Giving this post a heading was not a completely straightforward matter, as the temple has several alternative names and ‘Trichy’, whilst in common usage, is actually an abbreviation of the city’s proper name ‘Tiruchirappalli’. Add to that the fact that the temple is located on a large river island called ‘Srirangam’— situated north of the city itself—and you can see how a range of equivalent descriptions becomes possible.
As a consequence, internet searches in relation to the temple are fraught with difficulties and it is easy to miss relevant material. Matters are further complicated by the enormous size of the temple complex—it is the largest in India and also the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world—which means that different parts of it are often referred to as separate entities.
The photo at the top, taken from a rooftop viewing point, shows the upper sections of several of the temple’s huge monumental towers (gopurams). There are 21 altogether, most of them decorated lavishly with colourful sculptures.
However, not all the gopurams are brightly coloured …
… and not all the colourful structures are gopurams.
The temple is dedicated to a form of Vishnu (in a reclining pose). The majority of the structures that can be seen today were built between the 14th and the 16th century. Many of the halls within the complex feature intricate artwork, such as these sculptures of horses at the entrance of one of the larger ones.
Elephants as well as dancers and musicians are frequently encountered motifs for the decorations.
We spent two to three hours walking around the different areas of the temple, but still were only able to gain a rough impression of what there is to see here. Some parts in any case are only open during certain religious festivals. Apart from a 10-day period each year, the doors below, for instance, are permanently closed.
In common with many other Hindu temples, the inner sanctum is only accessible to devotees. However, the fabulous golden ‘vimana’ on top of it— representing a flying palace—can be admired from various vantage points on the roof.
Some Hindu temples in India keep so-called ‘temple elephants’—it is not something I really approve of, although it is always nice to come across an elephant. I don’t know whether the one below actually belonged to the temple. It just so happened that it turned up in the side street in which we had parked the car. At least the animal seemed to be well looked after and I believe the mahout’s friendly greeting was genuine—he appeared quite happy to receive nothing but a thumbs-up and a convivial wave in return.
Fascinating!
So beautiful and exotic!