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 death and desolation behind him. It was probably through the avariciousness of man that the rock was deserted and the neighbouring town of Worriore reduced to an impoverished hamlet.

About 1560 a Hindu adventurer took undisputed possession of the fortress. He had men and money, and he fortified the rock with a double wall round its base. Houses sprang up within the walls, and the land outside was brought under cultivation. The King, as he is termed by historians, built a palace for himself, where he lived in state with a large retinue of followers. Building was a passion with him. The evidence of it may be seen to this day in the huge pile of the temple of Srirungam. The small village temple that he found there dedicated to Siva and his consort, he surrounded by walls which were pierced with gateways and surmounted with handsome towers called goparums. Within the walls were chambers and dwellings for the pujaris and attendants of the temple; and pillared halls for the assembling of worshippers at the shrine. He did not complete the work as it stands at the present day with its seven enclosing walls; but he built a great portion of it. Tirumal, one of his successors, added more walls and gateways (1650). The principal gateway is unfinished. It is constructed of enormous blocks of stone, which are put together without mortar. The wonder is how the heavy blocks were lifted into position without the appliances of modern machinery.

The story of the payment of the workmen is kept alive in the name of the north arm of the river which forms the island. The wages were to be paid in rice, but when they became due the King's granaries were empty. The people became clamorous and turbulent, and the King feared that they would commit some violence. He invited them over to the north side of the island and persuaded them with false promises to embark on rafts. In the middle of