In the state of Tamil
Nadu, just north of Tiruchirappalli, there is an island in the Cauvery River.
The Ranganathaswamy Temple is the most prominent structure
on the site, dedicated to the deity Vishnu in his guise as Ranganatha, who is
resting in the sea of cosmic dissolution on the back of his snake couch Shesha
(pralaya).
The temple is constructed in the Dravida architectural
style, which has low-rise temple structures that occupy a vast area and are
encircled by a boundary wall with huge towers (gopurams) above each wall's
central entryway.
Often, stores and homes may be found in the temple's
peripheral zones, converting such temples into mini-cities in their own right.
The Ranganathaswamy Temple is one of India's biggest
temples, including a network of seven ringed procession pathways.
The different kingdoms that governed this portion of
southern India— Chera, Pandya, Chola, Hoysala, and Vijayanagar—built it in
phases, with the latter two completing the majority of the work.
Given that Vishnu's image is that of a celestial ruler, it's
not unexpected that each of these regional kingdoms patronized this location in
order to use divine iconography to promote and justify their own claim to
power.
