Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday began his two-day tour of Tamil Nadu, visiting major temples, beginning with prayers at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tiruchirappalli.

He chose to wear a traditional outfit for his visit to what is one of the most important temples for worshipping Lord Vishnu.

During the visit, the Prime Minister was blessed by an elephant named Andal in the temple premises who also played a mouth organ.

Modi listened to verses from ‘Kambaramayanam’, the 12th century epic written by Tamil poet Kambar at the temple. The Prime Minister was presented with a gift by the priests to be taken to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The ‘Kambaramayanam’ is one of the very old versions of Ramayan. It is said that the poet Kambar had first publicly presented his Ramayana at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and won the hearts of the people.

Even today, there is a platform/Mantapa in the temple called ‘Kamba Ramayana Mantapam’ to commemorate that occasion.

PM sat in that very place where Kamba first sang the Tamil Ramayana, reinforcing the deep connection between Tamil, Tamil Nadu and Sri Ram. The PM’s visits to the Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple at Srirangam have been seen as very special.

This temple, one of the of the most ancient temple complexes in the country has a deep connection with Lord Ram. The deity worshipped at Srirangam is Sri Ranganatha Swamy, a reclining form of Lord Vishnu.

According to legend, the idol at Srirangam temple was originally worshipped by Lord Ram and his ancestors. It was given by Brahma to Lord Rama’s ancestors. They used to have this idol along with them in Ayodhya and ensure daily worship.

Once, when Vibhishana asked for a precious gift from him, Lord Ram gave this idol to Vibhishana and asked him to worship it. When Vibhishana was travelling to Lanka, on the way, this idol got fixed in Srirangam.

Expressing happiness on the PM’s visit, Chief Priest of temple Sundar Bhattar said, “All devotees of India are very happy that our PM is visiting Srirangam. Lord Ranganatha is also happy about the PM’s visit. Our PM cares for everyone’s welfare so is Ranganatha, so it’s a blessed occasion for Srirangam. Before this, no Prime Minister has come to Srirangam, this is the first time a PM is visiting here. We all are very proud of his visit.”

The Prime Minister held a roadshow in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and was welcomed by people with showering of petals. He reached Rameswaram to perform darshan and pooja in Sri Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple.

Thousands of residents and BJP workers were present on both sides of the road to welcome the Prime Minister. Some of them were also carrying BJP flags. PM Modi waved back to people reciprocating their gesture.

The Prime Minister performed ‘smaran’ and offered prayers at Sri Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram. The PM was accorded a warm welcome at the temple.

The main deity worshipped in the temple is Sri Ramanathaswamy, which is a form of Lord Shiva. It is a widely held belief that the main lingam in this temple was installed and worshipped by Sri Rama and Mata Sita. It is one among the Char Dhams – Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram.

It is also one among the 12 Jyotirlingas. PM Modi arrived at the Amrithananda School campus in Rameswaram Pakarumbu by helicopter at 2.10 pm. From there, he took a holy dip in Agniteertham at 3.10 pm. PM Modi later took part in the Ramayan path and ‘Bhajan Sandhya’ in the temple.

Modi is currently observing an 11-day Anushthan till the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Shri Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on 22 January.