Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam

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

Ramaswamy Temple
Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictTanjore
DeityRamaswamy (Vishnu )
Seetha Devi (goddess)
Location
LocationKumbakonam
StateTamil Nadu
CountryIndia
Geographic coordinates10.957208°N 79.373659°E / 10.957208; 79.373659
Architecture
TypeDravidian architecture

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 is one of the prominent Vishnu temples in Kumbakonam.[3] 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 sixty four pillars in the hall near the gopuram are sculpted with exquisite finesse depicting various episodes of the epic Ramayana.[4] Each pillar is carved out of a single stone and the delicacy is very prominent.[5] 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.[6]

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.[5]

Kumbabhishekam

On 9 September 2015, Ramaswamy temple's Mahakumbabhisekam took place.[7]

Religious importance

Five Vishnu temples are connected with Mahamaham festival which happens once in 12 years in Kumbakonam.[8] They are:

  • A view of the gopuram of the historic Ramaswamy temple
  • Rajagopuram of the Kumbakonam A/M Ramaswamy Temple

The temple on mahakumbabhisekam day (9 September 2015)
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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. Diwakar, Macherla (2011). Temples of South India (1st ed.). Chennai: Techno Book House. p. 138. ISBN 978-93-83440-34-4.
  4. V., Meena (1974). Temples in South India (1st ed.). Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 25.
  5. 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.
  6. 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. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. Kumbabishekam performed, The Hindu, 10 September 2015
  8. Mahamaham Festival 2004 (in Tamil), Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Administration Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, 2004
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