The Lord Ganesha-dedicated Ucchi Pillayar Temple Rockfort is a Hindu temple from the seventh century that is situated atop Rockfort in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India.  

Legend has it that after erecting the Ranganathaswamy shrine at Srirangam, Lord Ganesha fled from King Vibishana to this rock. Malaikottai, another name for Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort, is used colloquially. 

The Vinayaka, Ucchi Pillayar Temple History 

The Asura King Ravana, who ruled over Lanka, had a younger brother named Vibhishana. In the Ramayana tale, Lord Rama frees his wife Sita from Ravana’s captivity after defeating him with the aid of Sugriva and Hanuman.  

Vibishana, Ravana’s noble and truth-abiding brother, supports Rama in this conflict as he fights his brother.  

In the end, Rama triumphs in battle, and as a sign of his affection, he presents Lord Ranganatha, a manifestation of Vishnu, to Vibishana as a vigraham (idol for devotion). 

Even though he backed Rama, Vibhishana was fundamentally an Asura, therefore the Devas—who, in Hindu mythology, are Asuras’ worst enemies—wanted to put a stop to the notion of an Asura adopting the Lord’s highest form and bringing it to his realm.  

They ask Lord Vinayaka, the God of learning and the Remover of Obstacles, for assistance, and the Lord agrees to the proposal.  

When Vibhishana passed through Trichi on his way back to his kingdom, he wished to take a bath in the Kaveri River and perform his daily rites.  

He is confused, though, because once the divinity is in the land, it cannot be taken out and must be there permanently. 

Vibishana seeks a person to hold the deity while he took a bath as a solution. He locates Lord Vinayaka, who is posing as a young cowherd lad. 

In accordance with the plan, Vinayaka takes the god and secures it in the sand on the banks of the Kaveri when Vibishana is entirely submerged.  

When Vibhishana notices this, he becomes enraged and chases the youngster to punish him. However, the boy keeps running and scales the rock close to the Kaveri bank.  

The child is finally struck on the forehead by Vibhishana. Even now, a pit can be seen on the idol’s forehead.  

The young child then identifies as Vinayaka. When Vibishana apologizes right away, the Lord blesses him, tells him that the idol will always be at Srirangam, and sends him forth to Lanka.

In many ways, this is comparable to the Ramayana period Lord Ganesha and Ravana narrative in Gokarna. 

After a very long period, the location where the Ranganathan god was housed was inadvertently discovered by a Chola monarch who was pursuing a parrot.  

This was because the area had been disused and was later buried in deep forests. He later made Srirangam’s Ranganathaswamy Temple the world’s biggest temple complex. 

Manicka Vinayagar at the foot of the mountains has long been connected to Uchi Pillayar. Before going to Uchi Pillayar, it is customary to offer Manicak Vinayagar reverence. 

Rockfort Ucchi Pillayar Temple 

Mount Kailash had to shake ferociously due to the heated fight between the Adishesha and the Vayu to decide which had the superior merit. When the wind split the mountain here while blowing Adiseshu, a piece fell. 

Tirishira, a three-headed demon, is making atonement for Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva postponed his darshan despite the passage of many years in order to examine his sincerity. 

He had already thrown two of his heads into the flames and was going to do the same with the third. Before him, the Lord revealed Himself and gave him back his head. 

In response to his appeal, Lord Shiva consented to Tirisira Nathar’s stay here (based on the tale of the Tirisira monster). Previously known as Tirishiramalai, this location is now known as Tiruchirappalli. 

Architecture 

The 83 meters (272 feet) tall Ucchi Pillayar Temple RockFort is perched atop a rock. While the Vijayanagara Empire was in power, the Nayaks of Madurai completed both temples after the Pallavas had begun carving the smooth rock. 

On top of the rock is where the temple is located. The slightly smaller Ganesha temple offers views of Trichy, Srirangam, the Kaveri, and Kollidam rivers, and Trichy. It is reached by steep steps carved into the rock. 

The Indian Archaeological Department maintains the temple because of its ancient Pallava architecture.

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