Srirangam
is a small town adjoining Tiruchirapalli (Trichy/Tiruchi) in Tamil Nadu.
The Cauveri River on one side and the Kollidam River on the other bind
Srirangam town. A large number of Vaishnavites (followers of Lord
Vishnu) live in the Srirangam town. Srirangam is well known for Sri
Ranganathaswamy Temple, an important pilgrimage center for the Hindus
and one of the largest temple complexes in India. The gopuram of the
Srirangam temple is called the Rajagopuram and is 236 feet (72 m) tall.
The Srirangam temple is constituted by seven prakaras (elevated
enclosures) with gopurams, the highest at the outermost prakara and the
lowest at the innermost.The town of Srirangam is considered to be the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams (divine centers) as mentioned in the Nalaira Divya Prabhandham, composed by the Tamil saints (Azhwars). Srirangam is also the leading seat of the teachings of Ramanuja, who preached the doctrine of Visishtadvaita (qualified monism), which is one of the cornerstones of Hindu philosophy. It is said that the Srirangam temple is the only place to be sung by all the Azhwars and visited by all Acharyas (devotees who followed the Alwars). There are 247 pasurams (divine songs) about tiruvarangan in Nalaira Divya Prabandam. Legends have it that Lord Ranganatha appeared as a child and sung the famous Sree Sailesa Dayapathram thaniyan.
How to Reach Srirangam
By Air
The nearest airport from Srirangam is Trichy (Tiruchirapalli), which has frequent flights to Chennai. Many airlines connect Trichy to Chennai, Sharjah, Kuwait and Colombo. Air Lanka connects Trichy to Colombo.
By Rail/Train
Srirangam has an extensive railway station which lies on the Chennai-Kanyakumari railway track. The approximate journey time is from Chennai to Srirangam is about 5 hrs. The Trichy railway junction, which is five about miles away, is the major connection point and is connected to cities like Chennai, Thanjavur, Chidambaram, Tirupathi, Madurai, Tuticorin, Rameswaram, Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Kochi and Mangalore.
By Road
There are regular bus services to most parts of Tamilnadu from Srirangam. From the Srirangam bus stand you can easily get an auto rickshaw for Srirangam.
