Srirangam - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

SRIRANGAM, or Seringham, a town of British India, in Trichinopoly district, Madras presidency, 2 m. N. of Trichinopoly city. Pop. (1901), 23,039. It stands on an island of the same name, formed by the bifurcation of the river Cauvery and by the channel of the Coleroon. The town is celebrated for its great temple, dedicated to Vishnu, composed of seven square enclosures, one within another, and 350 ft. distant from each other. Each enclosure has four gates with high towers, placed one in the centre of each side opposite to the four cardinal points. The successively widening enclosures and the greater elaboration of the outer as compared with the inner buildings mark the progress of the shrine in fame and wealth. The outer wall of the temple is not less than 4 m. in circumference. Not far distant is the smaller but more beautiful Jambukeswaram, a temple dedicated to Siva. From 1751 to 1755 the island and its pagodas were the object of frequent contests between the French and the English.