Trichy the fourth largest city in Tamilnadu is littered with temples in & around. ROCKFORT, the centre of attraction has 3 temples in its structure -Manicka Vinayagar temple at the foot of the hill, Thayumanavar Swami temple in the hill & Uchipillayar temple at the top of the hill. The Rockfort temple 83m tall, perched on top of the rock ,is said to be as old as 3 billion years .
This phenomenal structure has a mythological connection as well- Lord Ganesha ran to the top of the Rock after snatching the Lord Ranganathaswamy Idol from Vibhishana. The Idol was gifted to vibhishana by lord ram for helping topple Lord Ravan. Not wanting Vibhishan to take the idol back to his kingdom in Lanka , Lord Ganesha tricked him & established the Idol in Srirangam and ran from vibhishana's wrath to the top of the rock.
The Manicka Vinayagar Temple is the first strp after entering the premises; A good soul passed on some pocket-sized pictures of the Idol decked & in its glory !
After the darshan we started our asecent to the top and clicked a few pictures along the way----------
One of the must-visits of Trichy ! May God Bless you all !!
This phenomenal structure has a mythological connection as well- Lord Ganesha ran to the top of the Rock after snatching the Lord Ranganathaswamy Idol from Vibhishana. The Idol was gifted to vibhishana by lord ram for helping topple Lord Ravan. Not wanting Vibhishan to take the idol back to his kingdom in Lanka , Lord Ganesha tricked him & established the Idol in Srirangam and ran from vibhishana's wrath to the top of the rock.
The Manicka Vinayagar Temple is the first strp after entering the premises; A good soul passed on some pocket-sized pictures of the Idol decked & in its glory !
After the darshan we started our asecent to the top and clicked a few pictures along the way----------
Thayumanvar Swami Temple - Legend goes that Lord Shiva took the form of a midwife/mother and helped a pregnant woman deliver a child and hence referred to as தாயும் ஆனவர் (like a mother) . A good 200 steps needs to be climbed to reach this temple. The Lord himself is in the shape of a huge linga and there is a separate sanctum for his consort Parvati . There are beautiful paintings & idols on walls and ceilings. And the photographer in us has all these treasures happily clicked. Unfortunately we cannot take the pictures of the deities, so they are etched firmly in my memory !
The Golden Tower /Gopuram of Shiva Temple is visble as we climb further up to have darshan of Ucchi Pillayar
A view of the city while climbing another 200 odd steps to the ganesha temple
After the darshan of the Ucchi Pillayar we take a pradakshinam of the idol and while we are at it, the kids have some kodak moments
One of the must-visits of Trichy ! May God Bless you all !!
