PM Narendra Modi offers prayers at historic Srirangam temple in Tamil Nadu, listens to Kamba Ramayana in Tamil

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at the historic Srirangam temple in Tamil Nadu and listened to Kamba Ramayana in Tamil, one of the oldest language versions of the epic.

Ramayana being a national epic, one can find composed versions of Ramayana in various languages.

The Kamba Ramayana is a very old version of the Ramayana and was composed by Tamil poet Kamban in the 12th century.

The temple that the PM visited on Saturday has a deep connection with the Kamba Ramayana.

It was at this temple that Kamban first publicly presented his Ramayana and won the hearts of the people.

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

The PM sat in that very place where Kamba first sang the Tamil Ramayana, reinforcing the deep connection between Tamil, Tamil Nadu and Sri Ram.

Later, the PM will listen to a special programme featuring the rendition of Ram Kathas in various languages and scripts, including Gurmukhi, Kashmiri and Assamese.

The PM will be in Tamil Nadu on Saturday and Sunday to visit temples that are significant to the episodes from Lord Rama’s life. 

The PM also received a special offering for the Ayodhya Ram temple on behalf of the presiding deity at Shri Ranganath Swamy temple.