THRUVARANGAM (SRIRANGAM)

āyiram viritteḻu talaiyuṭai aruntiṟaṟ pāyaṟ paḷḷip palartoḻu tētta viritiraik kāviri viyaṉperu turuttit tiruvamar mārpaṉ kiṭanta vaṇṇamum On a magnificent cot having a thousand heads spread out, worshipped and praised by many, in an islet surrounded by Kaveri with bellowing waves, is the lying posture of the one who has Lakshmi sitting in his chest This is my second post about a place which is the residance of god of gods and the supreme all creatures , the Lord Vishnu (Sree ranganathar). It is Srirangam temple, located on an island of river Cauvery, Srirangam, Thiruchirapally, Tamilnadu. It is constructed in dravisian style of architecture. Srirangam, the premier Vaishnava temple in South India is the first and foremost among the 108 Vaishnava divyadesas and is treated as great Vykuntam(the place where Lord Vishnu resides) by all vishnavas around the world. In the Vaishnava parlance the term "KOIL" signifies this temple only. It is praised by many Alwars(the great vaishnava saints) in many divya prabandhas. It is the biggest temple in India occupying an area of 156 acres (631,000 m²) with a perimeter of 4,116m (10,710 feet) and is one of the largest relegious complexes of the world.  It is listed as biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world.    It has seven Prakaras or enclosures or Tiru Veedhis. These enclosures are formed by thick and huge rampart walls which run round the sanctum. The total length of these seven walls is 32,592 feet or over six miles. These temple has 21 gopurams (towers), 39 pavilions, fifty shrines, Ayiram kaal mandapam (a hall of 1000 pillars) and several small water bodies inside. There are 21 gopurams (tower gateways), among which the towering 236-feet Rajagopuram (shrine of the main gateway) is the second tallest temple tower in Asia. The 73m high 13- tiered rajagopuram was built in 1987 by Ahobila Mutt and dominates the landscape for miles around, while the remaining 20 gopurams were built between the 14th and 17th centuries. The gopurams have pronounced projections in the middle of the long sides, generally with openings on each of the successive levels. The Vellai gopura (white tower) on the east side of the fourth enclosure has a steep pyramidal superstructure that reaches a height of almost 44m. The rajagopuram of srirangam is such a tall structure taht it is seen from Srilanka The Raja gopuram of Srirangam temple The Vellai Gopuram Structure The view of temple structure It has a main shrine where the Lord (Ranganatha) is found in a reclining posture in his serpent bed. There are also sub shrines for Vishvaksena, Rama, Krishna, Nachiyar, Chakratalvar, Garuda, Hanuman, Andal etc. and for all the alvars and the acharyas upto Vedanta Desika within the precincts. The vimanam (shrine over the sanctum sanctorum), the Ranga vimana is shaped like omkara (om symbol) and is plated with gold. Sri Ranganthar reclines on Adisesha, the coiled serpent, and at his feet lies Ranganayaki. Images of Vibhishana, Brahma, Hanuman, Garuda, the symbols of Vishnu – conch and discuss are seen inside the sanctum. The golden Vimanam of temple where main diety reside Sriranga Mahathmiyam is the compilation of religious accounts of the temple, detailing the origins of its greatness. According to it, Brahma, the Hindu God of creation in Hindu Puranas was once in a state of deep meditation and in His supreme trance received the gift of the Vishnu's idol, "Ranga Vimana". He was told by god that there would be seven other appearances of such idols on earth – Srirangam, Srimushnam, Venkatadri (Tirumala), Saligram (Muktinath), Naimisaranya, Totadri, Pushkara and Badrinath. The idol was then passed on by Brahma to Viraja, Vaiswatha, Manu, Ishwaku and finally to Rama. Rama, himself an Avatar of Vishnu, worshipped the idol for a long time, and when he returned victoriously from Sri Lanka after destroying Ravana, he gave it to King Vibhishana as a token of appreciation for the latter's support for Rama against his own brother, Ravana. When Vibhishana was going via Trichy en route to Sri Lanka, the deity wanted to stay in Srirangam. Ranganatha, captivated by the devotion of a King called Dharma Varma, who was doing penance to have Lord Ranganatha to permanently stay Srirangam, stayed put, promising to cast his benign glance eternally on Lanka. Hence it is that the deity (in a reclining posture) faces South Sriranganathar the main diety of temple Kaveree Viraja Seyam Vaikuntam Rangamandiram Sa Vasudevo Pangeshah Pratyaksham Paramam Padam | Vimanam Pranavakaram Vedasrungam Mahadhbhutham Srirangasayee Bhagavan Pranavarthaprakasakah || The river Kaveri is the very same river Viraja that eternally flows in Vaikunta, Srirangam Temple is verily Vaikuntam itself, the Abode of Lord Vishnu where he sits in all splendour and majesty in the company of Nityasuris. The Lord of Arangam, is none but Vasudeva, the Primeval Lord Himself. The Vimana is verily the external Paramapada itself. The Vimana is in the form of the Pranava (the life sustaining mantra). The four towers are marvelously akin to the four Vedas and the Lord, Sri Rangasayee is expounding the import of the Pranava. Apart from the presiding deity Lord Ranganathar, the temple complex comprises of many other sannathis and about 53 upa-sannathis. The other sannathis in the temple are: Thayar Sannathi Chakkarathazwar Sannathi Udayavar (Ramanujar Sannathi) Garudalwar Sannathi Thanvanthiri Sannathi Hygrevar Sannathi Sriranganathar sriranganathar sreee ranganayaki devi Seven gopuram structures in a line Rathayatra at a festival held in temple premises The plan of Srirangam temple Srirangam temple on banks of river Cauvery Sculptures inside the temple Hall or 1000 pillars with sculptures of riding horses

