Today is Mahashivaratri. And did you ever hear about this false Sivalinga? When Pandyan Empire collapsed and was open to plunder by the Muslims, Antaralayas of both Srirangam and Madurai were sealed with a false wall to hide the Moola Virat. 
In Madurai, they planted a false Sivalinga just outside the wall and the Muslims fell for it. The testimony of their brutality is clearly seen through the number of blows this idol got. Remember and cherish what your ancestors did for you make you a proud Hindu.
When the false wall was broken open on the orders of Kumara Kampana after killing the last Madurai Sultan, they found the flowers which garlanded Sundareshwara still afresh and Chandrahasa, the ceremonial sword of the Pandyans was placed before him.
They relinquished their kingdom but not the right to rule. That proud Hindus they were. Srirangam was another epic saga. Everyone took to arms - including the old scholars who can't flee - they picked arms not to fight and live but to fight and die so that those who are
tasked to take the Utsava Vigraha away to safety can get a few more minutes of breather. Great scholars like Sudarshana Bhatta died that day, with weapons in hands. You may ask who he is. It doesn't matter. But, what matters is that his work is taken away along with the idol to
ensure it doesn't land up in a bonfire. That important he was to them. An old man he is, he preferred to die than to carry on with propagation of faith that day. The idol was taken to Calicut, one of the last Hindu places standing, then to IIRC Melukote and ultimately made
Tirumala it's home. Kumara Kampana's minister Gopanarya(by the way, where did that famous handle with that name go?) saw the idol in Tirumala during the wars with Madurai Sultanate and arranged for it to be shifted to Srirangam.
By the way, did you notice the boards "Only Hindus Allowed" in Srirangam, Madurai, Kanchi and other places? Before questioning the need for them, remember Sudarshana Bhatta and others who died trying to protect its sanctity.
@ShilpiTiwari5 - some good soul shared me this.
https://twitter.com/ShilpiTiwari5/status/1370288113390546948
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