Ranganatha Swamy Temple – History, Festivals, Timings, Address

The Arulmigu Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Srirangam has a civilization that is thousands of years old and has a history of seeing empires. During the rule of the Pallavas, a solid religious foundation was formed. For example, the encouragement given by the Pallava dynasty seems to have contributed to the growth of Aryan institutions in southern India, and especially in Karnataka. The Cholas ruled the eastern coast and much of the eastern Deccan for nearly three hundred years. Here they helped the flourishing of advanced Hindu culture.

The Cholas were defeated by the Madurai Pandiyas and the Mysore Hoysalas in the thirteenth century. The Hoysalas were interested in building the Srirangam temple, leaving both the inscriptions and the buildings. The Hoysalas were then driven out by the Pandiyas in the early fourteenth century. Later, in 1336, the Mohammedans launched frequent attacks on the Deccan in the face of fierce opposition from the Hindu kingdom established at Vijayanagar. The Hindu kingdom maintained its independence until 1565.

During this time, Europeans appeared in southern India. In the eleventh century, many foreign travellers and merchants were not interested except in using the interior as a route to do their business with the Vijayanagar Empire. In 1600, the English East India Company and in 1664 the French Company were formed.

During 1680, King Aurangzeb (1658 – 1707) launched an invasion of the Western Deccan. After a long siege and heavy casualties, the fortified cities of Bijapur and Golconda fell to him and the invasion lasted until his death.

In Europe, the Austrian war over who would capture the next was a direct confrontation between the British and the French. Dupleix captured Chennai (Madras) (1746). It was returned to the British two years later. The French surrendered in 1752 and in 1754 the French government rejected Dupleix’s operations. Also in 1754, Dupleix was recalled by the French government.

In 1760, another French attempt, led by Lali-Talent, failed and in 1763 the French business organization was dissolved. From then on, the English company gradually occupied the entire Indian frontier. Although the French came close to victory, they were later defeated in 1798 by the Wellesley-led English. Wellesley invaded Mysore and captured the Srirangapatna fort in 1799. After that, all parts of South India came under British control. Karnataka, it was added under the direct rule of the Province of Madras from the former.