Sarangapani Temple - A Kingdom Of Legends And Architectural Wonders!



The 108 Divya Desham temples of Maha Vishnu have been mentioned in the outstanding work of Naalaayira Divya Prabhandham (Naalaayiram - 4000, Divya - divine and Prabhandham - verses) which were composed by the Alwars, 12 poet saints who are considered among the prime devotees of Maha Vishnu. The temple which we are going to read about in this post, is said to be the place where the presiding deity advised Nathamuni, another devotee of Maha Vishnu to compile all the 4000 verses together. 

The temple is none other than Sarangapani temple, situated in Kumbakonam. It is the largest Vishnu temple of Kumbakonam and has the tallest gopuram (temple-tower) in the town. The presiding deity is Maha Vishnu in the form of Lord Sarangapani and His consort is Devi Komalavalli Thaayar. The deity is in reclining posture, His head resting on His right hand. 

Sage Bhrigu once visited Vaikuntham to meet Maha Vishnu. Seeing the Lord engrossed in some other work, the sage lost his temper and kicked Maha Vishnu on His chest. While the Lord handled this disrespect calmly, His consort, Devi Mahalakshmi was angered. It is believed that the Devi resides near the chest of Maha Vishnu and by kicking the Lord there, Sage Bhrigu had insulted the abode of the Devi too. Angry and hurt, the Devi left Vaikuntham. Maha Vishnu too left Vaikuntham in search of the Devi.

Sage Bhrigu repented his actions and requested the Lord to grant him the opportunity to become a father to Devi Mahalakshmi through a mortal birth. The Lord obliged and accordingly, Sage Bhrigu took mortal birth as Sage Hemarishi. The sage found the Devi amidst thousand lotuses and raised her as his daughter. He undertook severe penance to get Maha Vishnu to wed his daughter. When the time came for marriage, Maha Vishnu descended to earth and married the Devi, referred to as Kamalaavalli since She was found amongst lotuses. The pond in which Devi was found is named as Potramarai and is the holy teerth of the said temple. 

There is another legend associated with this temple. It is said that a staunch devotee of Maha Vishnu lived in devotion to the deity of the temple, all his life. When old age set in, his concern was, who would perform his last rituals for him, as he was alone. When he passed away, it is believed that Lord Sarangapani Himself performed the last rituals for His devotee at this temple. This ritual is still performed annually and this is one of those rare temples of Maha Vishnu where rituals pertaining to death are performed. 

In every temple there are two idols of the presiding deity - one is called Moolavar, the presiding deity and other is called Utsavar, the deity which is lead out in festive processions and to which all rituals are performed outside the sanctum sanctorum. This temple is called Ubhaya Pradhana Kshetram as both the Moolavar and Utsavar are given the same importance. There is an interesting legend about the presiding deity of this temple. One of the Alwars - Thirumangai Alwar, was singing a song dedicated to Lord Sarangapani. In his song, he requested the Lord to rise from His reclining position. The deity rose and kept on rising until He had reached huge dimensions. Thirumangai Alwar had to request the deity to stop His ascend. This is how the currently reclining position of the Lord came to be. 

There is a major festival called as Mahamaham which is celebrated once in 12 years in Kumbakonam. It is believed that during this time, holy waters of nine rivers - Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Kaveri and Sarayu confluence together in a 20-acre tank in the city, called as Mahamaham tank. On the day of the festival, it is believed that Lord Shiva and all the nine river-goddesses assemble here and bless the holy water. This festival is celebrated by five Vishnu-temples in the town, of which, Sarangapani temple is one. 

An impressive Rajagopuram (main tower) of 11 tiers, the sanctum sanctorum in the style of a chariot, the 100-pillared hall that leads to the inner sanctum - these are some of the architectural wonders of this temple. 

Om Vishnave Namaha! Om Devyai Namaha!

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