Thread by @RajeswariAiyer

Have you heard of great Female Legand Vellayi who K!lled the Sultan who tried to destroy Deity Vishnu & how she saved it!
Story of of sacrifice:
If you have been to Srirangam you would have noticed only one of the tower gates is white in color and all others are multi colored

If you have not been to Srirangam yet let me tell you there are 21 gopuram (temple tower gates) in Sriramgam, one among the 21 is painted white. And this gopuram attracts attention in spite of its dull white color. It is called the Vellayi Gopuram and has a blood chilling

story full of patriotism on why its is named and colored white.
Her name Vellai - Means white
Vellayi Gopuram or the white tower is at the eastern entrance of Srirangam Temple, dedicated to Bagawan Vishnu, named as Sri Ranganathaswamy. Do make it a point to visit this gate

even if you enter the Sri Ranganathasway Temple through any other gate.

Legend of Vellayi Gopuram Srirangam
The word Vellayi means white, but it also represents the name of a Devdasi who sacrificed her life to protect the idol of the temple. The story is real and not just legend

locals say and interesting too.
In the year 1323, Sultanate forces from north of India invaded Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. They looted it of its precious jewels and gold ornaments. It is said that they carried away precious jewels and gems in 20 bullock carts. However

due to quick presence of mind the main idol studded with precious gems was hidden. The Sultan desperately tried to search it out. Approximately 12,000 people of Srirangam laid down their lives fighting against those Muslim forces.
Vaishnavite Acharya, Pillailokacharya had taken

the main idol away. He fled to Madurai. In order to distract the Sultan from his search for the idol, a Devdasi called Vellayi danced non stop for hours entertaining him and his people. Towards the end she lured him to the top of the gopuram. Once up there, Vellayi pushed the

Sultan down to death. Also she don't want to get caught by Sultan army & ra@ped to death, She jumped down from the gopuram and hugged the death to die with honor

(In South and parts of Western India, a devadasi (Sanskrit: servant of deva (god)) or jogini is a girl “dedicated”

to worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life.)
Temple was closed for 48 yrs, chief of Vijayanagara forces,Kempanna, defeated the Sultanate forces.
He named the tower after Vellayi hailing her sacrifice and painted it white in her memory.

So that's the story as y only this gopuram continues to be painted white. It distinctly stands out among the 21 gopurams of the temple

Next time when you visit Srirangam, remember her great sacrifice & She is one of reason we have our Diety intact today 🙏

This is one of stories of Mughal atrocities & Female valour
All over Bharath you will find such great stories & that needs to be imparted to young generation where we r failing
Mughal & British history is injected deliberately to remain with slave mindset & inferiority complex