History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c19.s16.17

v1.c19.s16.17

² For long the temple of Vishnu on the hill of Tripetty or Tirupati, in North Arkat district, was reputed to be the richest, the most magnificent, as it was certainly the most sacred of all those in the Presidency. So sacred, indeed, was it declared, that no unbelieving foreigner had ever been allowed to climb the holy hill (2,500 ft. high) or profane its sacred precincts. In 1870, a party of police forced their way in, in pursuit of a murderer who had taken refuge there, and Mr J. D. B. Gribble, who accompanied them, published an account of what they saw in the ‘Calcutta Review’ in 1875 (vol. lxi. pp. 142-156). As he exclaims, “Another of the illusions of my youth destroyed.” The temple is neither remarkable for its size nor its magnificence. In these respects it is inferior to Conjivaram, Srîrangam, and many others; and whatever may be done with its immense revenues, they certainly are not applied to its adornment. It is a fair specimen of a Dravidian temple of the second class, but in a sad state of dilapidation and disrepair. It was originally a Saiva temple, but was converted to the worship of Vishnu, by Râmanujâchârya, in the 12th century. For views of the Tirupati temples in the village below, see Dr G. Le Bon’s ‘Les Monuments de l’Inde,’ figs. 199-204.