Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

Next up on the Tamil Nadu temple tour was the Sri Rnganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, near the major city of Tiruchirapalli, or Trichy. I literally only had time to get a room, go to sleep, and then go see the temple the next day before my train, so I have no idea about the rest of the town. I thought the other temples were big but this one is enormous. Dedicated to Vishnu, it's the largest temple in India and one of the largest religious centers in the world. The temple has 7 concentric walls leading to a sacred inner gold temple (open only to Hindus). Each wall is capped by a large gopuram or tower.



The temple did not have as many shrines and icons as the other temples that I'd been to but was full of amazing sculptures and paintings. It's famous for its "Hall of 1000 Pillars" (actually there are 900-something but who's counting) and the huge statue of a reclining Vishnu on top of a bed of cobras (so I've heard - that's in the inner temple).