Srirangam
–The Life and Times of a Temple Town in India.
At the stroke of dawn, Alamelu Sarangapani has a quick cup of coffee, finishes her morning ablutions and makes her way to the Ranganatha Swamy Temple at Srirangam, with a small container of ground rice paste with which she will draw intricate patterns on the ground, outside as well as inside the temple precincts. Alamelu has been doing this ever since she came to Srirangam as a young 18 year old bride – she is 62 years old today. Karunakaran sits patiently against a pillar at the East entrance of the temple with his registered guide identity card pinned to his shirt, waiting to guide pilgrims through the Ranganatha Swamy temple. This is the only world he has known and has wanted to know since the age of nine when he first visited the temple with his father. There are many more like Alamelu and Karunakaran in the temple town of Srirangam whose life and livelihood is inextricably linked to the temple. The temple is their gateway to heaven.
At the stroke of dawn, Alamelu Sarangapani has a quick cup of coffee, finishes her morning ablutions and makes her way to the Ranganatha Swamy Temple at Srirangam, with a small container of ground rice paste with which she will draw intricate patterns on the ground, outside as well as inside the temple precincts. Alamelu has been doing this ever since she came to Srirangam as a young 18 year old bride – she is 62 years old today. Karunakaran sits patiently against a pillar at the East entrance of the temple with his registered guide identity card pinned to his shirt, waiting to guide pilgrims through the Ranganatha Swamy temple. This is the only world he has known and has wanted to know since the age of nine when he first visited the temple with his father. There are many more like Alamelu and Karunakaran in the temple town of Srirangam whose life and livelihood is inextricably linked to the temple. The temple is their gateway to heaven.
South India is synonymous with Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu
immediately throws up images of temples. It is the one state, where, from times
immemorial, temples have been the raison d’être of towns. The culture of Tamil
Nadu (Dravidian) has taken birth and flourished in these temples, and continues
to do so even today. There are eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tamil Nadu,
of which three are temples and the other five are rock temples! The temple, its
legend, its lore, its rituals, its festivals and everything associated with it
goes to construct a matrix around which the whole town functions.
In Hinduism all creation begins and ends with the Holy
Trinity, Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the protector) and Shiva (the destroyer)
and Hindus are broadly divided into Shaiviite (followers of Shiva) and
Vishnaviite (followers of Vishnu). The Vaishnavites hold Lord Vishnu to be
supreme while to the Shaivaites, Lord Shiva is primus inter pares. 108 temples
in the south of India are of utmost importance to the Vaishnavites and Srirangam
tops this list. It is here that one of the foremost Vaishnavaite Saints, a lady
at that, called Godha Devi is believed to have merged with the idol and
attained salvation.
Srirangam is a mere 8 kilometres from Trichy, a major
district of Tamil Nadu.
It is not very
difficult to identify or locate temple towns in Tamil Nadu. If you are travelling
by road, you cannot miss the huge hoardings put up by commercial establishments
of the town, bearing vividly coloured images of the deity of the particular
temple. Visitors coming in by train are treated to similar advertisements (though
on a smaller scale) along the railway lines as they near the station in
question. This is temple art of a different kind! And if you miss these, you
can always look for the ceremonial tower or gopuram of the temple, which, in
the case of Srirangam, can be seen from miles away as it is the tallest in
Asia.
Srirangam is replete with lore and legend. The idol, said
to have risen from the celestial Milky Ocean, is a huge, monolithic black
statue of Lord Vishnu, reclining on a couch made by Adisesha, the Divine
Serpent. The idol was received by Lord Brahma and left in his custody, till
Vishnu, in his incarnation (avatara) as Lord Rama gave it to Vibheesana, the
noble brother of the slain demon king Ravana. Vibheesana expressed the desire
to carry it back to Sri Lanka, and the Lord told him that it was not to be
placed down under any circumstances. If it was placed down, it would be
immoveable from that spot. Vibheesana did keep it down in order to perform his
ablutions and sure enough the idol remained rooted to the spot. It lay there
for ages, deep in the forest, covered with vegetation, till a prince of the Chola
dynasty, Dharma Varma stumbled upon the idol and built a shrine around it. Soon
thereafter, Tamil Nadu fell to a series of Muslim invasions due to which temples
were plundered and looted. The priests then erected a wall over the main idol,
hid it without a trace and fled with a smaller deity which was used in
processions. They moved with it from place to place for fifty years and finally
hid it in a ravine at Tirupati, another major Vaishnavite temple. When the
Muslims were routed out, the priests returned to Srirangam and reinstalled the
idol. Since then subsequent kings of the Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagar and Hoysala
dynasty from the 10th century onwards, have made significant additions to the
temple, making it the largest ‘functioning’ Hindu Temple in the world. Technically,
Angkor Vat in Cambodia is said to be the largest Hindu Temple in the world but it
is no longer functional.
