The Rock Fort 7th century temple

Ucchi Pillayar 

7th century Hindu temple .

 




The Ucchi Vinayagar temple connected with Ramayana.
The Rock Fort temple stands 83m tall perched atop the rock. The smooth rock was first cut by the Pallavas but it was the Nayaks of Madurai who completed both the temples under the Vijayanagara empire.
The temple is situated at the top of the rock. The temple is mystic in its nature with an awe-inspiring rock architecture. The Ganesh temple is much smaller with an access through steep steps carved on the rock and provides a stunning view of Trichy, Srirangam and the rivers Kaveri and Kollidam. Due to its ancient and impressive architecture created by the Pallavas.

 

  









The Rock Fort Temple  a  collection of three temples, the Manikka Vinayakar temple at the foot of the hill, the Ucchi Pillayar Koyil at the top of the hill and the Taayumaanavar Koyil Shivastalam on the hill. It is a stiff climb, up the 437 steps cut into the stone to the top. This rock also contains excavated cave temples dating to the 7th century A.D, famous for the fine sculptures. The rock is said to be one of the oldest in the world, dating over 3 billion years ago. The temple is mystic in its nature with an amazing rock architecture.

Rama having defeated Ravana, went back to Ayodhya with Sita, where he had is Pattabhishekam (coronation) as a king. Vibhishana (brother of Ravana) accompanied him on his way back to Ayodhya. After the celebrations, when Vibhishana wanted to return back to Lanka to take charge, Rama presented him with a Ranga Vimana to which he had been personally performing poojas until then. Rama on presenting the idol and Vimana, told Vibhishana to take it to Lanka and install it there with a condition that, on the way back, the idol must not be placed on the ground anywhere for whatsoever reason. Vibhishana agreed to this condition and having thanked Rama, proceeded towards Lanka.

While passing by the city of Thiruchi, Vibhishana was extremely fascinated by the beauty of the flow of the river Cauvery. He felt that it was the right place for him to have his bath and some rest before proceeding to Lanka. He looked around for some help to safeguard the Ranga Vimana until he finishes his bath. There was a small boy playing around in the banks of the Cauvery. Vibhishana handed over the Ranga Vimana to him and told him strictly not to place it on the ground till he comes back. The boy agreed and told him that he will call Vibhishana thrice and if he doesn't come back, he will keep it on the ground and go away.

Vibhishana went into the waters and was enjoying his bath in the river. The boy called him thrice but Vibhishana did not respond as he was in the water. The boy kept the idol on the ground and it started growing enormously. Vibhishana came back in a hurry. Seeing the Vimana on the ground, he tried to lift it but all his attempts failed. He got furious with the boy and went chasing after him. The boy ran to the hilltop and sat on the peak as he couldn't run further. Vibhishana knocked the boy on his head with anger. The boy revealed himself as Lord Vinayaka to Vibhishana. Vibhishana prayed to the lord and went back to Lanka leaving behind the Ranga on the banks of Cauvery.

It was Vinayaka's trick to retain Lord Ranga in Trichy, which is today's famous Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. And Lord Vinayaka who played tricks with Vibhishana, is worshiped as Uchi Pillaiyar at the hilltop. Even today one can see a wound on his head caused by the knock of Vibhishana. There is also a rock-cut cave near the temple. The path inside the cave leads to Woraiyur, which was one of the popular cities during ancient times.

Sri Ranganathaswamy

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple 

Hindu temple dedicated to Ranganatha, a reclining form of Hindu deity, Vishnu located in Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli

Sriranga Mahathmiyam is the compilation of religious accounts of the temple, detailing the origins of its greatness. According to it, Brahma, the Hindu God of creation in Hindu Puranas was once in a state of deep meditation and in His supreme trance received the gift of the Vishnu's idol, "Ranga Vimana". He was told by god that there would be seven other appearances of such idols on earth – Srirangam, Srimushnam, Venkatadri (Tirumala), Saligram (Muktinath), Naimisaranya, Totadri, Pushkara and Badrinath. 

