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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[AUGUST, 1914.
the charms of a courtezan and the services of a Vaishnava Brahman, Singapirân by name, moderated the animosity of the conqueror and made him proceed on moderate lines. A break in this comparative mildness was indeed caused by the attribution of a disease from which "the Mlêccha" suffered to Brahmanical magic and his consequent orders to raze the shrine to the ground; but the importunities of his mistress and the counsels of his servant made him satisfied with the mutilation of various parts and works of the temple instead of & wholesale destruction. The progress of the disease, however, led to the destruction of the gigantic walls of the temple and the utilization of their materials for the construction of a fort at Kanyanûr; but this was discovered to be a blessing in disguise, for the Muhammadan governor from this time onward made his sojourn at Kannanur instead of Trichinopoly. The people of Sri-rangam-the remnants of a once teeming crowd-were, in consequence of this, able to carry on their worship, but with their festival idol a refugee in Tirupati, their religious leaders scattered, and their fears alarmed by daily acts of Muhammadan vandalism, their worship was, in the eyes of many, a mockery, and their apparent freedom worse than slavery. The same was the case in every other important place in the south, and everywhere the people were in despair.
It was from this despair and dislocation that Kampana U ayâr and his lieutenants freed the people of the south. The expulsion of the Muhammadans by the year 1371 led immediately to the revival of worship and the opening of the closed temples, both Saiva and Vaishyava. The deities of Madura, say the chronicles, were brought back from their refuge in Travancore." Worship was performed once more with extraordinary solemnity and fervour; and that nothing might be wanting to restore confidence and energy to all classes of men, the Brahmans contrived a great miracle significant of the pleasure of the god and of the perpetual regard for his faithful worshippers. Kampaya was taken on an appointed day to witness the reopening of the great pagoda, and on his entering and approaching the shrine for the purpose of looking upon the face of the god, lo and behold everything was precisely in the same condition as when the temple was first shut up just 48 years previously. The lamp that was lighted on that day was still burning; and the sandalwood powder, the garland of flowers, and the ornaments usually placed before the idol on the morning of a festival day were now found to be exactly as it is usual to find them on the evening of such a day."10 Kampana Ulayar was struck with this remarkable miracle. With great piety and reverence he made the customary offerings, endowed numerous villages to the teniple, bestowed many jewels, and established rules and regulations for the regular performance and revival of worship. The same thing was done by Goppanarya in the Vaishava stronghold of Sri-rangam. He cleared it of its Musalman tyrants, brought back the images of Ranganatha 11 and Ranganayaki from Tirupati, and revived the ancient prosperity and busy activity of the shrine. He further made numerous endowments to it and made it, by the influence of his exalted office in the growing Empire, an object of solicitude in the eyes of the imperial rulers. Vaishņavism in consequence began to shew from this time onward a new energy and vigour, a new spirit of proselytism and progress. The
Kannanûr is a village adjoining Samayapuram, celebrated in the Carnatic wars.
10 Nelson's Madu. Manl. p. 82. Nelson here gives simply the translation of the MS. chronicles-18 will be seen from a reference to appendix I, Rev. Taylor suspects the existence of recret wickets and private doors known only to Brahmans. 0. H. MSS.
11 See the various Guruparamparaa, Yatydrapravana prabhava and, above all, the Köyilo ugu See also ante, for epigraphical references.
