The Uchhi Pillayar temple
situated on top of a hill is the most prominent landmark in the city of Tiruchirappalli in
Tamilnadu. The entire Rockfort (Malaikkottai in Tami) temple complex carved into
the hill here features three temples. The Manikka Vinayakar temple is
situated at the bottom of the hill, the famed Uchchi Pillaiyaar temple is
on top of the hill. The hill temple gives a commanding view of the city of
Tiruchirappalli, which is surrounded by sprawling temple complexes such as Srirangam and Tiruvanaikkaval
(Jambukeswaram).
The Taayumaanavar
(Maatrubhuteswara) temple, venerated by the hymns of the Tevaram Saints (7th - 9th century) is also
at an elevation and is considered to be an engineering marvel.
Legends: An interesting
legend surrounds the Uchchi Pillaiyaar Temple. Vibhishana,
brother of Ravana, was returning home to Sri Lanka after
having witnessed the coronation of Rama at Ayodhya,
carrying with him, an image of Ranganatha (Vishnu) which
Rama had given him for worship, with the caveat that the image would get
stuck to the earth if placed it on the ground.
Vibhishana it is said,
was proceding Southward with great care, when for inevitable reasons had to take a break
on the banks of the Kaveri where he was affronted by Ganapati in the guise of a
young lad, who promised to care for the image, allowing him to perform his morning
rituals.
The lad however dropped the image on the
ground much to the chagrin of the enraged Vibhishana and the image took
root in the Southern soil of India, and is now believed to be the venerated image of Ranganatha
in the famed Sree Rangam Temple near Tiruchirappalli,
while the image of Ganapati who caused the origin of the
Ranganatha shrine at Sree Rangam is worshipped at the Uchchi
Pillaiyaar temple.
Legends similar to this, surrounding Ganapati
are associated with the Gokarna temple in Karnataka
and with other temples such as the Vaidyanath
Jyotirlinga Temple at Deogarh in Bihar
where it is believed that Ganapati caused the installation of Shiva Lingams in a manner
similar to the legend described above.
See also:
Srirangam
Jambukeswaram
Tiruppainneeli
Vayalur
Viraalimalai
Tiruchirappalli
Uraiyur
Tirukkozhi
Samayapuram
