Temple, Rockfort
Ucchi Pillayar Temple is a 7th-century
Hindu temple, one dedicated to Lord
Ganesha located a top of Rockfort, Trichy,
Tamil Nadu, India. According to legend, this rock is the place where Lord Ganesha
ran from King Vibishana, after establishing
the Ranganathaswamy deity in Srirangam.
Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort is also fondly called as Malaikottai in Tamil.
Religion
Thayumanavar (Shiva) Manikka Vinayagar
(Ganesha) Uchi Pillayar
(Ganesha), Mattuvar Kuzhalammai(Parvathi)
Location
State
India
Architecture
Type
Completed
20th century AD
Website
trichyrockfort.tnhrce.in (http://trichyrockfort.t
Architecture
The Rock Fort temple stands 83 metres
(272 ft) tall perched atop a rock. The
smooth rock was first cut by the Pallavas
but it was the Nayaks of Madurai who
completed both the temples under the
The temple is situated at the top of the
rock. The Ganesha temple is much smaller
with an access through steep steps carved
on the rock and provides views of Trichy,
Srirangam and the rivers Kaveri and
Kollidam. Due to its ancient architecture, created by the Pallavas, the temple is maintained by the Archaeological
department of India.
temple
Vibhishana, was the younger brother of the
Asura King Ravana who ruled Lanka. Lord
Rama in the epic of Ramayana rescues his wife Sita, who was kidnapped and held by Ravana, with the help of Sugriva and
Hanuman defeated him. In this war, the moral and truth-abiding brother of Ravana,
Vibishana aids Rama in his battle against
his brother. Ultimately Rama wins the war
and as a token of love, he gives Vibishana
a vigraham (idol for worship) of Lord
Vibhishana, though he supported Rama, was basically an Asura, hence the Devas
(who are arch rivals to Asuras as per
Hindu mythology) wanted to stop this idea
of an Asura taking Lord's supreme form to
his Kingdom. They request the help of the
Remover of obstacles and God of learning,
Lord Vinayaka and the Lord accepts the plan. Vibhishana, while on his back to his
Kingdom, goes through Trichi, and wanted
to take his bath in the river Kaveri and do
his daily rituals. However, he is perplexed
as the deity, once kept in land, can never
be removed and has to be in that place
forever.
As a solution, Vibishana tries to find someone to hold the deity while he was
taking bath. He finds the Lord Vinayaka
under disguise of a cowherd boy. As per
the plan, when Vibishana is fully into water,
Vinayaka takes the deity and keeps it
firmly in sand, in the banks of kaveri. On
seeing this, the angry Vibhishana chases
the boy, to punish him, and boy keeps
running and climbs over the rock near the
Kaveri bank. Vibhishana finally reaches the
boy and hits him on the fore-head. One can
see a pit in the forehead of the idol even
today.[2] The little boy then reveals himself to be Vinayaka. Vibishana immediately
apologizes and the Lord gives him his
blessings, reveals that the idol is destined to remain in Srirangam and sends him off
to Lanka. This is similar in many regards to
the story of Lord Ganesha in Gokarna[3]
with Ravana in the same Ramayana
period.
The place in which the Ranganathan deity
was kept was later covered in deep
forests, due to disuse and after a very long
time, it was discovered when a Chola king
chasing a parrot found the deity
accidentally. He then established the
Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam as the largest temple complexes in the world.
Meanwhile, the Pallavas built the Vinayaka
temple and the Thayumanaswamy temple, in the rock which Vinayaka used to escape
Vibishana.
Uchi Pillayar is always associated with
Manicka Vinayagar at the foothills. It is a
general worship practise to pray obeisance
with Manicak Vinayagar before visiting
Uchi Pillayar. [4]
The temple is maintained and
administered by the Hindu Religious and
Charitable Endowments Department of the
Interior of a Temple on the Rock of
Trichinopoly (1847)[6]
Rockfort as viewed from Lourdes Church
View from the east side of the temple
Gopuram of the Temple
Trichy at night, as viewed from the Uchchi
Pillayar Temple, Rockfort
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