Guest guest Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 http://inwww.rediff.com/newshound/showarticle.htm?rediffid=http://uniindia.com/unilive/unisite.nsf/$All/5E111505F1534BFA652570D6003D16EF?OpenDocument Age-long custom revived in ancient temple Created on : 12/11/2005 3:28:22 PM (NORMAL ) Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, Dec 11 (UNI) The important Vaishnavite ''Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple'' here, the first among the 108 ''Divya Desams'' wore a festive look today, when a group of officials and priests from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) honoured it with holy gifts, in remembrance of preservation of the processional deity ''Nam Perumal'' in Tirupati during the invasion by Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the 13th century.The age-old custom which was suspended for some time was revived this year.It was in the year 1323 AD that Mohammad bin Tughlaq invaded south India and took Madurai as his capital. The temple of Srirangam was then occupied and transformed into a fortified camp, temple officials said quoting historical evidences.But the precious idols, some of the jewels and necessary articles for worship were saved before the Muslim invasion and transported to Tirupati, where they remained until 1371 AD, they said.The 40 representatives of TTD, led by A P N Narayana Sharma IAS, Executive Officer, handed over the holy gifts, comprising silk ''parivattams'', silk clothing to the deity and his consort Sri Ranganayaki and saint Ramanuja and a decorative temple umbrella, at a glittering function in the temple complex.Earlier, the holy gifts were taken out in a procession in the presence of a large number of devotees through the important streets around the temple. The honours were received by the Srirangam temple authorities, led by P Sivakumar, Executive Officer and Joint Commissioner of the Srirangam temple and Sriranga Naranaya Jeer.The unique feature of the ceremony was that the temple honours were offered on the''Kaisika Ekadesi'', an auspicious day for the Vaishnavite tradition. Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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