And then she jumped.

It was the year 1323 CE.

Srirangam was attacked by the Delhi Sultanate during the Tamil month of Vaikasi. Nearly, 12,000 residents of Srirangam island had laid down their lives fighting to protect the temple. The forces attacked the temple and Lord Ranganatha's jewels and the temple gold were taken away.

The forces also wanted to seize the murti of Vishnu. They searched for the murti but the Vaishnavite Acharya, Pillailokacharya had taken the murti away and fled to Madurai. (The murti of Vishnu, called Namperumal that left Srirangam in 1323 returned back only in 1371).

Unable to locate the murti, the Sultanate forces killed the temple authorities and later launched a massive hunt for Pillailokacharya and Namperumal.

Fearing that the forces would capture the Acharya and the idol, Vellayi, a temple dancer performed a dance before the commander of the forces thus gaining time for Pillailokacharya to escape with the image.

Her dance lasted for hours together and finally she took the commander to the eastern gopuram and pushed him down. After killing him, Vellayi jumped to her death from the tower of the eastern entrance chanting the name of Ranganathar.

Hailing Vellayi's sacrifice, the chief of Vijayanagara forces, Kempanna, who drove away the Sultanate forces, named the tower after her. The gopuram continues to be painted white in her memory and now called as Vellai Gopuram.

Lest we forget.