Ranganayaki

Ranganayaki
Goddess of Srirangam
Murti of Ranganayaki
AffiliationSri Vaishnavism
AbodeVaikuntha
MountElephant
TextsNaalayira Divya Prabandham
FestivalsVaikuntha Ekadashi
ConsortRanganatha

Ranganayaki (Tamil: ரங்கநாயகி, Sanskrit: रङ्गनायकी, romanizedRaṅganāyakī, lit.'Wife of Ranganatha'), also known by her epithet Tayar,[1] (Tamil: தாயார், romanized: Tāyār, lit.'Mother') is a Hindu goddess. She is the presiding goddess of the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam.[2] She is the chief consort of Ranganatha, the tutelary deity of Srirangam. The goddess is regarded as a manifestation of Lakshmi, while Ranganatha is considered as a manifestation of Vishnu.[3] She is also called Ranganayaki Nachiyar and Periya Piratti.

Ranganayaki is venerated by the people of Srirangam and by Vaishnavas, the adherents of Vishnu. According to Sri Vaishnava tradition, she is regarded co-equal to Ranganatha himself, considered to be both the means and the end of worship to the divine couple.

  1. ^ Raman, K. V. (2003) [1975]. Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture. Abhinav Publications. p. 8. ISBN 978-81-7017-026-6.
  2. ^ Hawley, John Stratton; Wulff, Donna Marie (1998). Devī: Goddesses of India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. xii. ISBN 978-81-208-1491-2.
  3. ^ Kumar, P. Pratap (1997). The Goddess Lakṣmī: The Divine Consort in South Indian Vaiṣṇava Tradition. Scholars Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7885-0199-9.