Rāmānuja's Refuge
Tirunārāyaṇapuram (Tamil) or Yadugiri (Sanskrit) or Melkote (Kannada) is the hill town in Mysuru district, Karnataka, where Rāmānuja took refuge during his exile from Śrīraṅgam (fleeing the Śaiva king Kṛmīkaṇṭha). He spent approximately twelve years here, reviving the temple worship, re-establishing the Divya Prabandham recitation, and organizing the community.
The Cheluvanārāyaṇa
The presiding deity is Cheluvanārāyaṇa ("the beautiful Nārāyaṇa" in Tamil) — Viṣṇu in a seated pose with Bhūdevī and Śrīdevī. The temple has a fascinating origin story: Rāmānuja miraculously brought the utsava deity back from Delhi (where a Sultan's daughter had taken it as a plaything), and the deity chose to remain here rather than return to the original location.
Significance for Sri Vaishnavism
Tirunārāyaṇapuram is:
- The site of Rāmānuja's important administrative and theological work
- A major Vaiṣṇava learning center (maṭha) — the Melkote tradition has its own distinct practices
- The site of the famous Vairamudi festival — when Cheluvanārāyaṇa wears a crown of diamonds belonging to the Mysore royal family
- The site of the unique Virajanātha deity worshipped with Rāmānuja's own personal prayers