{"chapterKey":"india-peninsular/cauvery-temples-1-ranganatha","title":"Cauvery Temples 1.  Ranganatha","regionSlug":"india-peninsular","status":"published","photos":[{"sha":"fe7112580a36ac4a97de37d03f778eb7d3788c1da54ca21c53f6475ab64bf8ac","caption":"The Ranganathaswamy or Ranganatha Temple is India's largest.  Built on Srirangam Island in the Cauvery River at Trichinopoly, it also boasts India's tallest gopuram.\n\nLet's stop sounding like a travel guide.  The stone base is old, but the tower (made of bricks and mostly hollow, as in all gopurams) was built with financial help from UNESCO and completed only in 1987, The design is formulaic, but perhaps no more so than the design of church steeples.  A few bits of that formula: the  doorway is twice as high as it is wide, the number of stories is odd, and the windows above the entrance are bordered by dvarapalas or guards.  One more bit: each story or tier is lined with pavilions, and the number on them is the same on every story; only the pavilion size changes.\n\nFor a photo of the gopuram in 1858, see this photograph from the British Library: [https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/t/largeimage57821.html](https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/t/largeimage57821.html)","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"beside_text","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/c8237f892ca066f78daab98bb6a66914","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/b26f055c7f0c390d3021ae7c6d96da4c","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/112eeacdca41bbf72461e3f76ff60974","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fe7112580a36ac4a97de37d03f778eb7","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fe7112580a36ac4a97de37d03f778eb7","altText":"The Ranganathaswamy or Ranganatha Temple is India's largest.  Built on Srirangam Island in the Cauvery River at Trichinopoly, it also boasts"},{"sha":"db9b619b7e49328cbb99c66b47f865d493553bc3a5f2c852d59160cda1878d69","caption":"The artist signed his work, although as artists go he had so little freedom that it might be better to call him a craftsman.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"narrow","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/399792184531e874c6b3f6996a5df5d7","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/88291ea1e586b2e70ba548e0cb0223c7","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/30d6c1fc4b1588de54dcc5a5a9cc99da","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/db9b619b7e49328cbb99c66b47f865d4","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/db9b619b7e49328cbb99c66b47f865d4","altText":"The artist signed his work, although as artists go he had so little freedom that it might be better to call him a craftsman."},{"sha":"190eec936d44b78c95738c52fbd79abf9c62f5d750814742cbf7e379a9c775f6","caption":"It's hard to see the deities portrayed on the tower but easy to see the stone work of the gopuram base.  It crams so many elements together that it might as well be the wall of a carpentry shop displaying all the shapes customers can buy.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/7c9fd3f2c760903e36f7710cb9cfcec5","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/37ba549f47e87bce7f4b7f9d4069c0bb","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fc80297a4a4053db600a3a7244a06942","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/c22a0470ee8a650e74f07512e0079f13","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/190eec936d44b78c95738c52fbd79abf","altText":"It's hard to see the deities portrayed on the tower but easy to see the stone work of the gopuram base.  It crams so many elements together"},{"sha":"51c70a5a8e83452b9f5df9216c4ce946c859abe389ff4efb812382623d4c655a","caption":"The gopuram's setting or framing is a little rough.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"narrow","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/006d79260a5dc94fef9c8a03d6bca7e1","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0cd7e8ebd63755e6964b6c144d5358fb","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/96fa55d91b509e53db6e633cd39c7810","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/51c70a5a8e83452b9f5df9216c4ce946","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/51c70a5a8e83452b9f5df9216c4ce946","altText":"The gopuram's setting or framing is a little rough."},{"sha":"e8c3ab9b0e0e169ce52a2556cd5f67c7f679e228f62291b78c20e65c16ffa86c","caption":"Nobody seems to object. Then again, how often do Americans object to the commercial junk they see every day?","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"narrow","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/538013dab4cf28b03923f192e981f30f","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/21551d8779c355827553dd945c4ca0ce","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/d7f47b008e7335617e4eca1e7e1e50ab","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/e8c3ab9b0e0e169ce52a2556cd5f67c7","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/e8c3ab9b0e0e169ce52a2556cd5f67c7","altText":"Nobody seems to object. Then again, how often do Americans object to the commercial junk they see every day?"