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.

Sanatan : where science and spirituality merge and create magic

Setting sun aligns with four windows of the Gopuram of Padmanabha Swamy temple at Thiurventhapuram on Autumn equinox day (23rd September)

This will happen again on Spring equinox in 2024 (19th march)

Sanatan dharm teaches us Rashtra prem and our temples are best example of it

Independence Day celebrations at Chidambaram swamy mandir

The only temple in Bharat that fought in Supreme Court in 2002 to get flag hoisting ceremony on top of the temple gopuram.

Our Dharm teaches us 'Nation' first.

The Brihadeeswarar Mandir, #Thanjavur, #TamilNadu.

The whole temple is made of approximately 1.3 lakh tons of Granite, with no cement or soil used. Also Tanjore is a fertile red soil area and there is no evidence of granite within 60 kms of the temple's radius, yet the temple had been completely built with the strongest granites in the world. The transportation used by the ancient Cholas is still unknown.

The top most part of the Gopuram of #Brihadeeswarar mandir is a single stone, weighing 80 tons. Even now the technique, which was used by the Cholas, to pull the mass stone towards the peak of the gopuram is unknown because the temple was built 1000 years ago.

Good Morning!!
When rest of the World was trying to draw on paper our Ancestors carved extraordinary pieces of 3D designs on one of the hardest rock i.e. granite ! 💓
3D sculpture in 1800+ years old Jambukeswarar Temple. 😍
Jambukeswarar Temple in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. One of the 5 major Shiva Temples or
Pancha Bhoota Stalam (signifying the 5 natural elements- Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Space). This Temple represents the element of water.
3D carving of Shesha Naga on one of the hardest rock (granite) This is nearly 1800 years old 🚩
From Jambukeshwarar Temple, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, BHARAT (India) 🚩
#worldwidehindutemples
#hinduism #Tamilnadu #sculpture #architecture #incredibleindia #india #heritage #carvings #ancientindia #sculptureart #ancienthistory #ancientarchitecture #gopuram #architecturephotography #art #templesofindia
Source: facebook Worldwide Hindu Temples ॐ