Ramaswamy Temple

The temple is not only beautiful in structure it is also a great art gallery. This temple has been constructed by King ‘Regunatha Nayakkar’ who ruled Tanjore at CE1620. The temple’s Urchava moorthies (Urchava moorthy means smaller size of idols which are carried around the temple as procession during festivals) are very old and it was found under the earth near to Darasuram town. It’s front hall was constructed with 62 pillars that has beautiful carvings of various gods. Different avatars of Lord Vishnu also carved in this hall. This hall is called as ‘Maha Mandapam’. One of the great Indian Epic Ramayan has been painted in the inner prahara of this temple. More than 200 such paintings are present in the inner prahara makes the temple more beautiful and it demonstrates the depth of art and architecture.
The Temple’s Karpagraha is in the old fashion. Sri Ram and Seeta Devi both are in the sitting position in the karpagraha and his three brothers Laxman, Bharadan, and Sathrukkan are standing nearby them. Lord Hanuman is placed here with ‘Veena’ in his hand (Veena is a indian musical instrument). Hanuman with veena is one of the very rare idols which you find in many temples. Dedicated to Lord Rama, Ramaswamy Temple is placed in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. The temple was constructed during the 16th century by Achutha Ramachandra Nayaka, one of Thanjavur’s rulers. The temple has idols of Lord Rama, his consort Goddess Seeta, Lord Rama’s brother Lakshmana, and Lord Anjaneyaa (Hanuman).Ramaswamy Temple is located right in the centre of the town and faces the north direction.In this temple town, we can see temples constructed for many Gods and Goddesses along with a nearby cluster of temples for nine planetary gods. Ramaswami temple is located on the southeastern side of Porthamarai tank in the heart of the town and is very near to Chakrapani Temple. This temple was constructed by Raghunatha Naikar who ruled Tanjavur from 1614-1640. The king, while trying to dig a tank at Darasuram ( a place near Kumbakonam) discovered the idols of Rama and Sita in the tank. As a staunch devotee of Rama he was overjoyed and asked his Chief minister Govinda dikshitar to construct a temple for Rama and Sita. This temple has a three-tiered gopuram with an outer prakara and a mahamandapam. On the sixty two pillars of this mandapam, stories from Ramayana, Sugreeva Pattabhishekam and Meenakshi Kalyanam are beautifully carved. Statues of Rama, Vamana, Manmadha, and Gopalan are very beautiful to look at. In the Outer prahara there are 219 wall paintings done in Tanjavur style on the whole story of Ramayana. This pictorial presentation ( Chitra Ramayana) in herbal colors is an added attraction and a special feature of this temple. Just by looking at these life-like paintings one can have a clear understanding of the Ramayana. In the inner sanctum one can view Lord Rama seated along with Sita on the pedestal. On his left Satrughna holding a chamara (fan) and Bharata with a royal umbrella are seen. On the right Lakshmana carrying a bow is seen. Lord Hanuman is seen at the feet with a veena in his hand instead of his customary weapon, mace. This type of coronation scene (Rama seen with all his brothers) appears only in Ayodhya and in Ayodhyapattanam in Salem. These idols are said to be made of saligrama, a very sacred stone worshipped as Vishnu. Within the temple premises there are small temples for Lord Srinivasa with his consorts, Sri devi and Bhudevi, Lord Krishna and for Alwars separately.This temple is famous for its 62 pillar artistic mandap(hall). Its really beautiful and you can spend a lot of time admiring this as soon as you enter the temple.

This temple is famous for large 10 feet statue of Rama in coronation robes(unique) flanked by Sita and Lakshaman on either side. On the right of Lakshmana you have Bharata with an umbrella and on the left of Lakshmana you get to see Shatrugana with a Visri(hand fan).All the Gods are close to 10 feet tall and its a divine darshan. 

Surrounding the praharam, the entire Ramayana is depicted as a 3 layered wall painting - mesmerizing. 

This is in the centre of Kumbakonam city and very close to Kumbeshwarar/Sarangapani temple.Five Vishnu temples are connected with Mahamaham festival which happens once in 12 years in Kumbakonam. They are Sarangapani TempleChakrapani Temple, Ramaswamy Temple, Rajagopalaswamy Temple and Varahaperumal Temple. This temple, one among them, is situated in the north of Big Street. 
Lord Sri Rama blesses the devotees with all his brothers and Mother Sita. While Sri Hanuman appears with his club in all Vaishnava temples, he is holding a Veena here.

Lord Sri Rama and Mother Sita are seated together in the sanctum sanctorum in wedding posture.  In Other temples they grace from their separate shrines. Devotees believe that praying in this temple would bring them a match with a sacrificial quality for the sake of the other.  Satrugna is on the left of Lord with a Samara fanning his brother, Bharatha holding the Royal Umbrella and Hanuman on the right and Lakshmana appears with his bow as usual.
Sri Anjaneya graces here with a Veena against his usual appearance with a club.  He is free here from the war mind and singing the glory of Lord Rama.  This also shows that Sri Hanuman is not only an erudite scholar but a good musician too.  He is holding the Ramayana epic in one hand.  It is said that He is singing the Ramayana story.  The temple has all the features that Ramayana tells us and is a feast to Rama bhaktas.

The temple has a 3-tiered gopuram surrounded by walls. The central shrine houses the image of Rama in a seated posture with his consort Sita. The other images are of his brothers Lakshmana, Bharatha and Chatruguna in standing posture and Hanuman in worship posture. The pillars in the hall near the gopuram are sculpted with exquisite finesse depicting various episodes of the epic Ramayana. Each pillar is carved out of a single stone and the delicacy is very prominent. Rama in the temple is depicted with Vyakarna Mudra, while Hanuman is depicted holding manuscripts. The other important aspects of the epic like coronation of Vibishana, coronation of Sugriva, relieving Agalya from her curse and Hanuman playing Veena are depicted. The temple is a typical of Nayak style of temples.

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