Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna holy town is situated in an island formed by the waters of river Cauvery. Puranas speak of this place as Gautama Kshetra. Sage Gautama, who had his ashram on the banks of Cauvery, is believed to have founded the shrine of Lord Ranganatha. Historical evidence dates back to the reign of Ganga King Thirumalaiya (897AD). Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan ruled from here. Srirangapatnam is also revered as Adi Rangam like Srirangam near Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu is considered as Andhya Rangam and Shivasamudram in Karnataka as Madhya Rangam.

Srirangapatna is an island fortress-city is of great religious, cultural and historic importance. It is situated about 14 Kms. from Mysore and 125 Kms. from Bangalore. Srirangapatna is nestled in the banks of river Cauvery is about 3 Kms. in length and one Km. in breadth. The town derives its name from the presiding deity of Ranganatha Swamy temple situated at the western end of the island in the Cauvery River.

For a short while the city of Srirangapatna was the capital of the Mysore state, while Tipu Sultan was ruling Mysore. After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 the British shifted the capital back to Mysore. The town, temples, mosque and other historical monuments are surrounded by a strong stone fort with four gates. There are remains of Tipu's palace known as Lal Mahal, a Water Gate, two Dungeons, one at the north-east corner of the fort, another to the east of Delhi gate.