Why devotees come here
Ranganathaswamy Temple stands in Srirangapatna, an island town on the Kaveri river in Karnataka. It is dedicated to Ranganatha, a form of Vishnu, and is classed among the 108 Abhimana Kshethrams of the Vaishnava tradition. The town takes its name from the temple.
The deity is known as Adi Ranga, because Srirangapatna is the first of the Ranga temples upstream on the Kaveri. Ranganatha is a form of Vishnu shown reclining. The temple is one of five Ranganatha sites along the river, known together as the Pancharanga Kshetrams. It is also part of the Triranga Yatra, a pilgrimage that visits three Ranga temples on one day, between dawn and dusk.
An inscription at the temple dates it to 894 CE and names a local chief, Tirumalaiah, as its builder. In the early 12th century, the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana gave the village of Srirangapatna to the saint Ramanujacharya as an agraharam, a place of learning. An inscription of the Hoysala king Veera Ballala II, dated 1210 CE, confirms additions and renovations. Historian George Michell says the Wodeyar kings of Mysore also made contributions.
An imposing tower, the gopura, stands over the entrance gate. There are 2 large concentric enclosures, called prakaras, around the temple. The tower has features consistent with Vijayanagara architecture. Inside the sanctum, Vishnu reclines on the coils of the snake Adisesha, with a canopy of seven hoods and Lakshmi at his feet.
In the appChamundeshwari Temple, MysuruChamundi Hill, Mysuru, Karnataka
In the appDakshineswar Kali Temple, KolkataDakshineswar, North 24 Parganas, near Kolkata, West Bengal
In the appShirdi Sai Baba Temple, MaharashtraShirdi, Rahata taluka, Ahilyanagar district, Maharashtra
In the appAvanti Parshwanath Jain Tirth, UjjainDani Gate, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
In the appBelur Math, West BengalBelur, Howrah district, West Bengal
In the appBrihadeeswara Temple, ThanjavurThanjavur, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu
In the appEttumanoor Mahadeva Temple, EttumanoorEttumanoor, Kottayam district, Kerala