(Shri Ranga Patanam, the city of Shri Ranga or Vishnu), a town of India, in the Rajah of Mysore's dominions, 9 miles N.E. of Mysore, and 248 west of Madras, on the west end of an island in the Cauvery, N. Lat. 12° 25', E. Long. 76° 45'. It is now a dull, deserted town, the mere ghost of its former magnificence, when it was the capital of Mysore and residence of Tippoo Sultan, with a population, it is said, of no less than 300,000. The fortifications, which are very strong, though not skilfully constructed, form an irregular pentagon, protected on two sides, the N. and S.W., by the river, and extending a mile and a half in length, from N.W. to S.E., by half that breadth. The strongest parts of the defences were towards the east and south, the safety of the other sides having been too much trusted to the Cauvery, though that river is fordable in the dry season. It was from this side that the town was stormed by the British in 1799, in preference to making a breach in the massive walls on the land side. The grass and trees now grow luxuriantly about the place where the deadly conflict took place, and where Tippoo himself fell.

The principal buildings within the fortifications are the large, straggling, mean-looking palace, now in a state of decay; the Hindu temple of Vishnu, and the sultan's mosque, containing the tombs of the nobles who fell in his cause, and commanding a fine view from its minarets. Seringapatam is said to have been founded in 1454 by a devotee of Vishnu. Its early history is involved in obscurity; but in 1610 it was possessed by Raj Wadagar, a Mysore chief. In 1697 it was besieged, but ineffectually, by the Mahattas; and again, in 1772, after it had been for seven years occupied by Hyder Ali as his capital, these formidable assailants were bought off by a sum of L150,000. Tippoo Sultan, the son and successor of Hyder Ali, also resided in Seringapatam, and erected the formidable defences of the town. On the 5th of April 1799 it was invested by the British, and on the 4th of May taken by storm. The town and fort were retained for some time as a military station, but afterwards abandoned on account of their insalubrity. The population in 1800 was 31,895; at present it is only 12,744.