SRIRANGAM
- ART AND CULTURE
News: The
significance of Srirangam
What's
in the news?
●
Of the 108 Srivaishnava divyadesa
kshetras, eight are swayamvyaktha kshetras.
●
That is, God manifested Himself at His
desire. Saligramam, Naimisaranyam, Badrikasramam and Pushkar are in the north,
and Srirangam, Srimushnam, Thiruvenkatam, and Vanamamalai are in the south.
●
Srirangam is the first among all the
kshetras.
Srirangam
Temple:
●
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, also known as
Thiruvaranga Tirupati, is one of the most celebrated Vaishnava temples in the
country, dedicated to Ranganatha, a
reclining form of Hindu deity, Vishnu.
Location:
●
This sacred centre of pilgrimage,
dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is situated in a serene location on the island of
Srirangam.
●
Bounded
by two rivers, Cauvery and Kollidam (a tributary of Cauvery), it is considered
the foremost among the 108 Vishnu and Lakshmi temples (Divya desams).
Temple
Architecture:
●
The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is built in
the Dravidian style of architecture
and is spread over 6,795,360 Square Feet.
●
Some scholars consider it the largest
functioning temple in the world, and it is often ranked among the world's
largest religious complexes such as the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, Angkor
Wat in Cambodia, Borobudur in Indonesia, Machu Picchu in Peru and the Vatican
City.
●
One unique feature of the Srirangam
Temple-cum-Township layout is the collinear formation of consecrated mini-Mandapams housing the blessed feet
of the Lord through the seven enclosures, starting from the eastern outer wall
of the sanctuary.
●
The Inner
Court comprises the inner three enclosures, with the Arya-bhata and the
Parama-pada gates defining the south-north axis.
●
The rest of the enclosures occupy the
entire outer area, which is known as the Outer Court.
●
It was one of the hubs of the early Bhakti movement with a devotional
singing and dance tradition, but this tradition stopped during the 14th century
and was revived in a limited way much later.
UNESCO
World Heritage Site:
●
The temple complex has been nominated as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is in UNESCO's tentative list.
●
In 2017, the temple won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Merit 2017 for
cultural heritage conservation, making it the first temple in Tamil Nadu to
receive the award from UNESCO