},{"sha":"0fd6db5e6f1d5fcccfa7112fc7d1b23c759c3c39167db23bed7b47fe28a572c5","caption":"The center of the passage leading through a gopuram has vestibules or recessed entrances to stairs leading up into the tower; often, as in this case, there are also tiny shrines.\n\n(For photos of some gopuram interiors and their stairways, see James C. Harle's *Temple Gateways in Southern India.*)","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"beside_text","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/acad1c66b24c92ca4812ce6f4082bf8e","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/721ce5e2b0146ad101f1f62315865650","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/be77d6cd77440b8f4b653cbf5452be34","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0fd6db5e6f1d5fcccfa7112fc7d1b23c","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0fd6db5e6f1d5fcccfa7112fc7d1b23c","altText":"The center of the passage leading through a gopuram has vestibules or recessed entrances to stairs leading up into the tower; often, as in t"},{"sha":"69700f0f413c357932ccf753189086fb92229dc6ee48ea6eefc9d69fcf314a93","caption":"Here's part of the south wall or *prakar*a of the fourth rectangle wrapping the central shrine, which is dedicated to Vishnu.  (The temple's name, Ranganatha, translates as Lord of the Place, referring to Vishnu.)  You can perhaps see why the French and the British found the temple a ready-made fortress, but they also probably found it much less formidable than it is now, because Muslim armies had repeatedly destroyed the temple long before the Europeans arrived.  The British in any case moved out about 1800, and the temple was reconsecrated.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/f743dde4a833ca67ba657fdade05e217","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/b6ff9e4e7d28824d3eb9a45712873294","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0985295fe6a75694506a7ec016aff1d3","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/671e2d9be657f7cb5df7f757e884d7f4","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/69700f0f413c357932ccf753189086fb","altText":"Here's part of the south wall or prakara of the fourth rectangle wrapping the central shrine, which is dedicated to Vishnu.  The temple's na"},{"sha":"f2b37c03eb7ec8c3ad7b1144a0e3cb6cb1901d95c357750f82d112a1146e4ec2","caption":"A Krishna temple stands in the courtyard between the third and fourth walls. It's just west of the main north-south axis and about 200 meters south of the temple's main shrine.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/e31004c2adb1521e447fdde028dd7d8c","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/96f7a0b01924b41ae241dc5c21bb0d2f","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/831a7b4f319c6d488967ae13280e7fbd","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/906eed45aec30a54cf9e7e8b6f24ca38","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/f2b37c03eb7ec8c3ad7b1144a0e3cb6c","altText":"A Krishna temple stands in the courtyard between the third and fourth walls. It's just west of the main north-south axis and about 200 meter"},{"sha":"755b790c4a52800b7590168810488a76ca94dcb3c946f19945c0952294635e8c","caption":"The Krishna temple's shrine was locked on the day I came by, but, because it's subordinate to the central shrine, the temple priests have largely left it alone.  Well, that was true until somebody looked at the tower of the shrine and decided it needed paint.  When I came by, a guide was showing two Swiss tourists around.  I butted in nicely and asked the guide if he thought the paint was an improvement. \"No!\" he shouted.  I almost hugged him.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"beside_text","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/367d63ac87c782e9fc95fb1aa308c171","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0dadf509f3c2f6d9fe48f293ff5eb231","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/19e4f36176c406e75491c9807323a05d","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/755b790c4a52800b7590168810488a76","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/755b790c4a52800b7590168810488a76","altText":"The Krishna temple's shrine was locked on the day I came by, but, because it's subordinate to the central shrine, the temple priests have la"},{"sha":"65af3a1f1ff0ce1fbe7c938fe9c4c79cc487bc5d1aaf8d7987d65fc3e124a145","caption":"We can argue all day about whether paint improves stone.  Anyway, here's Venugopala, which is to say Krishna playing his flute.  He evidently likes plus-sized women.  Age of this temple?  Somewhere between 1529 and 1726, when Srirangam came under the rule of the Madurai Nayaks, successors to the Vijayanagar kings, successors to the Cholas who established the temple.  There's a lot of dynastic history here, more than I want to deal with.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/5b83702b49a6475c82ca743f0a689623","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/d9f8ce92fa61c92932d4506d2b285229","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/c7faacc61a85d0087016e854c3b2dcd3","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/00c740828f656cb893e3d3d636232079","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/65af3a1f1ff0ce1fbe7c938fe9c4c79c","altText":"We can argue all day about whether paint improves stone.  Anyway, here's Venugopala, which is to say Krishna playing his flute.  