SRIRANGAM TOWN

INTRODUCTION Old view of the city

• CITY : SRIRANGAM
• POPULATION :2 ,07, 494 (2011 )-
• LITRACY RATE : 81 %

• Srirangam (formerly Vellithirumutha gramam) is an island and a part of city of

Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India.
• Srirangam is home to significant population of Srivaishnavites followers of Lord
Vishnu.
• The temple complex is the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world as it
covers an area of about 6,790,000 sq. Ft with a perimeter of 4 km .
• The Angkor wat being the largest existing temple.
• The complex is composed of 7 concentric walled sections and 21 magnificent
towers or gopuram.
• The gopuram of the temple is called the Raja gopuram and is 236 feet (72m) tall,
is the tallest in Asia.

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 HISTORY
Srirangam old madapam

• This temple is glorified in the divya prabandha, the early tamil literature
canon of the alvar saints from the 6th to 9th century AD.

• The Srirangam temple complex follows Dravidian style of architecture.

• The 73m high 13 tiered Raja gopuram was built in 1987 by Ahobila Mutt after a Raja Kopuram at Srirangam
span of 8 years, dominates the landscape for miles around, while the
remaining gopurams were built during 14th to 17th centuries.

• The structure of the Rajagopuram remained incomplete at the base 17m high
for 400years.

• The hall of 1000 pillars is made of granite and was constructed in

vijayanagara period (1336- 1565) on the site of the old temple.

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 FORTIFICATION
Road Pattern
• The eight enclosures were open space till the 15th Century and were used
to temporarily rehabilitate people affected by the floods.

• The pattern in which the ramparts are built with roads leading through the
gopuram emphasize the centrality of the temple .

• Congregations ,festivals, etc .thus the streets and their layout reflects
often the function and the mood of an community at a particular period

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STREET PATTERN
• Srirangam ,as typical of many ancient towns in India ,These sacred
monuments were constructed in such a position that providing a focal
point for the city .

• Initially these were only two temples ,with individual settlements

around them in a particular order the temple with the brahmin,
Vaishya, & shudra community residence laid out in concentric pattern
around the temple .
• The status and power was reflected in the height of the building .

• The settlement patterns were community or occupation based .

• The volume and character of the streets network change when we

move from periphery to the centre of the temple. Street pattern

• Thus only pedestrianisation is encouraged all along the temple

surrounding. 5
 SETTLEMENT PATTERN
• The intension of the each ruler is to build the walls and
Gopurams higher than the previous ones.

• The temple was also used as a military fort by the Nayaks

for some time. On the southern face of the rock are several
beautifully carved cave temples of the Pallava period.

• In the 20th Century, Srirangam became a municipality and

the town started to grow outside the fortified enclosure
walls. Today it is spread all across the island.

• The quaint riverbanks are buzzing with building activity. Old

buildings are being demolished rapidly. The ecology of the
island and the life within the town needs to be protected
Settlement pattern
and sensitively planned for

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 ASPECTS OF CITY
• PATHS :PATHS WERE OFTEN THE PREDOMINANT ELEMENTS IN PEOPLE’S IMAGE WITH THE OTHER
ELEMENTS BEING ARRANGED AND RELATED ALONG PATHS. AS THE TEMPLES RECTANGULAR
PATHWAYS DEFINES A IMAGEABILITY TO THE CITY .

• EDGES: THE TWO MAIN TEMPLES IN THE SRIRANGAM SHOWS A FOCAL POINT OF DEVELOPMENT
AND THERE IS NO EDGES CAN BEEN SEEN RATHER A CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT IS PREVAILING
.AS IT IS AN ISLAND ALL SIDES ARE ISOLATED BY WATER BODIES .

• DISTRICTS: THE CITY SHOWS A UNIQUE CHARTERS OF RELIGIOUS SPIRITUALITY AND A

PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF TEMPLES ALL AROUND THE CITY.

• NODES: THE NODAL POINT OF THE CITY IS THE CENTER POINT OF THE TWO MAJOR TEMPLES
.AND THE MAGNIFICENT TOWERS BECOME THE HALLWAY FOR ENTERING INTO THE TEMPLE

• LANDMARKS: THE RAJAKOPURAM WAS THE MAJOR LANDMARK- HIGHEST TOWER IN ASIA AND
THE 7 CONCENTRIC WALLED SECTIONS AND 21 MAGNIFICENT TOWERS OR GOPURAM FORMS A
UNIQUE DESIGN OF ITS KIND NEXT TO MADURAI .

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 SOCIAL CULTURAL BEHAVIOUR OF THE CITY
• There were festivals round the year and pilgrims flocked to this
place to worship.

• A temple as an institution ,influences all the aspects of life of

the people in ancient India and it’s the major source of
employment .

• In addition along the banks of Kaveri in areas near Srirangam

and Tiruchirappalli there are other famous temples of
Lord Vishnu most of which house the reclining form of him,
namely the Sri Vadivazhagiya Nambi Perumal Temple (Thiru
Anbil) and housing the deity Appala Ranganathar, also called
the Appukudaththan Temple at Koviladi.

• The tower and temples were the highest building in the town
giving importance to GOD, The houses were build with low lintel
ways for “bow cultural Impact “
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ECONOMIC BASE OF THE CITY
• DUE TO THE FAMOUS TEMPLE, SRIRANGAM HAS A THRIVING ECONOMY
BASED ON TOURISM.
• DEVOTEES COME FROM ALL PARTS OF INDIA AND ABROAD ( 7 MILLION
DOMESTIC AND 87 THOUSAND FOREIGN TOURISTS )
• THIRUVARANGAM IS ONE OF THE FEW TEMPLES WHICH IS ALWAYS BEING
CROWDED BY DEVOTEES. Thiruvarangam

• ANOTHER TEMPLE OF LORD VISHNU IS AT TIRUCHIRAPPALLI ITSELF, THE

AZHAGIYA NAMBI TEMPLE AT WORAIYUR WHICH IS PART OF THE SRI
RANGANATHASWAMY TEMPLE AT SRIRANGAM.

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 LAND USE MAP
• According to TCC -city corporate plan -it has a open spaces of
79% includes agricultural and water bodies area .

• Butterfly Park -. It is a tropical butterfly conservatory located in

the Upper anaicut reserve forests in Srirangam with an extent of
25 acres.

• This park has 27 plant varieties corresponding to 27 stars Aerial view of srirangam
(Nakshatras).

• The public building and commercial Land use are placed

between two major temples for better proximity.

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HISTORY
• THE GODS STATUE WAS SAID TO BE CARRIED TO SRI LANKA , BUT HE WENT TO TAKE A BREAK AND THE
STATUE WAS KEPT IN THE SAND
• AFTER THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE IT LIFT IT FROM THAT PLACE , HENCE THE TEMPLE ORIGINATED THERE

• THEY DIDN’T CONSTRUCT THE RAJA KOPURAM FOR SO MANY YEARS BECAUSE , IF THEY CONSTRUCT IT
THEY BELIEVED THAT THERE WILL BE A DANGER FOR SRILANKA AND INDIA.
• LIKEWISE ONCE THE RAJA KOPURAM WAS CONSTRUCTED , TSUNAMI HIT BOTH SRILANKA AND
TAMILNADU ( ALL ARE BELIEFS SAID BY THE PEOPLE )

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 THANK YOU
SRIRANGAM IS STILL A CITY DESIGNED FOR ITS PEOPLE AND THEIR MOTIVES AND IS “A GOOD CITY FORM “
BECAUSE OF ITS CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF PEOPLE .

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