Arangamanagarullane'. [ first sequence]

We crossed River Cauvery ,by a bridge and entered Sri Rangam, the place very dear to Vaishnavaites,who accord it the importance next only to Vaikuntam.

Sri Rangam is 5 kms away from Trichy .The reigning deity is Sri Ranganatha swamy ,who is enshrined in a huge temple complex covering 156 acres. Unlike, the Angorwat temple complex which has a larger sprawl ,this temple is the only biggest functioning temple in the world!One can see the Sri lankan coast from the top of the 236 feet high Rajagopuram !

All aazhwars and Acharyas since 5 th century AD have sung verses in praise of the resident deity,Vishnu who is in a reclining position over the celestial serpent Adhi sesha and fondly refer to this place as 'Bhooloka Vaikuntam'.

Sri Rama of Ishvakku dynasty is said to have consecrated the deity as is enshrined now in a golden vimana surrounded by lofty gopurams.Sri Rama on the eve of his departure to Ayodhya after his successful campaign in Lanka,handed over the idol to Vibheeshana for his keeping.after the roll of several centuries,the early Chola kings namely Killivalavan of 3 rd century BC developed the shrine and laid the foundations for the huge temple complex we see now.A galaxy of rulers, mainly the Chozhas , the wealthy and the rich and the Vijayanagar rulers contributed greatly in erecting nearly 21 towers and made generous grants for their maintenance through out the ages.In recent years the Rajagopuram dwarfing all other gopurams by its sheer height was built largely owing to the tireless efforts of the 44 th jeer [head] of Ahobila mutt.Ahobila mutt is a monastic order of Sri vaishnavaites headed only by persons who have led the life of a householder and have fulfilled all the attendant duties me and then renounce it and take up sanayas.

Thondaradi podi Aazhwar[ bhakta] of 8 the century AD spent all his life at SriRangam worshipping the deity and tending to the nearby garden ,whose leaves --tulsi and flowers bedeck the deities.He has described Sri Rangam in the following manner in one of his beautiful verses[45] all of which are seeped with bhakthi .


Vandinum murallum solai, mayilinam allum solai,

Kondal meedhanavum solaoi, kuil inam koovum solai,

Underkon amarum solai, anni thiruvarangam ennah ,

Mindar paindhunum soitrai villaki naikku idhumin neero!

meaning .---

Bees hum in the gardens. Peacocks dance in the gardens.

Clouds swirl over these gardens. And koels sing in these gardens.

Vishnu the leader of all Deva's resides in this enchanting garden called SriRangam .

The aazhwar ends the description of this sacred land surrounded on all sides by River Cauvery with the following injunction--

Those who don't acknowledge the residence of the lord of all 'Vishnu' in SriRangam,

Kindly throw away the food you are about to eat to dogs!