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Pancharanga Kshetrams or Pancharangams ("five Rangams or Ranganathas") is a group of five sacred Hindu temples, dedicated to Ranganatha, a form of the god Vishnu, on the banks of the Kaveri River. The five Pancharanga Kshetrams in the order of their successive locations, on the banks of the Kaveri River are: The Srirangapatnam called the Adi Ranga, the first temple on the banks of the Kaveri River from the upstream side; the Srirangam (island in Tiruchirappalli) in Tamil Nadu known as Adya Ranga (the last temple), Appalarangam or Koviladi at Tiurppernagar in Tamil Nadu, Parimala Ranganatha Perumal Temple or Mayuram at Indalur, Mayiladuthurai and Vatarangam at Sirkazhi. The Sarangapani temple at Kumbakonam is mentioned in place of Vatarangam in some references. ==Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple (Srirangam)== (詳細はSrirangam (Adya Ranga) island, which appears like a conch in shape, one of the adornments in Vishnu's hands. In this temple, Ranganatha in a reclining position resting on the bed of Shesha and is seen with his consort Ranganayaki. There are many legends connected with the founding of the temple but the most narrated one is that the creator god Brahma was involved in doing tapas (meditation) here when the central icon of Ranganatha emerged from the cosmic milky ocean in a celestial flying craft. Brahma then took this image to his abode Satyaloka in the heavens where he offered daily puja. This was then brought to Ayodhya by King Ikshvaku after several hundred years of penance, and was passed down over generations to Ikshvaku's descendant Rama, an avatar of Vishnu and hero of the epic ''Ramayana''. Rama then presented it to Vibhishana, who assisted him in killing the demon-king of Lanka and Vibhishana's brother, Ravana. However, when Vibhishana was taking the image to Lanka (modern-day Sri Lanka), he stopped en-route on the banks of the Kaveri to bathe at Srirangam, and thereafter the deity wished to dwell there itself, and since then it is under continuous worship at this location. Since Vibhishana was very forlorn by the decision of the Lord, Ranganatha faces south towards Lanka to placate Vibhishana. One more legend mentioned is that river goddess Kaveri requested Ranganatha to reside at Srirangam. The temple is also known for the legend of Andal, a female Alvar saint of the Sri Vaishnava sect. She got married symbolically to the Ranganatha icon (Vishnu) as per her deep desire. The marriage took place in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple when Andal (said to be an incarnation of goddess Lakshmi) merged with the image, and became a part of Ranganatha. Another incident related to the deity of this temple is of a Vaishnava Saint (Alvar) who lived in 7th century and composed hymns in praise of the Lord. He was born in a village called Mannargudi on the banks of the Kaveri River and was a staunch devotee of lord Ranganatha of Srirnagam. He came to live in Srirangam and used to make garlands for the deity. However, he fell in love with a devadasi and he took to wrong deeds. Finally, Lord Ranganatha came to his rescue and then he was given the name of Thondaradippodi Alvar, (meaning: "dust at the feet of the lord"). Thereafter, he composed 54 hymns in praise of the Lord, which have become part of Nalayiraprabhandam (4000 hymns in praise of the Lord). The temple location is in an island formed by the Kaveri River and the stream Kollidam joining it, to bifurcate it and again joining a few miles downstream of the island. Its construction, in Dravidian architectural style, is attributed to the period of Udayan Setupathi in association with Sri Lankan prince Pararaja Sekara, in 1414; however, the main sanctuary where the idol is deified dates to 11th century and the surrounding enclosures and pavilions belong mostly to the 17th and 18th centuries. It took 350 years to complete with 35 villages granted for its maintenance. The sanctum sanctorum, square in shape, built with in circular shrine, is encircled by seven tier of walls of height) spaced at , with outer wall measuring nearly . There are twenty one towers or “gopurams” (some of them unfinished) and each forming a common gated entry and all of similar design; the 13- tiered ''rajagopuram'', or chief tower, on the western side, in height (''illustration''), was built in 1987 by Ahobila Mutt and dominates the landscape for miles around. There are many pavilions and shrines within the complex an ''Ayiram kaal mandapam'' (a hall of 1000 pillars of carved granite and decorated with carvings) and several small water tanks (two important ones for pilgrims to bathe are Agni Thirta and Kodi Tirtha) inside. The corridors and pillars are huge and elegantly carved. The corridors are about in length with width varying from with a height of from the floor to the ceiling. The total area covered by the temple precincts measures x. Red and gray granite and sienite have been used in pavements, stairways and lower part of walls. The temple has decorations of carved griffins, idols of gods and men and animals (tigers). The space between the walls of the temple complex has the well planned complete city of Srirangam with roads and houses. It is stated to be the largest temple in South India. Vaikunta Ekadashi festival is an important event in the temple premises and is said to be a celebration on the occasion of Ekadashi goddess who is said to have defeated asuras or demons. Parasara Batttar, well known poet of the times who has written a commentary on ''Vishnu Sahasranama'' (thousand names of Lord Vishnu) has noted the beautiful image of Ranganatha at Srirangam temple as ornamented with basil (tulsi) garland on the chest (favorite of Vishnu), ''Kaustubha'', ''Vaijayanthi hara'' (a necklace) and a few other ornaments, which once formed the divine jewelry of Krishna, the avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, are also decorating the image of Ranganatha. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pancharanga Kshetrams」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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