Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam
Tiruchirappalli, India
Open to visitors
The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.
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The Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu shrine dedicated to Ranganathar, a form of Vishnu, and his consort Ranganayaki. Built in the Tamil Dravidian architectural style, it ranks as the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams—temples especially revered in Vaishnavite tradition—and stands as the world's largest functioning religious complex in continuous active worship. Praised by Tamil poet-saints called the Alvars in their canon, the Naalayira Divya Prabhandham, the temple has been expanded and rebuilt repeatedly over centuries. Its most recent addition is a 73-metre-tall outer rajagopuram completed in 1987. The temple follows the Thenkalai tradition of Sri Vaishnavism based on the Pancharatra Agama, and its annual 21-day festival in December–January draws one million visitors. Situated on an island between two rivers, the complex has endured flooding and military destruction; it was looted by armies of the Delhi Sultanate. The temple received UNESCO's Asia-Pacific Award of Merit for cultural heritage conservation in 2017 and remains on UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list.
Movement
- Type
- Hindu temple
- Heritage
- Tentative World Heritage Site
- Place
- Tiruchirappalli, India
This building on
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