Located on the top of Rockfort in Trichy, the Ucchi Pillayar Temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesha and is in existence from 7th century AD. The rock on which this temple is situated has mythological significance and this is one the reasons that this temple has been built here.

The main shrine of the temple is located at a height of 273 ft, and one has to take 400 steps in order to reach the temple. This temple gives a stunning and incredible view of the entire Tiruchi.

At present, the temple is maintained by the Archaeological department of India as it’s amazingly impressive and ancient architecture was created by Pallavas.

Legend

During the epic battle of Ramayana, Lord Rama succeeds in bringing his wife Sita back from the imprisonment of Ravana with the help of Lord Hanuman and the younger brother of Ravana, Vibhishana. As a token of thankfulness and love, Lord Rama presented Vibhishana an idol for worship, known as vigraham in the form of Lord Vishnu, also known as Lord Ranganatha.

Since Vibhishana was an asur, the devas did not support the idea of taking the supreme form of Lord Vishnu with him to his kingdom of asuras. They requested Lord Vinayaka to help them and stop Vibishana from taking that idol with him to his kingdom. Vibhishana, who was on his way back to kingdom planned to take a small stop at Trichy for taking bath in the river Cauveri and to perform his daily rituals. However, he was perplexed of the fact that once a deity kept in land cannot be removed from there and it has to stay there forever. Thus, he tried to find someone who can hold the idol while he can take the bath. Lord Vinayaka was present there in the form of a cowherd boy in disguise. As Vibhishana went into the water, Lord Vinayaka put the deity firmly on sand on the banks of river Cauveri. On seeing this, Vibhishana got very angry and chased the boy to punish him, but the boy kept running and climbed over the rock situated on the bank of the river. Finally, Vibhishana reached the boy and hit him on the forehead.

The mark of this hit is visible even today on the forehead of the idol. After this, the little boy revealed that he is Lord Vinayaka. On seeing this, Vibhishana apologized immediately and Lord gave him blessings and told him that the idol is destined to be kept in Srirangram. After this, Vibhishana headed to Lanka.

The rock on which this happened is the one known as Rockfort today and this is the place where Ucchi Pillayar temple stands today.

History

This temple on the top of the rock, known as Rockfort and Pallavas for the first time cut this smooth rock. However, the temple was completed by the Nayaks of Madurai under Vijayanagara Empire. 

Architecture

This temple complex comprises of a collection of three temples, out of which Ucchi Pillayar temple lies right at the top of the rock while the other two temples are situated on the foot of the hill and middle of the hill respectively.

Festivals

Every day, six worship services are offered in the temple. The annual Brahmotsavam is celebrated in this temple in the month of Chithirai. Apart from this, the other festivals which are celebrated in the temple include Float Festival and Aadi Pooram.

Best time to Visit

The best time to visit the temple is from October to March as summers are very hot in this region, and monsoon is accompanied by very high amounts of humidity.

How to Reach

By Train

The Trichy railway station is the nearest rail head to the temple and it is a significant junction on the southern railway. It is connected with all the major cities of South India by meter and broad gauges.

By Road

Trichy enjoys well developed road connectivity with some major towns and cities of south India including Madurai and Chennai.

By Air

Located at a distance of 7 Km from the main city, the Trichy airport connects it with Chennai, Bangalore, Madurai and many other cities through regular flights.