Talk:The Dancer of Śrīraṅgam Mandir

By Vishal Agarwal

Ghiyās-ud-dīn Tughlaq, the Sulṭān of Dihlī, deputed his eldest son Ulugh Khān to invade the Hindu kingdoms of South India in 1321 C.E. When the Muslim army of Ulugh Khān was close to the Śrīraṅgam temple, a festival was being conducted. When the invaders reached a place called Samayapuram, a senior official of the temple decided that no time was to be lost. He requested the 12,000 ascetics who had gathered there not to disperse and instead form a human wall to stop the army. Then, he locked the doors of the main worship chamber, barred the doorways of the shrines of both Viṣṇu and Lakṣmī, and placed fake images outside. The invading army desecrated the shrine and killed all the 12,000 unarmed ascetics. In the meantime, some temple officials gained enough time to take important articles from the temple to safe places.

The Muslim army occupied the temple and put an end to Hindu worship. A temple dancer, who fascinated the invading general, persuaded him not to destroy the temple altogether, and restrict his vandalism to the destruction of a few minor parts of the temple.

The brāhmaṇas in the surrounding areas tried to perform the sacred rituals whenever they could, but were harassed by the occupying Muslim forces constantly. Unable to bear the harassment of the devotees by the Muslims, she enticed the Muslim chief, took him up a temple tower in the east, and in the pretext of showing him a famous mūrti from there, she pushed him down and killed him.

Scared that she would be tortured by the Muslims as a result of her deed, she threw herself down as well and committed suicide. According to tradition, to honor her memory, the funeral pyres of temple dancers were henceforth lit by fire brought from the temple kitchen. In 1371 C.E., the newly founded Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara wrested back Śrīraṅgam from Muslim control, but it was the bravery of the courtesan and the 12,000 defenseless ascetics that had saved the mandir from total destruction.