Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along Rivers

The article addresses a specific religious phenomenon found in the region of South India and connected to a group of Vaiṣṇava temples hosting the Raṅganātha form of Viṣṇu. The temples in question are located along the rivers, in this case, Kāverī and Pallar. Waters, especially rivers, perceived not...

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Main Author: Marzenna Czerniak-Drożdżowicz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing 2023-12-01
Series:Cracow Indological Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/5490
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author Marzenna Czerniak-Drożdżowicz
author_facet Marzenna Czerniak-Drożdżowicz
author_sort Marzenna Czerniak-Drożdżowicz
collection DOAJ
description The article addresses a specific religious phenomenon found in the region of South India and connected to a group of Vaiṣṇava temples hosting the Raṅganātha form of Viṣṇu. The temples in question are located along the rivers, in this case, Kāverī and Pallar. Waters, especially rivers, perceived not only as a means of ensuring vegetation but also as endowed with certain divine attributes and often personified as goddesses, have in addition a place-connecting aspect. Keeping this in mind, the present enquiry takes as the starting point the Raṅganātha temple in Śrīraṅgam on the Kāverī-Kolliṭam river and revisits the concept of the holy sites of Viṣṇu, called raṅgas, situated along the banks of the rivers Kāverī and Pallar, and on their islands. The study, using, among others, some māhātmyas from the region, is the very first, largely preliminary attempt to broach this topic.
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spelling doaj.art-10ae07759184493280a89b67101a50702023-12-15T15:08:04ZengKsiegarnia Akademicka PublishingCracow Indological Studies1732-09172449-86962023-12-0125110.12797/CIS.25.2023.01.03Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along RiversMarzenna Czerniak-Drożdżowicz0Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland The article addresses a specific religious phenomenon found in the region of South India and connected to a group of Vaiṣṇava temples hosting the Raṅganātha form of Viṣṇu. The temples in question are located along the rivers, in this case, Kāverī and Pallar. Waters, especially rivers, perceived not only as a means of ensuring vegetation but also as endowed with certain divine attributes and often personified as goddesses, have in addition a place-connecting aspect. Keeping this in mind, the present enquiry takes as the starting point the Raṅganātha temple in Śrīraṅgam on the Kāverī-Kolliṭam river and revisits the concept of the holy sites of Viṣṇu, called raṅgas, situated along the banks of the rivers Kāverī and Pallar, and on their islands. The study, using, among others, some māhātmyas from the region, is the very first, largely preliminary attempt to broach this topic. https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/5490South Indiatemplesriversmāhātmyas
spellingShingle Marzenna Czerniak-Drożdżowicz
Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along Rivers
Cracow Indological Studies
South India
temples
rivers
māhātmyas
title Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along Rivers
title_full Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along Rivers
title_fullStr Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along Rivers
title_full_unstemmed Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along Rivers
title_short Along the River, towards God: raṅga Shrines along Rivers
title_sort along the river towards god ranga shrines along rivers
topic South India
temples
rivers
māhātmyas
url https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/5490
work_keys_str_mv AT marzennaczerniakdrozdzowicz alongtherivertowardsgodrangashrinesalongrivers