The landscape of Ranganatha

The form of Vishnu worshipped as Ranganatha in South India is shown reclining on the eternal serpent Adi-sesha /Ananta-sesha (Adi-prior, Sesha- post, Ananta- infinite). This form is also referred to as Ananta-sayana (resting on the infinite). Scriptures and devotional hymns allude to Adi-sesha floating on the cosmic waters that form Vaikuntha- the heavenly abode of Vishnu. 

The translation of this poetic imagery into the landscape can be sensed in physical form at three places along the river Cauvery, flowing from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu.

The temple towns of Srirangapatnam (near Mysore), Shivasamudram (near Kollegal) and Srirangam (Trichy) form the beginning, middle and end of a cosmic image, stretching over a landscape of almost 290 kilometres. Shivasamudram, Srirangapatnam and Srirangam are also islands in the middle of the Cauvery. Built on terra firma, the temple complexes are nonetheless perceived to be ‘floating on water’, completing the grand allusion of Adisesha resting on cosmic waters. The geographical distance between them in the landscape alludes to an imagery of vast proportions, unfathomable from one vantage point. 

At a personal scale, this idea is carried forward in the viewing of the sanctum. The deity is never seen in entirety. By default the direct view is of the torso, and the viewer is required to visually traverse the width of the door opening to view the complete form. The sacred ritual of the Aarti further reinforces this sense of expanse in a tightly controlled space. Amidst sacred chants, the Aarti reveals the face, the chest and the feet of the deity, in a sequence practiced since time immemorial.