The Srirangam Ranganatha Swamy temple is spread over 156
acres; it has seven concentric walls and as many as 21 gopurams or pyramidal
towers - a sight that no temple guide will leave out. In fact, it is mandatory
to scamper up a floor to a broad terrace from where you can count the gopurams
– all 21 of them. The main Gopuram or the Rajagopuram rises to a height of an
astounding 236 feet (72 metres). It is the tallest in Asia. The ramparts of the
temple are decorated with stone pillars embellished with intricate carvings of
mythological figures and designs. This “temple architecture” has provided
inspirations to hundreds of architects and designers down the centuries. There
is a corridor with a thousand pillars that culminates in a hall and every
pillar is a masterpiece. Looking up at these intricate forms, the mind boggles
as to how sculptors captured such minute details like the intricate folds of the
garments, the design on an ornament, the plume of the bird or the detail of a
horse’s hoof on rock and stone, at a time when there was no electricity, no
machine and no automation. It is sheer poetry. In fact, when Karunakaran showed
us the huge eagle Garuda, on whom Lord Vishnu rides, all we could do was to
look up in awe and marvel at his size and detail!
Srirangam is also well known for its temple festivals and
the number of festivals in this temple outnumbers the normal average across
other temples. In fact, there is a festival in each and every month of the
Hindu calendar! The priests and the devotees place the greatest importance on
the conduct of these festivals as per the tenets prescribed by the Vedas and Agamas
(Hindu scriptures). In some of the festivals, the deity is carried around the
town in elaborate chariots pulled by the devotees or on the shoulders of
devotees and priests. The effort is the offering and the opportunity to do so
is regarded as a privilege. During Vasanthotsavam, a festival meant to herald
spring, the processional deity is installed for nine days in the temple garden
so that he can enjoy the flowers blooming. The festival of lights between the
months of November and December coincides with the onset of winter, when idol
is taken around the town in a decorated chariot; hundreds of lamps are lit
inside and outside the temple and the treasurer of the temple reads out the
accounts of the temple to the Lord. The Vaikuntha Ekadasi, falling between the
months of December and January, is the most important festival in Srirangam. It
is believed that the doors of heaven remain open throughout that specific day and
a visit to any shrine of Lord Vishnu on earth, on that day, ensures entry into
heaven. Bus loads of devotees come from far and near and wait for hours to get
a glimpse of the main idol. Preparations for the Vaikuntha Ekadasi here commence
in October itself when the first of the 47 pillars of a grand “mandapam”
(stage) is erected in the presence of the priests rendering sacred chants. Each
festival at Srirangam is a vision of ceremonial splendour. The deity is
bedecked in the choicest of silks and adorned with the most beautiful flowers
after a ceremonial bath with the purest of milk, honey and sandalwood.
Temple festivals were meant to be the main drivers of
socio economic growth and continue to remain so. Every festival is an
expression of splendour and gaiety and unleashes a frenzy of activity. Most
festivals coincide with seasonal changes, thus providing a strong market for
the agricultural and horticultural offerings of that season. Not only do the
people of that town come out in full attendance, but there is also a sizeable
influx of devotees from other towns, pushing up at once the demand for various
services. The police force is out in full strength despite the all-is-forgiven
mood pervading the town. Women from orthodox families (and there are still
quite a few of these) who are meant to stay indoors have the sanction to step
out in their finery and go about the town. Bazaars, selling everything from a
pin to an elephant, spring up around the temple. Their business is brisk as
visitors take this opportunity to have a small holiday after visiting the
temple. These shops are veritable treasure troves. If you look patiently you
could probably pick up rare books and antiques at throwaway prices, as the
owners of these heirlooms are quite ignorant of their value! But there are also
the unscrupulous who cheat the gullible.We happened to run into one such
character named Sridhar, an antique shop owner, who warned us ominously that if
we did not take home a particular idol, our children would fall prey to the
evil eye of our enemies and come to grievous harm!
