Ayodhya, Arangan and Arunachala Kavi
Sirkali Arunachala Kavirayar (1711-1779) When the Ayodhya temple Bhumi Pujan activities started, the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam sent prasadam, waters from Kaveri, vastrams, garlands to Ayodhya. Many in the north may not know, but those who know the sthalapurana of Srirangm, the legend of the Pranavakara Vimana and the Ranganathaswamy can make the connection between the temple in deep south and Ayodhya Raman. Arangan (Ranganatha) was the aradhya deity of the Ikshvaku dynasty and Rama had gifted it to Vibishana after his coronation. Somehow Vibishana and the Lankans had to cede Arangan to Aranganagarvasis (residents of Srirangam) and so he had made the island between the Kaveri and Kollidam rivers his abode since then. This is not just a puranic lore, the memory of Ramayana’s association with the Srirangam temple has manifested in the medieval and later times in a very interesting way. Kamba Ramayanam is world famous, as a Tamil recreation of the adi kavya of ...