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Tiruchirappalli

Tiruchirappalli is one of the oldest cities in the state of Tamil Nadu in the south east of India. It is even one of the oldest still inhabited cities in all of India. Written historical traces date back to the 3rd century BC, but everything suggests that the city is much older still.

What is nowadays a district of Tiruchirappalli town, Uraiyur, ft the capital of the first Cholas from the 3rd century BC. Ptolemy cites the city under the name of Orthoura in his work "Geography" in the 2nd century.

Like virtually all cities in this region, struggles between neighboring states caused regular dynasty changes. Tiruchirappalli passed successively into the hands of the Pallavas, the Pandyas, those of the Delhi Sultanate, or the Vijayanagar Empire, the Nayak dynasty and finally the British.

Ranganathaswamy temple

Ranganathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ranganatha, a supreme avatar of Vishnu, who can be found in Srirangam, currently a district located on an island between the Cauvery River and its tributary Kollidam. It is sometimes called the temple of Srirangam. A first temple was in this place from the 3rd century BC, but was destroyed by bad weather and flooding from the river. The present temple was built towards the end of the first millennium AD.

It is one of the most beautiful temples in southern India. At the same time, it is the largest of all the temples in the world still in operation. In reality, Ranganathaswamy was more than just a temple. It was what might be called a "temple city".

about the place, Tiruchirappalli:

Tiruchirappalli is one of the oldest still inhabited cities in India. Its official history begins around the 3rd century BC. Among its main monuments is the magnificent Ranganathaswamy temple, which is said to be the largest temple in the world still in operation.

 

Spoken comments in the film: 

In the city of Tiruchirappalli the island of Srirangam gave its name not only to the district but also to the largest working temple in the world.

The Srirangam temple (or Shrirangam or even Sri Ranganathaswamy) is also known under the name of Thiruvarangam.

It is not only the largest temple but also one of the most spectacular with its magnificent painted facades.

The colors of these painted statues would stand out better if our visit to the temple had not happened in the pouring rain ...