Pancharanga Kshetrams — the Five Ranganatha Shrines of the Kaveri
பஞ்சரங்க க்ஷேத்திரங்கள்
The Pancharanga Kshetrams are five temples of Vishnu as Ranganatha, the lord reclining upon the serpent, strung along the course of the Kaveri from the uplands of Karnataka to the delta of Tamil Nadu. Srirangapatna, on its island near Mysuru, is the Adi Ranga, the first Ranga at the head of the river. Shivanasamudra, beside the great falls, is the Madhya Ranga, the middle. Srirangam, the vast island temple at Tiruchirappalli, is the Antya Ranga, the last and greatest — and the pilgrim who worships at these three in a single day completes the Triranga Darshana. To them the tradition joins two Divya Desams of the lower river: Appakkudathaan at Koviladi, just below Srirangam, where sweet appam is offered to the lord each night, and Parimala Ranganatha at Tiruindalur in the deep delta, the fragrant lord upon his green-stone couch. Together the five bind the whole length of the Kaveri into a single pilgrimage of the reclining Vishnu.