Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam in Tiruchi on January 20, ahead of the pran pratishtha (idol installation) of Sri Ram Lalla at the Ayodhya temple on January 22.
Srirangam is the foremost among the 108 Divya Desams, and its presiding deity, Sri Ranganathar, is believed to be the family deity of Lord Ram. Mr. Modi, who arrived in Tiruchi from Chennai in the morning, was welcomed with temple honours by the priests. He then offered worship to Sri Namperumal, the processional deity at the Ranga Vilas mandapam, Garudazhvar and Sri Kambathadi Anjaneyar. He then offered prayers to Lord Ranganatha at the sanctum sanctorum before paying obeisance to Sri Ranganayaki Thayar and Sri Ramanujar.
Clad in traditional attire, Mr. Modi spent about one hour and 20 minutes inside the temple.
The Prime Minister spent about 35 minutes at ‘Kambar Mandapam’, where a seven-member crew of musicians and Tamil scholars recited and explained selected verses from the Kamba Ramayanam, the epic as scripted in Tamil by the poet Kambar.
Earlier, Mr. Modi arrived at the Tiruchi International Airport by a special aircraft from Chennai and switched over to a helicopter to proceed to Srirangam. He landed at the temporary helipad near the Kollidam river bank and drove down to the temple through the temple town, greeting enthusiastic residents and party workers, who had gathered in strength along the way.
Later, Mr. Modi left for Rameswaram by helicopter. At Rameswaram, he took a holy dip at the ‘Agnitheertham’ on the eastern beach of the Ramanathaswamy Temple.
After this, he entered the temple from the east tower. The PM witnessed special pujas performed at the Swami and Ambal sannidhis. He also attended a “Ram Katha” (Sri Ramayana Parayanam) at the Thirukalyana Mandapam, for about 45 minutes.
After an overnight stay at the Ramakrishna Math in Rameswaram, Mr. Modi is expected to proceed to Dhanushkodi and Arichalmunai on Sunday. Around forenoon, he will take a helicopter to Madurai, from where he will fly to Ayodhya, officials added.