The idol was then passed on by Brahma to Viraja, Vaiswatha, Manu, Ishwaku and finally to Rama. Rama, himself an Avatar of Vishnu, worshipped the idol for a long time, and when he returned victoriously from Sri Lanka after destroying Ravana, he gave it to King Vibhishana as a token of appreciation for the latter's support for Rama against his own brother, Ravana. When Vibhishana was going via Trichy en route to Sri Lanka, the deity wanted to stay in Srirangam. Ranganatha, captivated by the devotion of a King called Dharma Varma, who was doing penance to have Lord Ranganatha to permanently stay Srirangam, stayed put, promising to cast his benign glance eternally on Lanka. Hence it is that the deity (in a reclining posture) faces South.

The temple Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, this temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil literature canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE and is counted as the first and foremost among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu.

It is one of the most illustrious Vaishnava temples in South India rich in legend and history. Its location, on an island in Cauvery river, has rendered it vulnerable to natural disasters as well as the rampaging of invading armies – Hindu, Muslim and European – which repeatedly commandeered the site for military encampment.The main entrance, known as the Rajagopuram (the royal temple tower), rises from the base area of around 13 cents (around 5720 sq ft) and goes up to 237 feet (72 m), moving up in eleven progressively smaller tiers. . Srirangam temple is often listed as the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world, the still larger Angkor Wat being the largest existing temple. The temple occupies an area of 156 acres (631,000 m²) with a perimeter of 4,116m (10,710 feet) making it the largest temple in India and one of the largest religious complexes in the world

The temple of Sri Ranganathaswami at Srirangam boasts an historic past of great kingdom and a civilization thousands of years old. The reign of the Pallavas was marked by the creation of a solid religious foundation, for example the encouragement given by the dynasty appears to have contributed to the growth of Aryan institutions in Southern India more particularly in the Carnatic. Cholas reigned for about three hundred years over the Coromandel Coast and the greater part of Eastern Deccan, where they helped an advanced Hindu Culture to flourish.

There are 21 gopurams (tower gateways), among which the towering 236-feet Rajagopuram (shrine of the main gateway) is the second tallest temple tower in Asia. 

20 gopurams were built between the 14th and 17th centuries. The gopurams have pronounced projections in the middle of the long sides, generally with openings on each of the successive levels. The Vellai gopura (white tower) on the east side of the fourth enclosure has a steep pyramidal superstructure that reaches a height of almost 44m.

The temple is enclosed by 7 concentric walls (termed prakarams (outer courtyard) or mathil suvar) with a total length of 32,592 feet or over six miles. These temple has 21 gopurams (towers), 39 pavilions, fifty shrines, Ayiram kaal mandapam (a hall of 1000 pillars) and several small water bodies inside. The space within the outer two prakarams (outer courtyard) is occupied by several shops, restaurants and flower stalls.Non-Hindus are allowed up to the second prakaram (outer courtyard) but not inside the gold topped sanctum sanctorum. The Hall of 1000 pillars (actually 953) is a fine example of a planned theatre-like structure and opposite to it, "Sesha Mandap", with its intricacy in sculpture, is a delight.The 1000-pillared hall made of granite was constructed in the Vijayanagara period (1336–1565) on the site of the old temple

The vimanam (shrine over the sanctum sanctorum), the Ranga vimana is shaped like omkara (om symbol) and is plated with gold. Sri Ranganthar reclines on Adisesha, the coiled serpent, and at his feet sits Ranganayaki. Images of Vibhishana, Brahma, Hanuman, Garuda, the symbols of Vishnu – conch and discuss are seen inside the sanctum.Ranganayaki shrine is in the second precint of the temple. The common reference to the goddess is padi thaanda pathni, meaning lady who doesn't cross the boundaries of ethics.