Visit to Sri Ranganathar Kovil, Srirangam, and Mariyamman Kovil, Samayapuram

The 2^nd half of the day – we wanted to take Darshan of Sri Ranganathar, who resides at Srirangam and Samayapuram Mariamman.

One of my friends, residing at Trichy cautions me about visiting Srirangam Temple - that because of festive season, there will be crowd. Hence, he says, "Buy the Rs. 150/- darshan ticket, get your Darshan done and you can be done with it". He says there will be a rush at Samaya Puram Mariamman Temple. However, we have to be a bit watchful as the Srirangam temple will close the gates to the sanctum sanctorum by 5:30 p.m. sharp. It will open later in the evening, but our time will be wasted.

We head to Srirangam and enter from the North Gate. From the North Gate, because other places, car parking is a problem. And then we go around the huge temple area with a focus on beating the 5:30 pm deadline. There is a sparse crowd and we all enter into the normal line (and don't buy the special darshan ticket) - and though there was a bit of a scare that we might not make it. However, Sri Ranganathar decides that we will get his darshan. We enter the Sanctum Sanctorum around 5:20 pm or thereabouts and have a lovely view of the beautiful and divine Vigraha. We all pray to him, take his blessings and come out.

And when we start paying attention to the various Gopurams in the precinct of Sri Ranganathar, our heart gets captivated by the sheer beauty, grace and the marvelous designs of this temple. It is just awe-inspiring and the photographs, honestly, can’t do justice. At the best, one can call them trailers. The real movie is out there.

Some pictures of Sri Ranganathar Temple: 

I have questions like, who created these designs and the motifs or themes that should be displayed on top of each Gopuram? Who decided on the colours? How long did it take to create these? Who was the architect who designed the Kovil premises? Who were the people who actually built them? My heart is just enthralled. This is my 3^rd visit to this temple in the last 5 years. I feel that I have to spend at least a few hours rather than the short time for which I came here. 

My questions get further amplified when I look at the imposing, intricate Gopuram (taken in 2018). The heart and mind say, “Govinda Govinda” in unison – one forgets everything else when one is in the presence of Emperumal Sri Ranganathar. What a symmetrical design that one sees !! Just brilliant. And ethereal. Calms the mind and senses.

Among all the Gopurams, the following one stands out:

The story of the White Gopuram:  Srirangam was attacked by the Sultanate army in 1323 during the Tamil month of Vaikasi. About 12,000 residents of Srirangam lost their lives defending the temple. The army attacked the temple and robbed the temple of Lord Ranganatha's jewels and gold. The army also tried to confiscate Nampermal's idol 'Avalanj', which they believed was made of pure gold. They searched for an idol, but Vaishnavite's Acharya, Pilailokacharya, took it away and fled to Madurai.

(The idol of Namperumal, who left Srirangam in 1323, did not return until 1371.) and launched a large-scale search for Namperumal.

Fearing that the army would capture Acharya and the idol, Vellayi, a Devdasi, danced in front of the corps commander to buy time for hours together to enable Pilairokacharya to escape with the idol. Finally, she lured him to the top of the gopuram. Once up there, Vellayi pushed the Sultan down to death. Immediately after, she was overcome with guilt for having cheated somebody to death. She too then jumped down from the gopuram to her death.

Kempanna, the leader of the Vijayanagara army, He named the tower after Vellayi, hailing her sacrifice and painted it white in her memory.  The Gopuram, as can be seen, is still painted white in her memory. It distinctly stands out among the 21 gopurams of the temple^1.2.

It gives goosebumps to even think that ordinary people have contributed to preserving our culture and legacy from the invaders of India. It is because of people like her that Sanatana Dharma has continued to flourish and become eternal.

The final visit was to the Samayapuram Mariamman Temple. Over the last 5 years, whenever I have visited Trichy, took the blessings of Amman without fail. This time was no different. Devi Mariamman has been worshipped by devotees for a long time. There are various legends about this temple - but the common one that emerges is that the Moola Vigraha was earlier located at Srirangam Temple. Then it was moved either because one of the priests of Srirangam Temple was falling ill or based on the advice of a Sanyasi. Apparently, this vigraha got misplaced or was lying somewhere till it got discovered.

A photo from Samayapuram temple – painted on the ceiling.

There is also a story that I am reproducing, "During the 17th century, the region of Trichy was part of the Madurai Nayak kingdom. An army battalion was stationed at Samayapuram, which at that point in time was called Vikramapuram. The chieftains noticed Mahaa Maayi in the neem forest. They appealed to her for victory in the wars and also vowed that they would build a temple for her if they were bestowed with her grace and victory. Vijayaranga Chokanatha Nayakkar, the grandson of Rani Mangammal is supposed to have built the temple." ³

We went in the evening, and while we were given to understand that there will be a lot of rush but we found no crowd at all. When we went (Oct 2022), some repair works were going on outside the temple and hence, we had to go through a makeshift route and were continuously chased/harangued by a lady who wanted us to buy something for Amman. Honestly, while I respect everyone and their needs for living, as a traveler, it becomes difficult to carry lots of stuff. We don't have space to carry things from the shopkeepers from the shops near any temple area. Eventually, we don't buy anything - go inside, pray to Amman, and come out of the temple.

Some thoughts: This temple, am sure, is collecting / getting huge amounts of donations. Why can't it be used to make good pathways and proper signage for the devotees? Is it too difficult a task for the Trustees to do this? Ugly-looking structures were erected at many places. We did not take any photos as it was getting dark.

Finished the day at the Hotel itself, where we had dinner and we retire for the day that brings us to the closure of Part – II.

References

1. https://isharethese.com/vellayi-gopuram-srirangam-tamil-nadu/
2. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/the-legend-of-vellayi/article2774700.ece
3. https://www.hindu-blog.com/2020/06/samayapuram-amman-history-samayapuram.html

All the images are provided by the author.