Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at Sri Ranganathaswamy and Ramanathaswamy temples in Tamil Nadu and took a holy dip at the Rameshwaram ‘Angi Teertha’ beach.
PM Modi’s visit to Vaishnav and Shaiva temples comes just two days before the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of the Lord in Uttar Pradesh. Modi had offered prayers at temples in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala earlier in the week.
On Saturday, Modi offered prayers at the famous Sri Rangam temple in Tiruchirappalli district and later at the Ramanathaswamy temple in southern Ramanathapuram district. While the first is a Vaishnav temple, the second is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The PM heard the recitation of ‘Kamba’ Ramayana by scholars at Sri Rangam, the ancient temple associated with Ramayana.
The first Prime Minister to visit the Srirangam temple, he wore an immaculate ‘veshti’ (dhoti) and an angavastram (a shawl) and offered prayers with folded hands at the shrine of Lord Vishnu.
Modi prayed to Sri Ranganathaswamy and was presented with ‘Sadri’ (crown, symbolizing the blessings of Lord Vishnu) by the temple priests. On his arrival, he was given a ceremonial ‘Purna Kumbh’ welcome by the priests amidst chanting of Vedic mantras.
He also fed food to the temple elephant, which brought him blessings.
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister had offered prayers at the historic Veerabhadra temple in Andhra Pradesh, which has immense significance with the Jatayu episode in the Ramayana, in the Sathya Sai district of that state. Later, he offered prayers at Thriprayar Sri Ramaswamy Temple in Thrissur, Kerala. This temple is famous for being part of the pilgrimage to the abode of Lord Rama and his brothers.
Wearing a Rudraksha rosary, Modi offered prayers at the state’s ancient Shiva temple, Ramanathaswamy Temple. The PM took a dip at the Agni Tirtha beach besides the 22 shrines inside the temple complex. Devotees consider taking a dip in these shrines an auspicious, spiritual activity.
The 22 shrines are natural springs, and each of them is known as ‘Nazhi Kinaru’ (well) in Tamil.
Modi was given traditional honors by the priests and also took part in the bhajans organized at the temple.
The Srirangam temple has religious and Tamil literary connections to the Ramayana.
According to religious scholars, the idol of Sri Ranganathaswamy, a form of Vishnu, was originally worshiped here by Lord Rama and his ancestors.
When Vibhishana asked for a valuable gift from Shri Ram, the Lord presented him this idol and asked him to worship it.
Under the supervision of Vibhishana, the idol of Lord Ranganatha was installed in the Sri Rangam temple as per the divine will.
Actually, it is being seen that Modi has sought blessings from Shri Ram’s worshiper Ranganathaswamy for the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Considered to be the first of the 108 ‘Divya Desam’ pilgrimage sites, Sri Rangam Temple is also known as ‘Bolooga Vaikuntham’ or ‘Vaikuntham on Earth’. Vaikuntam is the eternal abode of Lord Vishnu.
The Ramanathaswamy temple located in Pamban or Rameshwaram Island in Ramanathapuram district also has a connection with the Ramayana, as the Shiva Linga here was installed by Sri Rama. Lord Ram and Sita Devi had prayed here. Ram Setu (Adam’s Bridge) is also a popular and famous link.
One of the ancient temples, Ramanathaswamy Temple is a popular pilgrimage site and the long, third corridor of the temple is very famous.
Archivist S. Rameshwaram Temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples and Swami Vivekananda prayed at this temple in 1897.
Earlier, Modi was given a warm welcome in both the towns as BJP supporters and locals lined up on both sides of the roads, showering flower petals and at some places cheering him by raising slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. Was doing. A smiling Modi was seen waving at people and greeting them with folded hands, sometimes standing on the footboard of his car.
The Prime Minister will stay here in Ramakrishna mourning and is going to go to Dhanushkodi on Sunday.
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