He evidentl"},{"sha":"9e3232c8791260e6803bc90067bb0defdda0793112b34e02f9a568affdb4bc74","caption":"Is it possible that she doesn't notice his hand? Oh, I see, she's just being coy.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"narrow","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/3f12f8f731440bc6bf5b0c9f364f3b33","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/a4cdedc6fd1dac4bc5d0cfee606c1606","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/e72ebf61748b0b0d63b431ffc1b7f6fd","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/9e3232c8791260e6803bc90067bb0def","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/9e3232c8791260e6803bc90067bb0def","altText":"Is it possible that she doesn't notice his hand? Oh, I see, she's just being coy."},{"sha":"5e1af7a6a0d49d9d67c50f1d1e6730e64b3b41762ad561ebf3769696c1d3db56","caption":"Judging from *her* hand, however, I'd say she's more than willing.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"narrow","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/9ef8a2285bf6f33ed58f8373da403052","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/1debf98e67a1c07992dfdbff45bcb694","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/40a11692caad65282505c3614be1ef57","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/5e1af7a6a0d49d9d67c50f1d1e6730e6","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/5e1af7a6a0d49d9d67c50f1d1e6730e6","altText":"Judging from her hand, however, I'd say she's more than willing."},{"sha":"09da3bec642c7807aff45558f84b781c2342cd91d8938edbb483aad1f97b960b","caption":"We're up on a nearby roof.  The main axis of the temple runs under the slightly higher roof just to our right, then through the gopuram and on to the low, gold-capped main shrine, the *vimana,* which is (and has long been) open only to Hindus (not so long ago, only high-caste Hindus). The shrine was first gilt 1251 in imitation of the gilding at Chidambaram, shown in a later file.  The gopuram on the right is the Vellai or Vellayi gopuram; it's on the east side of the same wall whose south side we saw a while back, and it's painted white (vellai in Tamil) in memory of a woman (named Vellayi) who is said to have sacrificed herself to save a temple treasure from Muslim attackers.\n\nJames Fergusson, the pioneering British student of these places, wrote that the shrine \"except that its dome is gilt has nothing to distinguish it from an ordinary village temple.\"  Did Fergusson manage to peek inside?  I'm betting not.  If he had, he would have seen a golden image of Vishnu six meters long and reclining in comfort under the protective mantle of Shesha, a multi-headed serpent.  (See Fergusson's *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, 1910 ed., p. 368.)","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/9964c0b2fb967c2d542bdadff0a63dea","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fd7613a1f0a2a4240e0c2a5c0c839be6","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/60d99d26d390bf3bdb0ee68f36de961c","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/11a6b1eabf3d690abfc144724cd127ac","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/09da3bec642c7807aff45558f84b781c","altText":"We're up on a nearby roof.  The main axis of the temple runs under the slightly higher roof just to our right, then through the gopuram and"},{"sha":"0c8992f2bc2d596da05bb941af8516d45e69d7a66ca2340daed1f0cf70cc5972","caption":"A *dhvajastambha* or flagstaff sticks through a recently built roof over the main axis.  On a scale of 1 to 10, the craftsmanship of the temple ranges from, well, 1 to 10.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"narrow","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/261321063f50cd621fc318256400ca79","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/bc0d5be7118322ed88c965256b8370b1","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/5cd558b4d9711d0c410927359a1f2fa2","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0c8992f2bc2d596da05bb941af8516d4","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0c8992f2bc2d596da05bb941af8516d4","altText":"A dhvajastambha or flagstaff sticks through a recently built roof over the main axis.  On a scale of 1 to 10, the craftsmanship of the templ"},{"sha":"236b3ded7df0554a23bf959981f743fd8ebe9d81e33c399e071cc51ce7b8fc51","caption":"Here's that white gopuram. Wish I knew why this courtyard wasn't paved. And why the palms have been decapitated.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"narrow","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/951fd5ad7230d6ec33ee3930b2c34f82","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/443979cb34a78622b19c38554e0aaba9","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/0ae4506ce4d373af40ef069952d4724f","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/236b3ded7df0554a23bf959981f743fd","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/236b3ded7df0554a23bf959981f743fd","altText":"Here's that white gopuram. Wish I knew why this courtyard wasn't paved. And why the palms have been decapitated."},{"sha":"6b2014471fcdb1c0df3baa60f9d5c4f630c952fa82dbb26005628c0439b4231c","caption":"The same sandy courtyard is flanked by a \"thousand-pillared\" hall.   Fergusson, who liked to count, came up with a total of 953.  