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There are so many
legends associated with this temple. One of them relates how the 'Ranga
Vimanam' believed to be the chariot of Lord Vishnu came to be installed
here. Ikshavahu the descendent of Surya, the Sun god and forebear of Rama,
performed a penance in order to obtain the Ranga Vimanam to install it in
a temple in Ayodya. Garuda, the mount of Lord Vishnu, delivered the Ranga
Vimanam to Ikshavahu. The people of Ayodya thus venerated and worshipped
this Ranga Vimanam for centuries until Lord Vishnu himself was born as
Rama in Ayodya as heir to the Surya dynasty.
It is a
traditional belief that Adi Sankara installed at Srirangam, a Yantra
called Janakarshana Yantra to attract pilgrims to this sacred temple, just
as at Tirupati he installed the Dhanakarshana Yantra. Sankara infused
immense power to this Yantra, which has proved by its action perfectly
true to its name. Tirupati is the richest temple in the South, may be in
whole of India, and Srirangam is the most visited temple in the South.
The original
idol of Alahiya manavalar was brought to Sri Rangam many years later. By
that time a new idol had been installed in its placand the authorities did
not allow the original idol to be taken into the sanctum, as they were
doubtful of its origin. However this idol was installed in one of the
outer enclosures and was offered worship there.
There was a
blind man in the service of the temple who had been there during the
period when the original idol was there. One day he was offered the
ablution water from the idol that had been kept in the outer enclosure.
When he put this water in his mouth as devotees do, he shouted with joy,
'Num Perumal, Num Perumal' - meaning 'Our Perumal'. When questioned he
said that he could distinctly remember the taste of the ablution water of
the original Perumal and this water tasted the same. The authorities were
then convinced that this was the original idol and installed it in the
sanctum. Thus the deity is also called 'Num Perumal'.
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