Srirangam is a riot of colour and sound all around, even
on non festival days. Exotic flowers, the fragrance of incense, devotional
songs blaring through the speakers, delectable offerings from way side eateries,
droves of noisy families and energetic and persistent vendors. To many
urbanized Hindus themselves, temple towns actually prove to be an assault on
the senses. But when you are done with all that, what remains essentially in
the mind is the devotion of the man who has pierced a needle through his tongue
and carries an idol on his shoulders without the slightest trace of pain, the
ecstasy on the face of another devotee as he pulls the ropes of the heavy
chariot, the quiet faith of the old lady who is praying fervently with her eyes
shut and the abject devotion in the tone of the devotee, singing praises of the
Lord in the most off key note without the slightest trace of awkwardness.
Every visit to a
temple and a visit during a temple festival, despite the chaos and corruption, is
a journey from the temporal to the spiritual - a journey which gives people the
strength to face life’s challenges. To the devout Hindu, God is his own
personal psychoanalyst and an effective one at that, for, at the end of each
session you have found the answers yourself! At Srirangam, as you see the jet
black idol of Lord Vishnu, in a reclining posture, it is difficult not to be
touched by the centuries of history and religion that surrounds it. To the
residents of Srirangam, Lord Ranganatha is a live entity. They address him in
the first person, they visit him as they would visit a family member, they draw
on him in times of distress and they share their joys with him, they dress him
up with love and they carry him around with care. When they visit the temple,
it is with a sense of ownership coupled with an unshakable faith that He is
there!
Truly, Srirangam offers the best thumbnail sketch of Indian
culture!
What you need
to know
How to get to
Srirangam
Srirangam is
closest to Trichy and Trichy is accessible from Chennai (320 kilometres away)
by rail, road and air. Trichy is also accessible by train from Bangalore,
Madurai and Trivandrum.
Trichy airport receives direct flights from Chennai and
Trivandrum, connecting flights from Bangalore as well as international flights
from Sharjah, Kuwait and Colombo. Kingfisher Airlines operates flights from
Bangalore and Chennai to Trichy. Paramount Airways operates flights from
Chennai to Trichy.
You can also drive into Trichy from Chennai (320
kilometres), Bangalore (345 kilometres) or Madurai (142 kilometres).
Where to stay
and what to eat
Trichy has a host of accommodation options from the
budget lodges to decent three star hotels. Hotel Sangam and The SRM Residency,
at the top end, are tested and proven! There are many small hotels and cool
bars which serve coffee, tea, cool drinks and the world famous South Indian
idlis and dosas. Remember, most bars here are non alcoholic!
Getting
Around
The most comfortable way to travel is to hire a car from
Trichy, visit Srirangam and the other temples around it and get back to your
hotel. This should cost you anywhere in the region of Rs.1200 to Rs 2000/ per
day depending on the distance covered. There are also buses that ply regularly
between Srirangam and Trichy, but they are likely to be hot and crowded.
However, if you really want a close up view of the locals, hop on to a bus.
They are generally friendly and forthcoming.
Best Time to
visit
The Srirangam Temple has festivals around the year, so
Trichy is a round-the-year destination. Summer runs from April to July and can
get unbearably hot. So the best time to visit Trichy is between August and
February.
Along the way
You can also visit the cigar factory at Woraiyur from
where Sir Winston Churchill used to requisition his cigars! Then there is the
128 year old Gandhi Market in the heart of Trichy, one of the most important
yet one of the oldest markets in Tamil Nadu – almost a heritage site.
While in
Rome…….
Srirangam, Trichy and many other towns of Tamil Nadu have
fairly state-of-art infrastructure, but the people continue to remain
conservative. Polite and decently clad visitors are always respected. It is prudent
not to ruffle local sensibilities!
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