Nice elephant, though. Nicer than the temple's live elephant, which deserves better than to be treated like a slave.\n\nA finely drawn plan and cross-section of this hall appears in the very scarce *India: Photographs and Drawings of Historical Buildings; 100 Plates Reproduced by W. Griggs from the Collection in the Late Office of Curator of Ancient Monuments in India,* London, 1896.  Don't run out to get a copy unless you're willing to spend something over $9,000.  I got my copy through interlibrary loan.","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"beside_text","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/c9eacb51037a98ebeac7514cf9904388","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/4061c8c7f3885c2164ec529dff2aeaff","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/822601cd50af2900dba22e3c359c1cb8","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/6b2014471fcdb1c0df3baa60f9d5c4f6","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/6b2014471fcdb1c0df3baa60f9d5c4f6","altText":"The same sandy courtyard is flanked by a \"thousand-pillared\" hall.   Fergusson, who liked to count, came up with a total of 953.  Nice eleph"},{"sha":"aaae1c92fdbca3698c3d81bcefbff8fd558a2cad2433c980c39c590a75b6846b","caption":"The other side of the same courtyard has the smaller Seshagiri-Rao pillared hall.  The monolithic pillars are typical of the Vijayanagara Empire, which dates them more or less to 1500.  I can't figure out why the figure is smiling, since he's under a horse rearing over a tiger.  He must know something I don't.  (You don't think it looks like a tiger?  Check the fine drawing in Griggs, cited in the previous caption.)","width":3072,"height":4080,"aspect":0.7529,"orientation":"portrait","layoutHint":"beside_text","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/18adeaca6c9ec25335c8ebd1b7129f7e","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/2c863fb4c062e4acc1e7779793f31d74","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/70b48b2a6b407d6e975c685a0dee5222","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/aaae1c92fdbca3698c3d81bcefbff8fd","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/aaae1c92fdbca3698c3d81bcefbff8fd","altText":"The other side of the same courtyard has the smaller Seshagiri-Rao pillared hall.  The monolithic pillars are typical of the Vijayanagara Em"},{"sha":"6ecd2729d3fbe7c3526a62d71cebe55b5aac00b7623d6f1a03462abeb5a61499","caption":"The walls-within-walls layout is especially frustrating if you have trouble walking barefoot. Anyway, that's another subsidiary temple off to the right.  The \"tuning fork\" on the left is a *namam.*  There are two forms of it, iand they identify two sects of Vishnu worshippers.  This form identifies the Tengalai. The other sect, the Vadakalai, is represented by a U-shaped *namam *without the prong.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/ef88c9530716e780f2116b3917467d05","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/348d2e2bb4bbde68051a1b2479bf90a7","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/ab9414fa50612a1a84465aabbef724f4","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/8260570dfeaf7ced432674d9971868d0","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/6ecd2729d3fbe7c3526a62d71cebe55b","altText":"The walls-within-walls layout is especially frustrating if you have trouble walking barefoot. Anyway, that's another subsidiary temple off t"},{"sha":"278e512cbf9b9f6915b609529d7e1123c7ee13d16ac59a1ca3e2261bfc2f25b2","caption":"Another subsidiary temple, locked tight.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/eaf696b8a6106648b01e799c188139e6","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/18dd44bd3d9f9dd474512863eb6d33e6","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/7b50b48bb9d853d27441a6b27f945435","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/b17b425d79a0c60c0887bd2b5251a93e","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/278e512cbf9b9f6915b609529d7e1123","altText":"Another subsidiary temple, locked tight."},{"sha":"cbf7404cb8a4f6975a8e72bfa7a0e8ef6256694c4f3777d898957bc30bc85a72","caption":"And you think Americans are fearful.\n\n.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/34bac3fe3cd9ee36aac824987377b1b4","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/4358fe3408da845f9e46a4386d444f76","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/86aaa73d637480b155c21bdf035d1bd7","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/a41c9f98dec86f63bd6490656431b93c","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/cbf7404cb8a4f6975a8e72bfa7a0e8ef","altText":"And you think Americans are fearful.\n\n."},{"sha":"e0e80d5b15bb6a7e31e4577fe5a7b4d05f427a6ba1832407ed79462724d28632","caption":"No matter, the exteriors of these temples offer more to see than the interiors, whose walls are typically blank.  Too bad that the paint-brigade has been busy.  Maybe a senior priest visited Disneyland.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/23ba4fc38f9646520de61d80ad6c10af","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/6ef7b1247ff708158345f46d6af4ec9b","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/36ddb772908806a95956759137ab8c27","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/a78aca5eb4fa56ba30d45df8852c20cf","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/e0e80d5b15bb6a7e31e4577fe5a7b4d0","altText":"No matter, the exteriors of these temples offer more to see than the interiors, whose walls are typically blank.  