Trichy -- Srirangam Temple, cont.
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All the religious activites we saw took place in the fifth courtyard.
There was the usual bustle of marriages and other ceremonies. We
learned that some people shaved their heads and gave their hair as an
offering. We saw at least one small child who had been thus barbered. It was a great site for people-watching.
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| Worshippers in the
Garuda Mandapa (pillared hall) |
His head was shaved
and covered with sandal paste |
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| Happy women and girl |
Intense little boy |
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| Receiving a blessing from the temple elephant |
We then walked clockwise around the fifth courtyard.
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| Hanuman and Surgriva
(monkey king) |
Gopuram |
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| We thought this
looked vaguely Tibetan... |
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| Wilder paintings |
Beautiful pillared
hall, courtyard and gopuram |
When we remarked that some of the decoration looked almost Tibetan, the
somewhat incensed guide told us that Hinduism came first and that the Buddhists had copied the style from them!
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| A rounded tank is
unusual. |
We were told the
cats eat the fish in the tank. |
On the east side again, we passed out into the fourth courtyard,
running very fast barefoot across the burning sand. It was burning so
badly that I could hardly believe it when I had finally made it across
to the shade on the other side of the courtyard. We will not forget
this ordeal very soon.
There, once the terrible crossing of the courtyard was over, was
the Sheshagiriraya Mandapa, another pillared hall with beautifully
sculptured rearing horses on the columns.
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The carved horses on pillars in the Sheshagiriraya Mandapa
date from the
Vijayanagar period, done by the same folks who built Gingee Fort
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That evening we visited the Rock Fort.
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