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.
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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 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.
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
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