5/5 Venkata S. 2 years ago on Google
The
Sri
Ranganthaswami
Temple
in
Nellore,
Andhra
Pradesh,
India
is
a
Hindu
temple
dedicated
to
Lord
Ranganatha
a
resting
form
of
Lord
Vishnu.
This
temple,
also
called
Talpagiri
Ranganathaswami
temple
or
dakshina
srirangam
is
one
of
the
oldest
temples
in
Nellore.
It
is
located
on
the
banks
of
the
Penna
River
and
is
believed
to
have
been
constructed
in
the
12th
century.
The
Idol
of
The
Lord
Ranganatha
inside
the
Sanctum
Sanctorium,
reclining
on
his
conch
of
Adisesha
is
ten
feet
long;
with
Goddess
Sridevi
sitting
on
his
chest
and
Lord
Brahma
sitting
on
a
lotus
rising
from
the
Lord’s
navel.
At
the
Lord’s
feet
are
26-inch
high
deities
of
Sridevi
and
Bhudevi.
In
front
of
the
main
deity
are
the
Utsava
murthis
(festival
deities).
There
is
also
a
four-handed
seated
deity
of
Goddess
Sridevi
called
Ranganayaka
Devi.
One
of
the
interesting
things
about
the
temple
is
that
the
idols
face
west
towards
the
river
penna,
unlike
most
temples
where
the
deity
faces
towards
the
East.
The
second
among
the
‘Kavi
Trayam’
(Trinity
of
Poets),
Thikkana
Somayaji
translated
the
final
15
chapters
of
the
epic
Mahabharath
into
Telugu
in
this
Temple.
It
is
quoted
in
‘Aranya
Kanda’
of
the
epic
Ramayana
that
Lord
Rama
visited
this
place
as
part
of
this
sojourn.
There
are
caves
names
as
‘Aswathama
caves’
here
where
it
is
believed
that
Aswathama
still
lives
as
an
immoral
being,
doing
penance
for
absolving
his
sins,
following
a
curse
from
Lord
Krishna
for
his
actions
of
killing
the
sons
of
Draupadi
clandestinely
in
the
battlefield
of
Mahabharatha.
Just
before
the
main
entrance
of
the
temple
is
a
huge
tower,
called
Gaaligopuram,
which
literally
means
"wind
tower".
This
tower
is
approximately
70
feet
high
and
has
10
feet
of
gold
plated
vessels
on
top
of
it,
called
kalashams.
The
gopuram
was
constructed
by
Yeragudipati
Venkatachalam
panthulu.
Every
year
during
the
month
of
March–April
(which
varies
according
to
the
Indian
calendar)
a
grand
festival
is
celebrated.
These
are
called
Brahmotsavam.
Rarely
do
we
see
Lord
Vigneshwara
Swamy
at
Vaishnava
temple
a
few
temples
we
found
Lord
Vigneshwara
who
belongs
to
Saiva
/
Siva
family
in
Vaishnava
/
Vishnu
Temples.
Here
we
see
Vigneshwara's
idol
with
Vaishnava
identity,
clearly,
we
found
Thirunamam
at
Vigneshwara's
forehead.
In
my
20
years
of
the
spiritual
journey
I
saw
another
temple
of
Lord
Vigneshwara
at
Sri
Veera
Raghava
Perumal
Temple,
Thiruvallur,
Tamilnadu
this
is
one
of
the
Divya
Desam
of
108
Divya
Desam
temples.
Here
all
devotees
of
Lord
Vigneshwara
/
Ganapathi
once
should
visit
this
Sri
Talpagiri
Ranganatha
Swamy
Temple
at
Nellore
near
Penna
River
this
is
one
of
the
oldest
temples
in
the
Nellore
District
this
temple
is
also
known
as
Northern
Sri
Rangam.
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