Srirangam

Srirangam in Tamil Nadu near Trichy is first among the one hundred and eight Divya Desam. Eleven Azhwars had songs praising the presiding deity Sri Ranganathar of this kshetra. For worshippers of Sri Hari ‘koyil’ means only this kshetram. The temple complex is as big as the city itself, and the architecture of the complex is so, that the main deity is enclosed in seven ‘chutru’. The revered temple was the epicenter of dwita philosophy and has a long history.

Sriranga Mahathmiyam brings out in detail the origin of the great temple in Srirangam in Tamil Nadu. Brahma meditated upon Sri Vishnu and in His supreme trance received the gift of Vishnu's deity, "Ranga Vimana". The deity was in worship at Ayodhya after being passed on by Brahma to Viraja, Vaiswatha, Manu, Ishwaku, and finally to Sri Rama. Since the deity “Ranga Vimana” was in worship by the dynasty of Ishwaku He is known as “Kula Dhanam”. Sri Rama worshipped the deity for a long time at Ayodhya and gave the same to the King of Sri Lanka Sri Vibhishana. When Vibhishana near Trichy en route to Sri Lanka, the deity wanted to stay in Srirangam. Ranganathan, captivated by the devotion of a King called Dharma Varma, who was doing penance to have Lord Ranganathan permanently stay Srirangam, stayed put, promising to cast his benign glance eternally on Lanka. Hence the deity (in a reclining posture) faces south towards Lanka.

Many great saints following dwita philosophy had lived in this great kshetra, and Sri Raghottama Teertha was one among them. He was a great devotee of Sri Anjaneya and Sri Moola Rama. We will take a look at his devotion to Sri Anjaneya in this article.

Sri Raghottama Teertha

Sri Subba Batha and Gangabai were followers of Sri Madvacharya’s Dwita philosophy and were not blessed with any child. They prayed to Sri Hari and were blessed by Sri Hari with a son who became the 13th Pontiff in the lineage of Sri Uttaradhi Mutt. A brief Biography of the saint is given in our ‘Sri Hanumath Devotees’. Reading this Biography will give readers an idea of how Sri Hari had blessed this divine child to become one of the great saints.

He wrote Tippanis which bring out the nature and hidden meanings of the works of Sri Madvacharya and Sri Jayateertha. These Tippanis are called “Bhavabodha”. Brihadaranya Bhavabhoda, Nyaya Vivarana Bhavabhoda, Gitabhashya Bhavabhoda (Prameya Dipika Bhavabhoda), Vishnutatvanirnaya Bhavabhoda, Tattvaprakashika Bhavabhoda are the five Bhavabodhas written by him. This gave him the name Bhavabodhakararu.

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Biography of Sri Raghottama Teertha

Bhavabodhakararu

Sri Raghuttama Teertha had stayed in Srirangam writing these Bhavabodhas in East Uttari Vidhi from where he had uninterrupted darshan of ‘Ranga Vimanam’. Even today this place is kept with the same sanctity, held in reverence, and houses a Sri Anjaneya Swamy temple. A visit to this place which gave Sri Raghuttama Teertha the name Bhavabodhakararu will calm our mind and give us immense peace.

Sri Bhavabodha Anjaneya Swamy Temple

Sri Bhavabodha Anjaneya Swamy Temple is under the administrative control of Sri Uttradhi Mutt and is located at 194, East Uttara Street, Srirangam. The temple which came into existence during the 16th century is void of any big gopuram etc. Looking from the outside it will be seen as a simple house. Let us see the history of this simple and great temple.

Sri Raghuttama Teertha [1537-1595] wrote five grandhas known as Bhava Bhodha residing in this place in Srirangam. He wrote these scripts looking at the great Srirangam temple's Pranavakara vimanam. Sri Anjaneya Swamy stood beside Sri Teertha and Sri Teertha used to look to Sri Anjaneya Swamy for approval of what he had written. Sri Anjaneya used to nod His head in approval. After Sri Anjaneya had approved the script, Sri Teertharu proceeded further.

Sri Raghuttama Teertha had installed an idol of Sri Anjaneya Swamy, as seen during his writing of Sri Bhavabhodha, known as "Sri Bhavabhodha Anjaneya." As the Lord was a witness to the commentaries written by Sri Raghuttama, Sri Anjaneya is also known as "Gradha Shakshi Anjaneya."

Sri Bhavabodha Anjaneya Swamy

Deity Sri Anjaneya Swamy is about eight feet in height. He is seen with a well-curved ‘thruvachi’ in the background. All are made in a single stone. The idol is facing west while Sri Anjaneya is seen facing south. His left foot is slightly stretched forward than the right foot. Nupur and Thandai adores the lotus feet. Kacham worn by him is held in the strong tighs. The kacham is held tightly in the hip by the belts known as ‘kati sutra’ made of dharpam. His hips are slightly bent which makes his standing posture graceful. His left hand is seen resting in the clavicle and holding the steam of the ‘sowganthika’ flower. The flower itself is seen raised along with His left arm. His stretched right hand is seen in ‘abhaya mudra’. He is seen as ‘mowji yagopaveetham’ adoring bosom. He is wearing two malas and in one of the malas resting on His bosom is a dollar with Sri Rama Parivar embossed. Both arms are adorned with ‘angatham’ on the forearm, and ‘kankan’ on the wrist. ‘Bhuja valayam’ is seen falling from the shoulders to the forearms. His long ears are seen wearing ‘kundal’ and ‘karna pushpam’. His curly hair is seen neatly held by a decorative ‘kesa bhadha’, falling through the shoulder, over His right forearm. Lord's tail is raised and seen over His head with a small bent at the end with a bell. His golden hue eyes are showering karunyam and His kataksham is mesmarising.

The temple complex

From the East Uttara Vedhi, the temple is seen as an old house with large rooms. If one enters and goes past the rooms, a well-maintained garden with a Tulsi Madam in the middle is seen. At the end of the garden, some stairs lead to the first floor of the building. There is a room in which Sri Anjaneya Swamy installed by Sri Raghuttama Teertha is present. This is the room where Sri Teertha wrote the five Bhava Bhodhas. A painting on the wall depicting this event is present in the room.

Coming out of the temple, look for stares that can take you to the terrace. A few steps above, from the terrace, have a clear view of the 'Pranavakara Vimanam' and 'Vallai Gopuram’.

 

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SRI HANUMAN THINKS DIFFERENTLY, THINKS FAST
THINKS AHEAD AND ACTS FOR SURE

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Ed [December 2013]
Updates: [Jan 2025]

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