TAJ MAHAL- A TEAR DROP  ON THE FACE OF ETERNITY

Being my first post in my new blog, I have decided to start with India's first and greatest wonder TAJMAHAL. 

It is the dream of every beauty lover to be over there atleast once in his life..

It is the dream of every photographer to shoot it once in his life

and it is the dream of every lover to have a hug at this great monument..

As a symbol of beauty and love..

and it is TAJMAHAL..

It is described as "A tear drop on the face of eternity "  by Ravindranath Tagore

An English poet Sir Edwin Arnold described it as "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones."

and many poets described it in many ways...

It is built by the emperor Shah Jahan as a symbol of love for his wife Mumtaj. 

It was designed by an architect from Iran who was one of the well-known and famous Islamic architects and Taj Mahal being the symbol of endless love, its architecture is one of the best and appreciated which becomes an inspiration for the visitors. The whole building made of white marble shines during the day and night enhancing the beauty of architecture on which it is built. 

The great dome of Taj Mahal covers the gateway and it is enclosed in the four minarets which are decorated adding immense beauty to the building. One of the architectural facts about Taj Mahal is that if you having a look at the great wonder from near or from a certain distance, you will get to see to the dome first and this is because the four minarets enclosing Taj Mahal are made smaller in size.

The work and construction of Taj Mahal was not a simple task but it took hard work of thousands of workers and the millions of rupees were consumed. All the tasks from designing of Taj Mahal till the final work were done by specialized and well-known experts and Muslim craftsmen.

Sandstone was used to make the base of the Taj Mahal providing strong foundation to the great and huge building. Emperor was to be buried beside the queen and therefore the casket of emperor became an irregular design in the complete symmetrical design of Taj Mahal.

The view of Taj Mahal from different sides makes it symbolic to different views of beauty of love. The colors of river and the sun and moon in the background reflect on the building changes the view of Taj which is made of white marble shining across the river. With the change in colors of sky and with the sun rising and sinking and moon coming, as the colors change along with that changes the color of viewing Taj Mahal. The construction with white marble and the symmetrical architecture makes it sparkle and shine in all seasons all day and night. The tomb stands as a focused building of the whole complex and surrounding gardens and mosque adding to its beauty.

The Taj Mahal stands at a height of more than two hundred feet and everything inside the building is decorated with calligraphy, designed flowers and precious gems. The passages of Holy Quran on the walls add more beauty and Islamic decoration is included on the chambers. The mosque is of the most important part of Taj Mahal which is built from red sandstone and has outstanding domes.

It is a masterpiece of architecture which is perfect in every form and its prestigious architecture makes it a part of a cultural heritage and the maintenance of Taj Mahal has been one of the major concerns of Indians since it brings many tourists to this place attracted to the charm of the great mausoleum of the wife of emperor.

 TAJMAHAL ON THE BANKS OF YAMUNA

THE ENTRANCE TO THE MONUMENT BEAUTIFULLY CARVED IN MARBEL

THE TOMBS OF SHAH JAHAN AND MUMTAJ

BEAUTIFUL CARVINGS ON THE WALL

PAINTINGS OF SHAH JAHAN AND MUMTAJ

REPLICA OF TAJ IN YAMUNA

 A LOVE COUPLE INFRONT OF SYMBOL OF LOVE