Historical Geography of Ancient India c7.562

c7.562

Śrīraṅgam.—It is the name of an island near Tirucirapalli or Trichinopoly (S.I.I., III, p. 168; cf. E.I., III, 7ff.; Raṅganātha Inscription of Sundara-Pāṇḍya; Śrīraṅgam Plates of Mādhava Nāyaka (E.I., XIII, 211ff.; cf. The Śrīraṅgam Inscription of Kākatīya Pratāparudra: Śaka 1239; E.I., Vol. XXVII, Pt. VII, July, 1948). Here stands the Raṅganātha temple. It was the place where Rāmānuja and Maṇavāḷa-mahāmuni dwelt for some time. The Śrīraṅgam Inscription of Acyutaraya refers to the well-known place of pilgrimage in South India, especially sacred to the Vaiṣṇavas (E.I., XXIV, Pt. VI, April, 1938, p. 285). The Śrīraṅgam Inscription of Garuḍa-vāhana Bhaṭṭa dated the Śaka 1415 has the object of registering a gift of land made by Śrīnivāsa (E.I., XXIV, Pt. II, April, 1937). This island contains the Śaiva temple of Jambukeśvara where an inscription of Valakakāmaya (Śaka saṃvat 1403) was discovered (E.I., III, p. 72). This island is situated three miles to the north of the town of Trichinopoly between the two branches of the river Kāverī. The great temple stands in the centre of this island, which was built by the Nāyaka rulers of Pāṇḍya. It is a great place of pilgrimage as mentioned in the Matsyapurāṇa, Padmapurāṇa and Śrīraṅgamāhātmya, forming a part of the Brahmāṇḍa-Purāṇa. The celebrated Vaiṣṇava reformer Rāmānuja lived and died here in the middle of the 11th century A.D. Rāmachandra is said to have lived here on his way to Laṅkā. The great temple which is a very old one, was renovated and improved by the Coḷa, Pāṇḍya and other kings of South India. The Śrīraṅgam copperplates of Harihara-Raya belong to the Śrīraṅganātha temple at Śrīraṅgam (E.I., XVI, 222ff.). This place contains an inscription of Coḷa Kulottuṅga (Ancient India, Bulletin of the A.S.I., No. 5, January, 1949). For further details vide Law, Holy Places of India, p. 40.