In Tamilnadu’s Tiruchirappalli city, the ucchi pillayar temple trichy is perched atop a hill. Three temples make up the Rockfort temple complex, which is carved into the mountain here: the Thayumaanavar temple, located at the summit of the hill; the ucchi pillayar temple rockfort at the top, and the Manikka Vinayakar temple at the base of the mountain.
Mahendravarman, the renowned Pallava king, constructed this shrine in the ninth century A.D. There are sculptures of Shiva, Parvati, and a personification of Cauvery in this cave shrine. Shiva’s matted locks are depicted bearing the Ganga’s white-water. According to the proclamation inside the temple, Parvati is seen appealing to Shiva to keep Cauvery away from her since she belonged to Mahendravarman.
After meeting with the stormy Ganga, Parvati is reportedly concerned about Shiva’s love of rivers. The God Pillayar has sharp eyes and is covered with sandal paste. On the upper part of his forehead, there is a depression that is thought to have been caused by Vibhishana striking him on the head out of rage.
History Ucchi pillaiyar Temple:
The Asura King Vibhishana was the younger brother of Lanka’s ruling Asura King Ravana. In the epic Ramayana, Lord Rama defeats Ravana with the aid of Sugriva and frees his wife, Sita, who was abducted and held captive by him. Vibishana, Ravana’s morally upright and truth-abiding sibling, supports Rama in this conflict as he fights his brother. When Rama finally prevails in the battle, He gives Vibishana an idol of Lord Ranganatha, a manifestation of Vishnu, as a sign of his love.
The Devas wished to prevent the thought of an Asura bringing the Lord’s ultimate form to their realm because, despite his support for Rama, Vibhishana was essentially an Asura. They approach Lord Vinayaka, the God of Happiness, asking for assistance, and the Lord grants their request. While returning to his kingdom, Vibhishana passes through Trichi and stops to do his daily rites and bathe in the Kaveri River. He is confused because the idol, once placed in the soil, cannot be taken out and must remain there indefinitely.
Vibishana discovers Lord Vianayaka disguised as a cowherd lad while searching for someone to hold the idol while he bathes. According to the plan, Vinayaka takes the statues and places them firmly in the sand on the banks of the Kaveri when Vibishana is wholly submerged in water. When Vibhishana notices this, he becomes enraged and chases the youngster to punish him. The boy continues running and scales the rock close to the Kaveri bank. When Vibhishana eventually makes it to the young man, he strikes him in the forehead, and the lad reveals himself to be Vinayaga. Vibishana immediately apologizes, and the Lord blesses him and sends him to Lanka.
After being abandoned for a very long period, the location of the Ranganathan idol was eventually hidden in dense jungles. Eventually, a Chola monarch pursuing a parrot by chance came across the idol. Afterward, he makes Srirangam’s Ranganathaswamy Temple one of the biggest temple complexes in the world. Vinayaka uses the rock that the Pallavas built in the Vinayaka and Thayumanaswamy temples to flee Vibishana.
In another tale, Rathnavathi, the pregnant woman, is getting close to labor and is in excruciating pain since her mother, who is supposed to be there to support her, has not yet shown up. The expectant mother begs God for help as she suffers alone. Then, Lord Shiva assumes her mother’s body and supports her throughout her pregnancy. As a result, the temple started to be referred to as “Thayumanaswamy temple,” the Lord was worshiped as “Thayum Ana Swamy,” the Lord who could act like a Mother. It takes about 200 stairs to get to the stunning temple. The ceiling paintings are magnificent. The rock fort temple trichy construction demonstrates the high caliber of artwork from bygone eras.
Although the temple has several tiny shrines, the main ones are dedicated to Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, and Mahalakshmi.
Uchi Pillayar Temple Timings (OR) Malaikottai Temple Timings are from 6:00 am until 8:00 pm.
uchi pillayar kovil steps: A 437-step flight carved out of the rock leads to it. The Sri Thayumanaswamy Temple, devoted to Lord Shiva, is halfway up.
How to Travel There
• Central Bu station is 5 km away from the temple.
• The distance from Chathiram Bus Station is 1 km.
The ucchi pillayar kovil trichy is 0.5 km from Trichy Main Gate; buses travel frequently between the temple and Trichy Bus Station; Trichy is the closest railway station, 5 km away; and Trichy is the nearest airport, 8.4 km away.
Air:Regular flights are available from Trichy’s airport, located 7 km from the city, to Chennai, Madurai, and Bangalore.
Rail:Trichy is a Southern Railway junction of great importance. It links Bangalore, Coimbatore, Cochin, and Mangalore on the broad gauge and Chennai, Thanjavur, Madurai, Tuticorin, Tirupati, and Rameswaram on the meter gauge.
Road:Trichy has regular bus services connecting it to all major South Indian towns, 320 miles to Chennai and 124 km to Madurai.
Other than this there are lots of famous temples in Trichy. Visit the official site of liturgical temples for more information.