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Srirangam Historical Background
The temple of Sri Ranganathaswami at Srirangam
is situated in an area which boasts an historic past rich in conquest
and a civilization thousands of years old containing the most ancient,
genuine and recognizable traces left by the aboriginal Indians in the
period before the Aryans settled throughout the Indian sub- continent.
Here also are to be found many great Hindu temples, of which the best
known are those of kanchipuram (Conjeeveram) Chidambaram, Thanjavur
(Tanjore) and Madurai-and the largest of all, the temple of Srirangam.
This region, formerly the hinterland of the Coromandel Coast - well
known for its commercial dealings with China and Europe - was linked
geographically and politically to the Deccan as a whole. Its history
was closely bound up with the struggles between the dynasties which
governed its main centers. Epigraphic sources prove that from the time
of the Emperor Maurya Asoka (Third century B.C) it was dominated by
the Cholas and the Pandyas, who did not rise to their full power until
much later, but were already blocking the imperialist expansion of the
Mauryas.
The Guptas and their feudatories also tried to incorporate the kingdoms
of the Deccan in their empire. When they disappeared from the political
scene towards the middle of the Sixth century, the Deccan fell under
the sway of the Chalukya dynasty, which reigned in Badami. One of its
kings, Pulikesin II (c.608-642), repelled the attacks of King Harshavardhana
de Kanauj (605-647) who carried on the imperialist aims of the Guptas,
and is well known from the account of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hiuantsang;
but he was defeated by the Pallavas of Kanchipuram (Conjeeveram), whose
power had been growing since the Fourth century.
The reign of the Pallavas was marked by the creation of many religious
foundations, for example, at Mahabalipuram and Tiruchirapalli (Trichinopoly)
and by the encouragement the dynasty appears to have given to the growth
of Aryan institutions is Southern India, more particularly in Carnatic.
They maintained their hegemony until the end of the Ninth century, when
the Cholas, reigning at Thanjavur (Tanjore) and by tradition Tamils,
annexed their territory.
For several centuries the Cholas
had been under the domination of the Pallavas. They were to reign for
about three hundred years over the Coromandel Coast and the greater
part of Eastern .Deccan, where they helped an advanced Hindu culture
to flourish. Temples were built in large numbers throughout the country,
of which noteworthy examples are the temple of Thanjavur (Tanjore),
built towards the year 1000 by King Chola Rajaraja I (985-1 014), who
conquered the island of Ceylon and the temple of Gangaikondacholapuram
built by his successor Rajendra I (1014-1042), who made an expedition
as far as the banks of the Ganges, and whose naval forces occupied parts
of Burma, Malaya and the island of Sumatra.
The power of the Cholas nevertheless began to decline in the first quarter
of the Twelth century, while that of the Pandyas was growing in Madurai.
Kanchipuram (Conjeeveram) and Thanjavur (Tanjore) continued to benefit
from the enlightened administration of the Cholaè, and many inscriptions
bear witness to their striking cultural and economic development. The
Cholas left a large number of inscriptions in the temple of Sri Ranganatha
at Srirangam.
The Cholas were however defeated in the Thirteenth century by the combined
action of the Pandyas of Madurai and the Hoysalas of Mysore. The Hoysalas
were responsible for much building and seem to have taken a particular
interest in the temple of Srirangam, where they left behind them both
inscriptions and buildings. They were driven from Srirangam by the Pandyas
in the early part of the Fourteenth century, when the Mohammedans, already
masters of Northern India, began frequently raiding the Deccan.
The Muslim armies came up against strong resistance in the Deccan. An
independent Hindu kingdom was formed in Vijayanagar in 1336; it repelled
the attacks of the Bahmani sultans, who reigned over Northern Deccan,
and established its sway over all the area to the south of the River
Krishna. This kingdom succeeded in maintaining its independence until
1565, when its king, Rama Raja, was decisively defeated at the battle
of Talikota. After the military collapse of this kingdom, a third dynasty
reigned, more or less ineffectively; its governors or Viceroys soon
declared themselves independent, for example, in 1602 the Nayaks of
Madürai and Thanjavur (Tanjore). Who left a large number of endowments
in the temple of Srirangam.
By this time, the Europeans had appeared in the South of India. In the
Sixteenth century, after Vasco da Gama (1498), and in particular with
Albuquerque, the Portuguese had settled in Goa, but took no interest
in the hinterland except for the routes it provided for their trade
with the kingdom of Vijayanagar, of which they have left us descriptions.
Later came the Dutch, whose main interest was rather in Ceylon and Malacca.
In 1600 the English East India Company was formed, and in 1664 the French
Company.
To begin with, the English and the French did no more than engage in
peaceful competition with each other in the economic field; the French
founded the trading station of Puducheri (Pondicherry) on the Coromandel
Coast, thanks to the activities of Francois Martin (1674).The Dutch
captured it in 1693, and returned it in 1697.
In 1680 the last Great Mogul, Aurangzeb (1658-1707), launched a campaign
in Western Deccan which proved to be extremely costly. It was only after
long sieges, with great loss of life, that the fortress cities of Bijapur
and Golconda fell to him; and the campaign lasted until his death.
In Europe, however, the War of the Austrian Succession, followed by
the Seven Years’ War, set the English and French at each other’s
throats. Their quarrels spread to the territory of India, Where merchant
fleets were henceforth escorted by royal forces. With the help of La
Bourdonnais, Dupleix captured Madra3 (1746), which was given back to
the English two years later. In alliance with Chanda Sahib, nawab of
the Carnatic, Dupleix defeated the English and their allies in 1749
and became nawab of Southern India in 1750. But his power was short-lived:
spurred into action by Clive, the English made a recovery, besieged
the town of Arcot, held by Chanda Sahib (1751), and encircled the French,
under Law, on the island of Srirangam, whither they had retreated to
the temple of Jambhukeswaram. The French were forced to surrender in
1752, and Dupleix was disavowed and recalled in 1754.
In 1760, a further French attempt, led by Lally-Tollendal, was unsuccessful,
and the French trading posts were dismantled in 1763. From then on the
English Company gradually annexed the whole of the territory of India.
Fighting between French and English nervertheless continued, especially
in the Carnatic, where Hyder Ali supported by the Mahrattas and the
French, came near to victory thanks to a brilliant campaign by Suffren’s
fleet.
In 1 798, Wellesley finally defeated the Franco-lndian alliance, invaded
Maisur (Mysore) and in 1799 captured the fortress of Seringapatam ;
thereafter all Southern Indian came under the supremacy of England .
The Carnatic was included in the direct administration of the Madras
Presidency, where it remained.
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