Ucchi Pillayar Temple – Rockfort:
Situated on top of Rock Fort in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India, is the 7th-century Ucchi Pillayar Temple, a Hindu temple devoted to Lord Ganesha. Legend has it that after erecting the Ranganathaswamy shrine at Srirangam, Lord Ganesha fled from King Vibhishana and took refuge on this rock. In Tamil, Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort is affectionately referred to as Malaikottai.
Ucchi Pillayar Temple History:
The Lankan Asura King Ravana’s younger brother was called Vibhishana. 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 presents Vibishana with a vigraham, or idol, of Lord Ranganatha, a manifestation of Vishnu, as a sign of his love.
Even though Vibhishana backed Rama, he was essentially an Asura, and the Devas—who in Hindu mythology are Asuras’ archrivals—wanted to prevent the thought of an Asura bringing the Lord’s ultimate form to his realm. They approach Lord Vinayaka, the God of learning and the Remover of impediments, for assistance, and the Lord grants their request. As Vibhishana travelled through Trichy on his way back to his kingdom, he stopped to do his daily rites and take a bath in the Kaveri River. He is confused, though, because once a divinity is kept on land, it cannot be taken out and must remain there indefinitely.
Vibishana attempts to locate a substitute by asking someone to hold the divinity while he bathes. He discovers Lord Vinayaka, who is posing as a cowherd lad. According to the design, Vinayaka takes the god when Vibishana is completely submerged in water and places it firmly in sand along the banks of the Kaveri. When Vibhishana notices this, he becomes enraged and chases the youngster to punish him. The boy persists in running and scales the rock close to the Kaveri bank. When Vibhishana does arrive, he strikes the boy on the forehead. Even now, there is a depression visible in the idol’s forehead. At that point, the young boy identifies himself as Vinayaka. When Vibishana promptly repents, the Lord grants him blessings, indicates that the idol will always stay in Srirangam, and dispatches him to Lanka. This story bears a lot of similarities to the Ramayana tale of Lord Ganesha and Ravana in Gokarna.
The Ranganathan deity was eventually buried beneath dense trees as a result of its abandonment. It wasn’t until much later that the deity was unintentionally discovered by a Chola king who was pursuing a parrot. The greatest temple complex in the world was subsequently created by him at Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam. Vinayaka used the rock to escape Vibishana, and in the meantime the Pallavas constructed the Vinayaka and Thayumanaswamy temples.In the foothills, Uchi Pillayar has traditionally been connected to Manicka Vinayagar. Praying obeisance with Manicak Vinayagar before visiting Uchi Pillayar is a common devotional ritual.
Ucchi Pillayar Temple Architecture:
The 83-meter (272-foot) Rock Fort temple is perched atop a rock. The Pallavas were the ones who first carved the smooth rock, but the Nayaks of Madurai finished building the two temples under the Vijayanagara kingdom.
At the summit of the rock stands the temple. The much smaller Ganesha temple can be accessed via steep steps etched into the rock, and it offers views of the rivers Kaveri and Kollidam as well as Trichy and Srirangam. The Indian Archaeological Department looks after the temple because of its historic architecture, which was designed by the Pallavas.
Ucchi Pillayar Temple Rockfort Timings:
The timings of Ucchi Pillayar Temple rockfort is 6.00 am – 8.00 pm
Pooja Details and Timings:
Usakkalam – 6:30 AM to 7:00 AM
Kalasandhi – 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM
Ucchikaalam(afternoon Pooja) – 08:00 AM to 09:30 AM
Saayarachai Pooja(Evening) – 05:00 PM to 06:00 PM
Fifth Kalam – 06:00 PM to 07:00 PM
Ardhajama Pooja(Night) – 7:00 PM to 08:00 PM
Festivals Celebrated at ucchi pillayar temple:
Pongal, Aadi (Aadi Pooram) 11 Days, Avani (Vinayagar Sagurthi) 14 Days, Purattasi (Navarathari) 10 Days, Kandha Sasti 7 Days, Panguni (Theppa Thiruvila) 10 Days, Chithirai (Thiru Ther) 14 Days, Vasantha Urchavavilla 10 Days, Thiru Karthigai Deepam
Pradhosam, Tamil and English New Year days
Ucchi Pillayar temple steps:
Malaikottai is around 273 feet tall and requires 417 stairs to get to the Ucchi Pillayar. The stairs inside the Malaikottai will take you to an amazing perspective over Trichy City, much as it is said that difficult paths frequently lead to beautiful places.
How to reach Ucchi Pillayar temple:
Road: The temple is located 1.0 km from Chathiram bus station and 5 km from Central bus station.
Temple and Trichy Main Gate are 500 metres apart. From the Trichy Bus Station to the temple, buses travel there often.
Train: Trichy, which is 5 km distant, is the closest railway station.
Air: Trichy, 8.4 km distant, is home to the closest airport.
Ucchi Pillayar temple Address:
Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort, 51, Chinna Kadai St, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620002
Phone No: 0431 – 2704621.
Ucchi Pillayar temple Distance:
Ucchi Pillayar Temple to Srirangam Temple distance – 18 min (6.5 km) via Ammamandapam Rd
Ucchi Pillayar Temple to samayapuram Temple distance – 22 min (13.4 km) via NH38
Ucchi Pillayar temple Images:
