Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam

Ramaswamy Temple

Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam
Geography
Coordinates 10°57′26″N 79°22′25″E / 10.957208°N 79.373659°E / 10.957208; 79.373659Coordinates: 10°57′26″N 79°22′25″E / 10.957208°N 79.373659°E / 10.957208; 79.373659
Country India
State Tamil Nadu
District Tanjore
Location Kumbakonam
Culture
Primary deity Ramaswamy (Vishnu )
Seetha Devi (goddess)
Architecture
Architectural styles Dravidian architecture

Ramaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu located in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India.

History

The temple has beautiful architecture pieces and has been built by the Nayakkar kings during the 16th century. Govinda Dikshitar, the prime minister of the Nayaks, constructed the temple. He added a commercial corridor between his new temple and the older Chakrapani temple.[1][2]

Architecture

The temple has a 3-tiered gopuram surrounded by walls. The central shrine houses the image of Rama in a seated posture with his consort Sita. The other images are of his brothers Lakshmana, Bharatha and Chatruguna in standing posture and Hanuman in worship posture. The pillars in the hall near the gopuram are sculpted with exquisite finesse depicting various episodes of the epic Ramayana. Each pillar is carved out of a single stone and the delicacy is very prominent.[3] Rama in the temple is depicted with Vyakarna Mudra, while Hanuman is depicted holding manuscripts. The other important aspects of the epic like coronation of Vibishana, coronation of Sugriva, relieving Agalya from her curse and Hanuman playing veena. The temple is atytpical of Nayak style of temples.[4]

Chitra Ramayana

On the walls of the prakaram(closed precincts of a temple), Ramayanam is depicted in pictorial format in three segments. One can read through Ramayana pictorially whilst taking three pradakshinams(rounds) of the sanctum.[3]

Kumbabhishekam

Sep 09 2015,ramaswamy temple has mahakumbabhisekam is taken.[5]

Religious importance

Five Vishnu temples are connected with Mahamaham festival which happens once in 12 years in Kumbakonam.[6] They are:

The temple on mahakumbabhisekam day (9th September 2015)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Diaspora of the gods: modern Hindu temples in an urban middle-class world.Joanne Punzo Waghorne
  2. ↑ Harshananda, Swami (2012). Hindu Pilgrimage Centres (second ed.). Bangalore: Ramakrishna Math. p. 78. ISBN 81-7907-053-0.
  3. 1 2 Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway (Incorporated in England): Including the Tanjore District Board, Pondicherry, Peralam-Karaikkal, Travancore State, Cochin State, Coimbatore District Board, Tinnevelly-Tiruchendur, and the Nilgiri Railways. Madras: South Indian Railway Company. 1926. pp. 57–58.
  4. ↑ K.V., Raman; T., Padmaja (1995). "Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact : Proceedings of the 8th International Rāmāyaạ Conference". Peeters Publishers: 85–87. ISBN 978-906831701-5.
  5. ↑ Kumbabishekam performed, The Hindu, 10th September 2015
  6. ↑ Mahamaham Festival 2004 (in Tamil), Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Administration Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, 2004
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ramaswamy temple, Kumbakonam.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.