Lord Appala Rangan - The One Who Is Fond Of Naiyappam!


There are five Ranganatha temples, referred to as the Pancharangam or Pancharanga Kshethram where Maha Vishnu is in the form of Lord Ranganatha and is in a reclining posture (Bhujanga shayanam). These temples are:

Srirangapatnam temple, referred to as Adi Rangam (the first Rangam), situated on the banks of River Kaveri;

Srirangam in Tiruchirapally (Trichy), referred to as Adya Rangam (the last Rangam);

Appalarangam, referred to as Koviladi, situated in Tiruppernagar in Tamil Nadu;

Parimala Ranganatha Perumal temple, referred to as Mayuram, situated in Indalur, Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu and

Vatarangam temple situated in Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu

In this post, we will read about Appalarangam (Koviladi) which is one of the 108 Divya Desham temples of Maha Vishnu. The temple is situated in Koviladi village near Tiruchirapally (Trichy), Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu in the form of Appala Rangan in Bhujanga Shayanam, joined by Bhooma Devi and Kamalavalli Thayar. 

Legend has it that there was a king Ubhamanyu who, for some reasons, incurred the wrath of Rishi Durvasa and was cursed by him to lose his physical strength. The king was advised to feed one lakh people every day to get rid of his ailments. One day, an old man appeared before the king and requested him for some food. The king immediately arranged to feed the old man who kept on asking for more and more until he had eaten the food prepared to feed one lakh devotees for the day. The king was amazed by this. The old man said that eating Naiyappam (sweet made of rice, jaggery and ghee) would satisfy his hunger. Accordingly the king offered the sweet to the old man in a pot and realized to his great pleasure that the old man was none other than Maha Vishnu in disguise. By the grace of the Lord, the king's curse was reversed. Because of this incident, Maha Vishnu came to be called as Appakkudathaan in the temple. 

Koviladi temple is believed to be the place where Lord Markandeya was liberated off his curse of dying at the age of 16 years. This temple is the Mukti-sthal of Saint Periyalvar who attained liberation from mortal life here. Also, it is believed that Saint Nammalvar sang his last song in the Divya Prabhandam from this temple. This is the only Divya Desham where Naiyappam  is offered as Naivedya to the deity every night. The idol of Appala Ranga is seen holding the holy pot offered to him by King Ubhamanyu whose idol is present in the temple alongwith Rishi Durvasa's idol. 

People wanting progeny are believed to be blessed with the Lord's grace on praying here. People can also get rid of the adverse planetary effects by praying to Lord Appala Rangan. 

Sri Ranganathaaya Namaha!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stories From The Bhagavatham - Narasimha Avatar (Part 1)

Image
In the previous chapters of Bhagavatham, we read about how the doorkeepers of Vaikuntha, the abode of Maha Vishnu, had been cursed to take three births as the enemies of the lord. One of their births was as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, two Asuras who wreaked untold damage upon the earth and made life miserable for all the devotees of the Lord. Hiranyaksha was killed by Maha Vishnu in His form as Varaha. Angered by the killing of his brother, Hiranyakashipu issued a command to his followers. “My brother has been killed by Narayana. I must destroy him. Go to the earth and wherever you see people performing Tapas, Yajna and other spiritual activities, kill them. Narayana is said to be present at the places where people worship him. I do not want him to be worshipped! Destroy anyone who utters his name!” Eagerly following his orders, the asuras went on a rampage, destroying places of worship, obstructing spiritual activities and harming every one who proclaimed themselves to be a de...
Read more

Stories From The Bhagawatham - Prelude To An Avatar (Part 1)

Image
  While the Devas and Asuras were always rivals, once it so happened that the Devas lost all their strength and the Asuras began to conquer them. Worried about the future of the universe, the Devas approached Lord Brahma, the Creator to seek His help. Lord Brahma advised the Devas to seek Lord Narayana. The Devas, along with Lord Brahma approached Maha Vishnu and asked for His guidance. “I know what you need to win over the Asuras.” Maha Vishnu said. “First and foremost, you need to make peace with them. You need time to recover your strength and should avoid any fights. You need to obtain Amritha, the nectar of life which will grant immortality to you. To get this nectar, you need to churn the ocean using Mount Mandara as the churning staff and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. This churning will require powerful hands and you will need the assistance of the Asuras for the same.” Maha Vishnu also gave some advice to the Devas. “Whatever happens, agree with the Asuras for every...
Read more

Stories From The Bhagawatham - Gajendra Moksham

Image
  In a hill named Trikuta, there was a garden named Rituman which was a paradise in itself. One could find every kind of tree, flower, fruit and animal there. In this hill, lived an elephant with his herd. The elephant was the leader of the herd and is referred to by devotees as Gajendra, and this leela of Maha Vishnu is named as Gajendra Moksham. This story is very special. I grew up listening to this story and simply love it because for me, it stands as a validation that no cry or prayer goes unheard in the Universe. Once, feeling thirsty, Gajendra entered a lake with his herd. After drinking water, the herd bathed in the lake. Unaware to the elephants, a crocodile stealthily swam up to the herd and clutched the leg of Gajendra. The elephant trumpeted loudly in pain. But try as he might, he could not lift his leg from the jaws of the crocodile. Seeing their leader in trouble, the other elephants tried to help him, but all their efforts went in vain. The crocodile kept tryin...
Read more