Tiruchirappalli
It is 325 km
south west of Madras. Tiruchirappalli was the heart of Tamil Nadu,
situated at the head of the Kaveri delta. The Pallavas,
Pandyas and Cholas chose this city for their feudal wars. The city is known for
its temple architecture.
The Rock Fort It is 272ft above the city on the banks of
the river Cauvery. The rock cut into 437 steps, leads to the
temple. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vinayaka (the mythical half-man,
half-bird Garuda who is Vishnu's Vehicle, famous in the Epic Mahabharata).
Along the way to temple there are landings and shrines. There are cave temples
cut into the rocks, dedicated to Ganesh (the elephant God) and Shiva. There
is an excellent view of the city from the top of this fort.
At the base of the Rock Fort,
there are two temple bazaars which sell all items especially items for worship.
Wood and clay toys are the traditional
products of the region. Open
from 06.00 to 20.00
The Sri Ranganathaswamy
Temple  This temple is at Sri Rangam
Island, in the middle of the Cauvery river. This temple was built by various dynasties
including the cheras, Pandyas,Cholas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar
Empire between 13th and 18th centuries. It covers an area of 2.5 sq.km
and the main temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This temple with seven concentric
walls and 22 gopurams has a north to south orientation. Sri Rangam island is also known
as a centre for religious philosophy and learning. The
great Vaishnava acharya Ramanuja taught and wrote in the Srirangam School during
the 11th century.
Sri Jambukeswara Temple This temple is situated about 2.5 km east of the Sri
Ranganathaswamy temple. It has an interior with a large central court, an excellent
example of the Dravidian architecture of A D 1600. The rampant
dragons, elaborate foliated brackets and royal Nayak portraits are incorporated
to its courtyards pillars.
Thiruvanaikkaval
It is the another shrine to Shiva, 6 Km east of Srirangam, named for a
legendary elephant that worshipped the linga. It has five walls and seven
gopurams with a finest Dravidian architecture work.
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