The Sriraganatha temple at Trichy (all these Tamil towns beginning with the letter T gets a little confusing) is supposedly the largest Hindu temple in the world. It is also part town and part temple, there are seven rings of walls with of 28 gopurams. You enter the temple proper at the fourth ring – shoes off and your feet are immediately scorched on the baking hot stone flagging. People everywhere sitting on the floor picnicking.....there is also a temple elephant who looks rather agitated, poor thing, as she takes the proffered rupees off the devotee, slaps them on the head with her trunk in benediction, and then hands it to her keeper. It might be a beautiful temple but every single structure is covered in scaffolding and sheeting and swarming with workmen. The innumerable Vishnu
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