336 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 9
Papanagana near the river named Tamraparni. Sri Ranga-ksetra is a very famous
place. Near Tricinapalli is a river named Kaveri, or Kolirana. A city known as Sri
Rangam is located on this river in the district of Tafjor about ten miles west of
Kumbhakonam. The Sri Ranga temple is the largest in India, and there are seven
walls surrounding it. There are also seven roads leading to Sri Ranga. The ancient
names of these roads are the road of Dharma, the road of Rajamahendra, the road
of Kulagekhara, the road of Alinadana, the road of Tiruvikrama, the Tirubidi road of
Madamadi-gaisa, and the road of Ada-iyavala-indana. The temple was founded
before the reign of Dharmavarma, who reigned before Rajamahendra. Many
celebrated kings like KulaSekhara, and others such as Alabandaru, resided in the
temple of Sri Rangam. Yamundacarya, Sri Ramanuja, Sudarganacarya and others also
supervised this temple.

The incarnation of the goddess of fortune known as Godadevi, who was one of
the twelve liberated persons known as divya-suris, was married to the Deity, Lord
Sri Ranganatha. Later she entered into the body of the Lord. An incarnation of Kar-
muka, Tirumanga (one of the Alovaras), acquired some money by stealing, and
built the fourth boundary wall of Sri Rangam. It is said that in the year 289 of the
age of Kali, the Alovara of the name Tondaradippadi was born. While engaged in
devotional service, he became victim to a prostitute, and Sn Ranganatha, seeing
His devotee so degraded, sent one of His servants with a golden plate to that
prostitute. When the golden plate was discovered missing from the temple, there
was a search, and it was found in the prostitute’s house. When the devotee saw
Ranganatha’s mercy upon this prostitute, his mistake was rectified. He then pre-
pared the third boundary wall of Ranganatha temple and cultivated a tulasi
garden there.

There was also a celebrated disciple of Rimanujacdrya’s known as Kareéa. Sri
Ramapillai was the son of Kiresa, and his son was Vagvijaya Bhatta, whose son
was Vedavyasa Bhatta, or Sri Sudarsanacarya. When Sudarganacarya was an old
man, the Mohammedens attacked the temple of Ranganatha and killed about
twelve hundred Sri Vaisnavas. At that time the Deity Ranganatha was transferred
to the temple of Tirupati in the kingdom of Vijaya-nagara. The governor of Gingi,
Goppanarya, brought Sri Ranganatha from the temple of Tirupati to a place
known as Sirnha-brahma, where the Lord was situated for three years. In the year
1293 Saka the Deity was again reinstalled in the Ranganatha temple. On the
eastern wall of the Ranganatha temple is an inscription written by Vedanta-desika
relating how Ranganatha was returned to the temple.

TEXT 80
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