The temple of Sin Ranganathaswami at Srirangam belongs to the Vaishnava tradition, Among the many sanctuaries dedicated to Vishnu, it presents an outstanding example of unbroken activity continued up to the present time, and if only on this account, it is worthy of interest. It is also of interest because of the eminent role it played in the mediaeval and modern periods of the religious history of India, and which it continues to play today. It is a living temple whose history goes back almost a thousand years, attracting countless pilgrims, and preserving local traditions intact for posterity.
Its importance and role can only be understood in the context of the Vaishnava cult. It may be recalled that, for the adepts of this cult, Vishnu is the source of the universe and of all things in it. His abode is in the midst of the primeval Ocean, where he reclines on the thousand-hooded Serpent of Eternity, Sesha. When the god Brahma (born on the pericarp ot the lotus which grew out of the navel of Vishnu) had created the world, Vishnu awoke to rule over the upper layer of the divine world, the Vaikuntha. His sacred mount (Vahana) is the bird Garuda, his chief consort, the goddess Lakshmi. Vishnu became incarnate ten times in "descents to the world of men", or avatara, each time in the form of an animal or a human being. (1)
From the beginning of the Christian era, the worshippers of Vishnu in his more specific manifestation as Krishna oriented the Vaishnava religion towards theism, and in the mediaeval period, this doctrine received a philosophy. It was among the Tamils that theism reached its fullest expression: devotion or faithful adoration (bhakti), glorified in the most ancient texts, was a sign of respect towards the deity rather than a feeling of love. The Tamil texts speak of the god's intense love for man, and the equally intense love of the devotee for his god, who is no longer transcendental but has become immanent. Throughout the history of religious thought in India, this is the idea which comes nearest to Christian charity.
Th Movement was founded by Nathamuni (Eighth - Ninth Centuries), and continued developed by his disciple, the Brahman Ramanuja (second half of the Eleventh c. 1137) an outstanding figure of Vaishnavism who actually taught in the temple of Sri Ranganatha at Srirangam, and fundamentally reformed its organization. He preached the need to observe ritual; salvation through devotion to Vishnu (bhaktiyoga), in which the worshipper comes to the realization that he is part of the god and entirely dependent on him; self-surrender into the hands of the god and to his will; and the confident expectation of his divine favour. Ramanuja taught that the god is a personal god, full of love and grace, and that he needs man, as man needs him; the individual soul, created by the god from his own essence, returns to the god and lives eternally in full communion with him, while remaining distinct from him.
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