Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple

The Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, on an island formed by the Kaveri and Kollidam rivers, is the largest functioning Hindu temple complex in the world by area, covering around 156 acres with a perimeter wall of nearly 4 kilometers. Its layout consists of seven concentric rectangular enclosures (prakarams) lined with shops, homes, and shrines, guarded by 21 gopurams — the tallest, the Rajagopuram at the southern entrance, rises about 73 meters, making it one of the tallest temple towers in Asia. Srirangam is revered as the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams, the sacred Vishnu temples celebrated by the Alvar poet-saints in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. The temple has been continuously patronized from the Chola through the Vijayanagara and Nayak periods, and its December Vaikunta Ekadasi festival draws over a million pilgrims.