. Dense forests had grown over the soil not leaving a trace of the temple buried underneath.

After many years, a young Chola prince who went hunting near the Cauvery river was resting under a tree when he heard a parrot say a sloka in chaste sanskrit about a temple being buried underneath. The prince was surprised and tried to excavate, but could not find anything. Dejected, he started to build a new temple in the spot. The next day, Lord Narayana appeared in his dream and guided him as to where the He exactly lay buried.

Overjoyed, the prince excavated in the spot and found the temple with everything intact. With great happiness and devotion he restored the temple to its earlier glory. The prince henceforth came to be known as Kili Cholan as he had acted according to the parrot’s directions.

This is the story of Sri Rangam.