Rockfort Ganesha Temple | Ucchi Pillayar Temple

The Rock Fort is a historic fort and temple complex on a large rock towering 85 meters. There are three Hindu temples inside the fort, the Ucchi Pillayar Temple, the Thayumanavar Temple and the Manikka Vinayagar Temple. The Manikka Vinayagar Temple is located at the foot of the hill, dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Manikka Vinayagar is the patron deity of Trichy people.

Vibhishana, was the younger brother of the demon King Ravana who ruled Sri Lanka. Lord Rama, in the epic of Ramayana, rescues his wife Sita, who was kidnapped and held by Ravana. Ultimately lord Rama wins the battle and as a token of his love towards him, he gives Vibishana an idol of Lord Ranganatha, a form of Vishnu. Vibhishana, though he supported Rama, was basically a demon, hence the Devas, who are arch rivals to demons, wanted to stop this idea of a demon taking the lord's supreme form to his Kingdom. They requested the help of lord Vinayaka and he accepted to help them. Vibhishana, while on his way back to his Kingdom, comes across the Trichy and wishes to take bath in the river Kaveri for his daily rituals. However, he is perplexed with the fact that once the deity is kept in land, it can never be removed and has to be in that place forever. As a solution, Vibishana tries to find someone to hold the deity while he is taking a bath. It was the right time for lord Vinayaka to disguise himself as a cowherd boy. As per the plan, when Vibishana is fully into water, Vinayaka takes the deity and keeps it firmly in sand, in the present Srirangam island. On seeing this, the angry Vibhishana chases the boy, to punish him, and the boy keeps running and climbs over the present rock boulder. The little boy came out of disguise to reveal himself to be Vinayaga. Vibishana immediately apologizes to him and he was blessed that the idol is destined to remain in Srirangam.

It was the same Chola kings, who contributed much to build Rockfort temples. The fort complex had witnessed fierce battles between the kingdoms that ruled over this region. The temple is a smaller shrine with an access through steep steps carved on the rock and provides a stunning view of Trichy geography. The name ‘Rockfort’ is termed by frequent military fortifications built here, first by the emperors of the Vijayanagar followed by the English people during the Carnatic wars. Due to its antiquity and impressive architecture, the temple is under the maintenance of the Archaeological department of India.