South Gopura, Enclosure 6

Ranganatha Temple, Srirangam

The gopuras decrease in size as one approaches the central area of the temple. This one is from the second outer enclosure. (The Penguin Guide, which I am following here, numbers enclosures from 7, the outermost, to 1, the innermost. The Blue Guide numbers them in the reverse order.)

Ranganatha temple was founded by the Cholas. After an initial growth spurt, it was sacked in the early 1300s by invading Muslims from Delhi. Restored by the Vijayanagara rulers, the temple enjoyed its greatest prosperity under the Nayakas in the 16th and 17th centuries. Its gopuras date mostly from this period, although some (as on the previous page) were only started then, and completed later.