Too bad that the paint-bri"},{"sha":"c903d9c8f2ac7e51415046e977e753e30a57c4be927146697c08a0c3c72cac36","caption":"Ah, a mithuna, a reminder on the temple's wall of what Stella Kramrisch calls \"reintegration.\" So easy to forget, so hard to remember.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/81249f7a99afbeb0d5ef8a47475a4105","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/3af4441a643511c115b01c7fcac3d2b6","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/6b0fbd37f692e35cee4207820a32cec7","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/b224228f12cf8a3ebaa20615ed7c7b02","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/c903d9c8f2ac7e51415046e977e753e3","altText":"Ah, a mithuna, a reminder on the temple's wall of what Stella Kramrisch calls \"reintegration.\" So easy to forget, so hard to remember."},{"sha":"6ab8b321b1d6bc1b41dbab4646558e07ca080dda5d17ba3410de44a5ad4533b1","caption":"Scout around, and you'll find places within the temple walls that are pretty crude.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/742e1786e812e9056a336a1ab79a17af","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fcf4916f3bb2cb0bc62f791e7b607311","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/92595b6c4142b18a0b8c4dbdd29949be","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/1770e52cb1fd5df7e3e41d2951b15cfa","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/6ab8b321b1d6bc1b41dbab4646558e07","altText":"Scout around, and you'll find places within the temple walls that are pretty crude."},{"sha":"89e91db132cdb8423ea0cb982441fe10c388060e0ee003f0d7a6216b6594ae59","caption":"Tour operators aren't likely to ask if they can use this photo in their next brochure.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/3f8beb2dc09c21b11f791da92d54b9e1","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/e9429acdebd85fa8b69842c7bb79fe5e","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/c1aa2fac7124861796b76a3294b8dea3","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/d4bad61e8665e61f1cbdf29f32851cc0","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/89e91db132cdb8423ea0cb982441fe10","altText":"Tour operators aren't likely to ask if they can use this photo in their next brochure."},{"sha":"5698cf4af0a8bb501f18de5aa8c4c89204ba5d496012b70cc4d594b6133956e7","caption":"The best time to visit is early in the day.  I mean early early: people are already beginning to drift in here at the north entrance.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/f7b573894173cb8dcc6e8b3e56171abd","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/b59bef1becea240f3d14107ffdddce7a","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/7eaad79fa1f9a07064717e87f74bc0d4","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/d7c38f62269f8cd38f9e4e06c63ed40f","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/5698cf4af0a8bb501f18de5aa8c4c892","altText":"The best time to visit is early in the day.  I mean early early: people are already beginning to drift in here at the north entrance."},{"sha":"ff80b991070b0beeaf72354a13b3911e8ecee21221f2fcba7d5f6f68c6547f15","caption":"Almost deserted.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/edb70977059da7da0d5e83206384e329","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/93c446af11f2dcc10129132c198eb10c","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/81070fa8a7696b38f0bb1da861ee1237","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/ef77b0a72cdb96f444221478412baa06","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/ff80b991070b0beeaf72354a13b3911e","altText":"Almost deserted."},{"sha":"9204f685c054390bce8b4db974a1be34a099ec90a695e21dc73d896eafe581ad","caption":"Even earlier, an elephant walks to the doorway of the central shrine, where he will briefly stand as part of Ranganatha's regalia.  Nobody has to to tell you to keep your distance.  You're barefoot, after all.  Come to think of it, though elephants walk almost silently, this one did have a necklace of bells. sounding gently musical.","width":4080,"height":3072,"aspect":1.3281,"orientation":"landscape","layoutHint":"wide","srcThumb":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/f474072b03a729c1449a907aab0fbfbd","srcSmall":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/ad1882f48e04c94e84b6256a15b787d8","srcMedium":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/cf65030acd115d3e4e0b9813bf9c85be","srcLarge":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/b01b07c6619a22de76af1878100231a9","srcOriginal":"https://wtbl.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/9204f685c054390bce8b4db974a1be34","altText":"Even earlier, an elephant walks to the doorway of the central shrine, where he will briefly stand as part of Ranganatha's regalia.  Nobody h"}],"createdAt":"2023-03-28T20:35:25.710Z","updatedAt":"2023-03-28T20:35:25.710Z","visitedDate":"2023","publishedDate":"2023-04-02T04:00:06.000Z","heroSha":"190eec936d44b78c95738c52fbd79abf9c62f5d750814742cbf7e379a9c775f6","authorLabel":"Bryan Wallach","_meta":{"sameAs":[]}}