PART-18....SRIRANGAM, KULITTHALAI,THIRUCHENGODU

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Srirangam, kshetras around the cauvery( Ratnagiriswara, Kadambeswara, Maragateswara), Tiruchengode and arrival at the Chola capital Tanjavur.
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Not only for Vaishnavas, for others too, Srirangam is one of the holiest shrines. Situated between the Cauvery and its tributary the Coleroon, near Tiruvanaikkaval, Srirangam is one of the most vibrant symbols of Hindu religious movement. The icon of Ranganatha was worshipped by Sri Rama�s ancestors and by the Prince of Ayodhya Himself and given by Him to Vibhishana, Ravana�s brother, as a parting gift after His coronation. Legend has it that Vinayaka in the form of a small boy tricked Vibhishana, who was returning to Lanka from Ayodhya, into putting down the icon on the banks of the Cauvery. The Lord did not move from there but promised Vibhishana that he could have His darshan from Lanka itself. The massive temple complex is a city by itself, intelligently conceived and intricately designed with the streets around it built specially for religious celebrations and processions and named after the different festivals. The Lord reclines on Adi Sesha, facing south, the famous golden vimAnam above Him representing OM, the Eternal Truth. Sung by all the twelve Alwars, Srirangam was the residence of the Vaishnava Acharya and the preceptor of Vishishtadvaita, Sri Ramanuja who was reverentially referred to as uDayavar. The temple also houses the Acharya�s Samadhi. There is an air of deep mysticism surrounding Srirangam and it is no wonder that the place attracted Tyagaraja and Dikshitar as it did numerous other great personages.
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 ranganAyakm bhAvayEham in nAyaki in praise of Ranganatha, shrI bhArgavi in the rare mangaLa kaishiki in praise of Goddess Ranganayaki and rangapura vihArA in brindAvana sArangA in praise of Kodandarama in the temple complex were Muttuswami Dikshitar�s offerings to Srirangam. 
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The nAyaki kriti is one of his masterpieces and incorporates the kShEtra details such as the golden vimAnam (praNavAkAra divya vimAnam), the icon worshipped by Sri Rama (dinamaNikula bhava rAghava ArAdhanam), 
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Vibhishana�s devotion (nata vibhIShaNam) etc. The handling of nAyaki is masterly and soulful. About twenty years after Dikshitar sang of Ranganatha, his contemporary, the bard of Tiruvaiyyaru was to visit Srirangam and dedicate five exquisite compositions to the Lord.
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There are three temples dedicated to Siva in the Akhanda Cauvery region, about twenty-five miles from Trichy. On the southern bank of the river is the town of Kulittalai on the Trichy-Coimbatore road. Siva resides here as Ratnagirishwara on the Ratnachala hill. The mukhAri classic pAhimAm ratnAchala nAyaka was penned here. In this composition, the composer refers to the daily practice of the priests bringing water from the Cauvery in pots uphill and performing the Lord�s abhiShEka with it. A little further away is the kaDamba kShEtra. Dikshitar wrote nIlakaNTam bhajEham in kEdAragauLa in praise of Lord Kadambeshwara here. On the Goddess here, Dikshitar wrote the suraTTi song bAlakucAmbikE. In both the mukhAri and the kEdAragauLa kritis, Dikshitar refers to the Cauvery river as being very broad (akhaNDa kAvEri). The river in its entire course is the broadest here and presents an awesome sight. Almost exactly opposite to Kulittalai on the northern bank of the Cauvery, just about three miles beyond Musiri on the Trichy-Salem road, is a hill called Tiruvenkoimalai.
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 Dikshitar is supposed to have written the vasantA kriti maragatalingam here. But though the Lord�s name is Maragateswara, there is no kShEtra reference in the kriti. Tradition has it that the above three temples should be visited in a single day, the Ratnagiriswara in the morning, the Kadambeswara in the afternoon and the Maragateswara in the evening. A stickler for tradition, Dikshitar must surely have followed this. With these three temples, Dikshitar had completed his pilgrimage of the kShEtrAs of the Chola region.
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A major shrine outside of the Chola region, in Chera country, is Tiruchengode, about twenty-five miles from Salem. This famous shrine where Siva and Parvati give darshan as Ardhanarishwara is situated atop a hill. The kumudakriyA piece ardhanArIshwaram was Dikshitar�s offering here.
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Why Dikshitar ventured as far as Tiruchengode which is about 80 miles from the Kulittalai-Musiri region is not known. He does not seem to have visited the other shrines in that part of the Chera region, nor does he seem to have ventured further west towards Coimbatore. Nevertheless, the kumudakriyA piece stands as testimony to his visit to Tiruchengode. 
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Dikshitar returned to Trichy and stayed with his daughter fo
brothers left for Tanjavur. The present highway of 35 miles between Trichy and Tanjavur was not built then. One had to travel on the traditional Trichy-Pumpuhar route on the banks of the Cauvery, via the Grand Anicut, an absolutely delightful and inspiring experience, to reach Tanjavur.

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continued  in  PART-19
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