Pancharanga Kshetram Pilgrimage -Worship Of Ranganatha Karnataka And Tamil Nadu - 02

 This post covers Sarangapani temple , Kumbakonam and Parimala Ranganathar temple, Mayavaram towns,Tamil Nadu. Both these  skhetrams are close to the holy Cauvery rive.

Sarangapani temple, Kumbakonam:

The Pancharanga Kshetram Sarangapani Temple in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu,  is a famous one in this area and is one of the Divya Desam shrines. It is called Madhya Aranga Kshetram among the Pancharanga shrines.

Sarangapani temple, Kumbakonam,  TN, lsmy.com

A  temple of great antiquity, it was built partly by  Medieval Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire and Madurai Nayaks. A big temple complex, the largest in this city  with tall granite boundary walls, the Rajagopuram (the main gateway) has eleven tiers and is 173 ft (53 m) tall.  There are five other smaller and attractive gopurams (towers) in the temple. The temple tank is Potramarai Kulam (Lotus tank) near the western entrance.
Kumbonam Sarangapani temple. Perumal's reclining pose.radha.name

Above image:  Lord Perumal’s reclining postures are different in different places. The one in the Kumbakonam Sarangapani temple is Uddhana Sayana.  Saint Thirmazhisai Azhwar in his Mangalasasanam hymn asked the Lord “Are you resting as your leg pain due to long walk in Rama avatar”. Perumal tried to get up to grace Azhwar. Azhwar asked Perumal to give the darshan in the half-waking up posture. He is not in a complete reclining posture here as such.................
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Among the 12 annual temple festivals, the chariot festival is the most prominent one in Tamil nadu in  the Tamil month of Chitrai (March–April). The twin temple chariots weigh 300 tons (660,000 lb) each  (renovated in 2007). They are next only in size to those at  Thygaraja temple (Aazhi Ther) in Thiruvarur and Andal Temple in Srivilliputhur. The chariots  festivals are held twice a year  during the Brahmmotsavam -April–May and other during Ratasaptami in January–February. 

The main deity is in pallikondar  (in reclining posture) with his head resting on his right hand. The sanctum has two entrances named as Utharayana Vaasal and Dhakshanayana Vaasal, each open for a six-month period. From 15 January to 15 July, Utharayanya Vaasal is opened  for Dharsan while Dhakshanaya Vaasal is opened during the other half of the year.
There are excellent stone carvings on the walls, displaying various styles of Bharatanatyam,  108 karanas form the basic movements; The Mahasamprokshanam (Kumbabishegam)  of the temple was held on 13 July 2015 with great fanfare and devotion. Among the festivals here  Akshaya Tritiyai – 12 Garuda Sevai Chaitra Brahma Utsavam celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April – May) are quite popular
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarangapani_temple,_Kumbakonam

Parimala Ranganathar Perumal Temple, Mayiladuthurai: 

.. Parimala Ranganathar temple,Mayavaram.·Templefolks

Parimala Ranganathar Perumal Temple in Thiruvilandur of Mayiladuthurai town  on the banks of the Cauvery river is the last one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams (also known as Andhiya Arangam). Here, the  temple follows  thenkalai Sampradayam (tradition). The food offerings (naivaidhyam)  are made  six times  during the day which is a rare temple puja ritual. 

Mayavaram perumala temple. /indianmandirs.blogspot

Above image:  Parimala Ranganathar Perumal Temple in Thiruvilandur of Mayiladuthurai town.  In this temple Brahma is sculptured on the wall.  You can see part of the lord taking a nap,...........
 moolavar parimala Ranganathar temple. Mayavaram.pinrest.com

Various rulers  medieval Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire and Madurai Nayaks contributed to the temple. . From 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m, six- kaala pujas are performed daily for the Moolavar. Here, the lord is believed to have blessed planet Chandra - moon god. In the sanctum, the main deity Parimala Ranganathar in Ananathasayanam posture (reclining), is a huge one -12 ft (3.7 m)  made of green stone facing east. The consort of the lord is Parimala Ranganayaki (also known as Chandrasaapa Vimochanavalli). Installed in the sanctum are  the images of river gods Cauvery and Ganga, as well as that of Santhana Gopalakrishnan. The other shrines are Yoga Narasimhar, Rama, Anjaneya, Surya and Chandra. Here, the dwajasthamba mandapam and the garuda mandapam are well sculptured and many of the small shrines. are in the Prakarams.

The well-known- festivals of this temple  are the Chitrai festival, the 10-day Aaandal Aadi festival (July–August), Vaikunta Ekadasi (Tamil Margazhi month: December - January), Makara Sank(ranthi (January) and Panguni Brahmotsavam (Panguni month: March - April).