Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna
ಶ್ರೀ ರಂಗನಾಥಸ್ವಾಮಿ ದೇವಾಲಯ, ಶ್ರೀರಂಗಪಟ್ಟಣ
Why this temple matters
On an island in the Kaveri near Mysuru, Vishnu reclines as Ranganatha in the Adi Ranga — the first of the three great Rangas of the river. Founded by the Western Gangas and raised by the Hoysalas and Vijayanagara, it is the upstream head of the chain of five Ranganatha shrines that ends at Srirangam.
History
Srirangapatna stands on an island in the Kaveri a short way from Mysuru, and takes its very name from the lord Ranganatha who reclines at its heart. The temple is honoured as the Adi Ranga — the first Ranga — the upstream head of the five Ranganatha shrines of the river. Tradition holds that it was founded under the Western Ganga kings in the 9th century, and it was enlarged in turn by the Hoysalas and the emperors of Vijayanagara. In later centuries the island became a fortress capital of the Mysore rulers, yet through every change of power the reclining lord remained the still centre of the place.
Architecture
The temple is built in the Dravidian manner, carrying the marks of the Hoysala and Vijayanagara ages in its pillared halls and gateway tower. The sanctum holds the long form of Ranganatha reclining upon the coils of the serpent Adisesha, with the Goddess Ranganayaki in her own shrine. Sculptured pillars and mandapas open before the sanctum, and the island setting — the river encircling the shrine and its old fortress town — gives the temple its particular grandeur.
Legends
As the Adi Ranga, Srirangapatna opens the sacred sequence of the river's Rangas — Adi at the head, Madhya at Shivanasamudra, and Antya at Srirangam — the three that the devout seek to worship in a single day in the Triranga Darshana. The reclining posture of the lord, asleep upon the endless serpent on the ocean of milk, is the image of Vishnu holding the universe within his rest, and the Kaveri that wraps the island is honoured as the earthly likeness of that cosmic sea.
Festivals
The temple keeps the great Vaishnava festivals through the year — Vaikunta Ekadashi in the cold months, the birth-star days of the lord, and the Brahmotsavam with its procession through the island town. The car festival and the float festival on the river draw pilgrims from across the old Mysore country, and the days of the Triranga pilgrimage are especially thronged.
The Experience
Srirangapatna rewards the pilgrim with the great reclining lord, the encircling river, and the layered history of an island that was both a shrine and a fortress capital. It lies close to Mysuru on the road toward Bengaluru, an easy visit on the way to the temple cities of the plateau, and it stands at the head of the Pancharanga pilgrimage that follows the Kaveri all the way down to Srirangam.