The
term literally means one who is "immersed" in the depths of
enjoyment of God, the omnipresent mysterious one. The Alwaars were
vaishnava saints who were born in present day Tamil Nadu. There were a
total of twelve Alwaars, historians have placed their dates between 200
AD to 800 AD while according to orthodox tradition they were born at the
start of Kaliyuga. The outpourings from their love for the divine came
out in the form of 4000 hymns in tamil. The collection of these verses
is known as the divya-prabandha(divine hymns). These sacred hymns are
inspired from the philosophy and stories of Ramayana, Mahabharatha,
Puranas and the Upanishads. The divya-prabandams are also known as
dravida veda as they are considered to be the equivalent of sanskrit
vedas in terms of their philosophical contents. Sri Garudaji:
He
is the King of birds, and is the Vimana(carrier) of Lord Krishna. Garuda
is the son of Kashyap, a great sage, and Daksha's daughter Vinata.Sri Rangam:
It
is famous for Sri Ranganathaswamy temple which is the largest temple in
India. In this temple the main deity Sri MahaVishnu is present in
reclining posture on the serpent king Sheshnaag. It is the foremost of
the eight svayam-vyakta kshetras(self-manifested shrines) of Lord
Vishnu. It is also considered the first, foremost and the most important
of the 108 main Vishnu temples (Divyadesams). Sri Ranganathaswamy temple
is also known as Thiruvaranga Tirupati, Periyakoil (The great temple),
Bhooloka Vaikuntha (earthly Vaikunth), Bhogamandapam. Sri Rangam is
bounded by the Kaveri river on one side, and the Kaveri tributary
Kollidam (Coleroon) on the other.Gopuram: Its a prominent feature of the South Indian temple architecture. Its in the form of a rising tower at the entrance of a temple. Gopurams are exquisitely decorated with sculpture and carvings and painted with a variety of themes derived from the hindu religion, particularly those associated with the presiding deity of the temple.
Pushkarni: It is the sacred pond of the temple. The water from the pond is used for Lord’s abhishekam and for preparation of Lord's prasad. On the day of Shravani Poornamasi(Raksha Bandhan), Gajendra-Moksha leela is held here. This day is marked to celebrate the liberation of Gajendra, King of elephants from the clutches of a demon crocodile. Hearing the pleas of his bhakta, Lord Vishnu came out on his mount Garuda and rescued the elephant by killing the crocodile with his Sudarshana Chakra. On this day a procession of Sri Goda-Rangamannar on Sri Garudaji is taken out before enacting of the leela on the banks of Pushkarani. During the month of August the three day Nauka Utsav (boat festival) is also held here. In this festival Lord Sri Goda-Rangamannar enjoys a boat ride in the waters of Pushkarni
Vahana: They are the divine mounts which are used for carrying the Lord. The vahana accompanies, pulls the chariot of, or serves as the seat or mount of his god. The vahana is also used on banners and emblems to identify the god or the cult affiliation of the devotee. Eg. Garuda of Lord Vishnu, Bull of Shiva etc
Barahdwari: Its a twelve gated (Barah-Dwar) platform which exists just outside the temple. This is used as a resting place for pilgrims and certain utsavs are also celebrated here.
Vaikunth Dwar: Vaikunth means a place where Lord Sri Narayan resides and dwar means door. Vaikunth dwar means door which leads to Lord Narayan's abode. This door opens once in a year on the day of Vaikunth Ekadashi. Passing through this door on this day allows the devotees to attain Vaikunth.
YagyaShala: Yagya means offering obligations in the holy fire. The wider meaning of Yagya is to dedicate one's capacity and insight for making others life fragrant. Yagyas in the temple are performed for makings offerings to the gods which would result in the welfare of the society. Shala is a sanskrit word meaning a holy space or a school so Yagya-Shala is a place to conduct yagyas which would bring peace, happiness and prosperity in the society.
Pavitrotsava: "Pavitra" means "purification" and "utsava" means fesitival. Pavitrotsava is a ceremony of purification which is performed annually in Vaishnava temples. According to the Agama Shastras, this religious function is performed to maintain a very high level of purity in the temple environment so that the Lord's divine power (sannidhyam) is fully manifested. The Pavitrotsavam is also a "Prayascitta" or penance for any inadvertent omissions or shortcomings that might have occurred in the rituals and festivals over the past year.
Utsav-Vigraha: The Utsav Vigraha is the procession-image of the Lord which is taken out during festival processions. In His love for His devotees Lord comes out of the temple to meet those devotees who because of some reasons are not able to come to the temple themselves. The utsav-vigraha is also used for the abhishek of the Lord.
