Fresh from his weekend visit to historically significant temples in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured there was ample symbolic representation of south India at the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishthan’ (consecration ceremony) in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on Monday.
The Prime Minister passed on to the Ayodhya Ram Mandir a wicker basket full of wearables for idols on behalf of the presiding deity at Shri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. The basket had been presented to the PM to be taken to Ayodhya during his visit to Tamil Nadu on January 20. On Monday, during the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony, PM Modi presented the basket to the priests at the Ayodhya temple.
During his visit to Tamil Nadu, the PM had visited and offered prayers at the Sri Ranganathaswamy and Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy temples in Srirangam and Rameswaram, respectively. He had also visited the Sri Kothandaramaswamy temple, which is on the way towards Dhanushkodi and Arichal Munai, said to be the place from where the Ram Setu was built.
The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, too, has a deep connect with Lord Ram. The deity worshipped at Srirangam is Sri Ranganathaswamy, a form of Lord Vishnu. Legend has it that the idol worshipped at the temple is the one that was once prayed to by Lord Ram and his ancestors. Scriptures say it was given by Lord Brahma to Lord Ram’s ancestors.
Some religious texts say that when Vibhishana asked for a precious gift from Lord Ram, he gave this idol to Vibhishana and asked him to worship it. When Vibhishana was travelling to Lanka, the idol was installed at Srirangam.
PM’s Visit to Ranganathaswamy Temple
During his visit to this ancient shrine in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, PM Modi wore a spotless ‘veshti’ (dhothi) and an angavastram (a shawl) and prayed with folded hands in the Lord Vishnu temple. He took blessings from the temple elephant after feeding it.
Modi prayed to Sri Ranganathaswamy and he was blessed with ‘sadari’ (crown, symbolising Lord Vishnu’s blessings) by temple priests. The PM prayed at several ‘sannadhis’ (separate enclosures for deities), including those dedicated to Vaishnavite saint-guru Sri Ramanjuacharya and Sri Chakkarathazhwar.
The presiding deity is popularly known in Tamil as Ranganathar. The Srirangam temple is an ancient Vaishnavaite temple of Tamil Nadu and it dates back to the Sangam age with various dynasties pitching in, through the ages, to build and expand it.
The early and later Cholas, Pandyas, the Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara empire have all contributed in the construction of the grand temple.
The temple is also known as ‘Boologa Vaikuntam’or ‘Vaikuntam on earth’. Vaikuntam is the eternal abode of Lord Vishnu.
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