Ranganathaswamy temple spread over 150 acres where even today Vibhishan comes to worship
Srirangam, located about 12 km from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, is a huge temple complex spread over an area of 150 acres.
Lord Vishnu, who is worshiped as Sriranganathaswamy, is enshrined in this huge Srirangam temple complex.
The Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, situated on an island formed by the Kaveri and its tributary Kollidam, is the largest functioning temple complex in the world.
It is believed in Hindu texts & Puranas that it has existed since the beginning of creation. The Ranganathaswamy temple is considered to be the first among the 108 Divya Desams.
This temple was first built by the rulers of the Chola Empire. However, the construction of the temple continued & many parts were renovated even by the last rulers of the Chola Empire
Apart from the Chola rulers, Pandya rulers also contributed in the construction of the temple. The temple has inscriptions from the Chola, Pandya, Hoysala & Vijayanagara dynasties.
The Ranganathaswamy temple is surrounded by walls on all sides in 7 layers. The total length of these walls is about 10 kilometers.
Apart from the main temple, there are 50 other temples in the temple complex. There are a total of 21 gopurams in this complex, including 17 giant gopurams
There are a total of 39 pavilions and 9 holy tanks in the complex. The main mandapam of the temple is the Aayaram Kala Mandapam, a large hall with 1,000 pillars