Mool-Vigraha: The mool-vigraha is the installed-image of the Lord. These are never taken out and always remain fixed at the sanctum sanctorum.They are normally bigger in size than utsav vigraha.
Jaya Vijaya: They are the gatekeepers at Vaikuntha;the heavenly abode of Lord Vishnu. Wanting to spend some undisturbed moments with his wife Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu instructed Jay and Vijay not to allow any visitors. It so happened that the four Sanakas dropped in to meet Lord Vishnu. Jay and Vijay refused to let them in, angered by this they promptly let loose a curse on the gatekeepers. They were cursed that they will take birth three times as evil demons and Vishnu would himself appear on earth and liberate them by killing them. Jay and Vijay first took birth as twin demon brothers, Hirnyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. Jay and Vijay then took second birth as Ravana, the evil king of Lanka, and Kumbhakaran, his younger brother. Finally, Jay and Vijay took birth as Shishupal and Dantavakra during Vishnu's incarnation as Sri Krishna.
Vaikunth Ekadashi: There are 24 Ekadashi's observed by Hindus during the year, one each during each half of every hindu month on the hindu date of eleventh. Vaikunth Ekadashi is observed in December/January. This festival marks the famous event narrated in the Bhagavatham when Lord Vishnu incarnated as the Tortoise for facilitating the churning of the ocean of milk by the gods and the demons, to obtain the nectar of immortality. On this day the gates of Vaikunth are kept open for spiritual aspirants to enter.
Brahmotsav:It commemorates the first utsav of Lord Vishnu which was conceived by Brahma - hence the name Brahmotsav. This is the biggest festival of the temple and is held in the month of March/April. The festival is celebrated in strict accordance with the shastras. For ten days, the utsav vigraha of Lord is taken out on different vahanas both in the morning and in the evening. Each vahana has it own religious significance attached to it. Of particular importance is the darshan on Sri Garudaji which is on the morning of the third day and Ratha (Chariot) on the eighth morning. The Ratha of the Sri-Goda-Rangamannar is 50 feet high and made of wood and is pulled by thousands of devotees. Other major attractions during Brahmotsav are Holi in which Sri Goda-Rangamannar plays holi with His devotees, firework display, Yamuna Snan(Sri Goda-Rangamannar goes to Yamunaji for a bath with devotees), Mohini Avatar Leela.
Vahan Ghar: It houses the divine mounts of the Lord. During festivals procession of Lord is taken out on these mounts.
Sri Vaishnavaism/Sri SampradayaThis is a school of Vaishnavism which considers Sri Devi or Goddess Lakshmi as its founder who in turn was initiated by Lord Himself. It treats Sri or Lakshmi along with Lord Vishnu as the principal reality. The Alwaars of the ancient times were the followers of this school of thought and then in the later times the bhakti movement of Kabir, Tulsidas and Meerabai was also strongly influenced by it.
Vishistadvaita: This is the philosophical doctrine which forms the basis for Sri Vaishnavism. The great acharyas starting from Sri Nathmuni had started the work of formalising Sri Vaishnavism and it was Sri Ramanujacharya who culiminated the process. The term Vishishtadvait signifies monism of the qualified whole, in which Brahman alone exists, but is characterised by multiplicity. It is a school of Vedanta philosophy which believes in all diversity subsuming to an underlying unity. SriRamanuja, the main proponent of Visishtadvaita philosophy contends that the Prasthana Traya i.e. the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and The Brahma Sutras are to be interpreted in way that shows this unity in diversity, for any other way would violate their consistency. Visishtadvaita provided the philosophical basis for the establishment of Sri Vaishnavism and gave Vedantic backing to the brimming devotion of the Alwaar saints and their composition of wonderful poetry and devotional songs in praise of Lord Vishnu.
Sri Ramanujacharya(1017-1137A.D): He is the greatest exponent of Visistadvaita philosophy. He was born in 1017 A.D in a pious brahmana family. He became the foremost Acarya in the Sri Sampradaya and is reputed to be the incarnation of Sri SeshNaga. He provided an intellectual basis for the practice of bhakti in major commentaries on the Vedas, the Brahma-sutras, and the Bhagavadgita.
Ksheeranna: It is a dessert made of sweet milk mixed with rice offered to the Lord at the temple.
Dwajha Stambha: It is the flag tower of the Lord and it also marks the place where sacrificial ritual is performed. In Vaishnava temples instead of animals, rice is used as sacrificial offering.
Sri Goverdhan Peeth: This is one of oldest seat of SriVaishanva sect. When Sri Nathmuni Swamiji had toured North India he was so much enchanted by the beauty of the Goverdhan region that he settled down here and established this seat. He was later succeeded by his son Sri Ishwarmuni Swamiji. The lineage was broken for sometime after that but was again started during the 16 century A.D.
