Devotees throng Tamil Nadu’s Ranganatha shrine on Vaikunta Ekadesi
December 20th, 2007 - 10:01 pm ICT by adminSrirangam (TN), Dec 20 (ANI): A large number of devotees congregated at Ranganatha shrine in Tamil Nadu’s Srirangam temple town to celebrate the Vaikunta Ekadesi festival today.
Devotees offered prayers to Lord Vishnu, also known as Lord Ranganatha.
“I have been coming here for the last 16 years. Accompanied by family members we enjoy this festival. All my relatives come here,” said Krishnamurthy, a devotee.
Vaikunta Ekadasi occurs in December. Vaishnavites (worshipers of Lord Vishnu) believe that ‘Vaikunta Dwaram’ or ‘the gate to Lord’s Inner Sanctum’ is opened on this day.
During Ekadashi festival, the idol of Lord Ranganatha bedecked in diamonds is taken out of the temple sanctum sanctorum to be placed at Thirumamani Mandapam (thousand pillared hall).
The hall of 1000 pillars is the most splendid part of the Srirangam temple.
Pilgrims sing songs in praise of Lord Vishnu and chant religious hymns throughout the day.
“Visiting Srirangam on Vaikunth Ekadashi is very auspicious. It brings a lot of blessings,” said Sundareshan, a UAE-based devotee.
The Ranganatha temple is one of the first to be built for the Vaishnavite sect in southern India.
This temple is a fine example of Dravidian-style architecture and is known for its lofty gates known as Gopurams. (ANI)
- Devotees converge to celebrate ''Vaikuntha Ekadashi festival in Tamil Nadu - Jan 08, 2009
- Vaikunta Ekadesi celebrated in Tamil Nadu - Dec 28, 2009
- Vaikuntha Ekadasi celebrations in Trichy - Dec 17, 2010
- A temple with history, legends and treasures - Jul 10, 2011
- Lakhs witness deities' bathing ritual in Puri - Jun 15, 2011
- Guruvayur temple saw 198 weddings in a single day (Feature With Image) - Sep 21, 2010
- One lakh devotees at Odisha's Lingaraj temple - Feb 20, 2012
- Kerala government told to take over Padmanabhaswamy temple - Jan 31, 2011
- Mahashivaratri celebrated across India - Feb 20, 2012
- Residents in Tamil Nadu temple angry over eviction notice - Sep 29, 2008
- Mumbai celebrates Ram Navami with devotion - Apr 01, 2012
- Massachusetts Hindu Temple launches $2m expansion project - Feb 16, 2011
- Haryana to give land for Balaji temple - Jun 17, 2010
- Manmohan Singh offers prayers at Tirupati temple - Sep 01, 2010
- Over 200 deities to join Himachal's Mahashivratri! - Feb 20, 2012
Tags: bedecked, devotee, devotees, ekadashi, ekadasi, inner sanctum, krishnamurthy, lord vishnu, mandapam, pilgrims, religious hymns, sanctorum, sect, southern india, srirangam temple, style architecture, temple town, vaikunta ekadasi, vaikunta ekadesi, worshipers
