Trichy is a very important spiritual destination in Tamil Nadu. Centre to many holy destinations, Trichy is an ideal stop-over to cover some ancient devotional destinations. First of our destinations was Tiruvanaikaval which is a suburb of Trichy city. It is situated on the northern banks of the Kaveri river adjacent to Srirangam island. The famous Jambukeswarar temple is located here.
The temple's presiding deity is Lord Shiva (Jambukeswara) and the goddess is Sree Akilandeswari. It is revered as one of the Pancha-Bhoota Stalams (Water). There is a fresh water spring underneath the Shiv Linga. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where all of the four most revered Nayanars (Saivite Saints) have sung glories of the deity in this temple. The temple was built by Kochenga Chola, one of the early Cholas and has inscriptions from the Chola period. We spent close to an hour studying the intricacies of the temple. The temple, though having extreme historic importance, could be maintained much better.
Srirangam temple town is situated extremely close to Tiruvanaikaval. The Sri Ranganathswamy temple at Srirangam was constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture. The temple is counted as the first and foremost among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The River Kaveri and its tributary, Kollidam bound the temple town on either sides. The temple has 7 prakarams and 21 gopurams.
There are numerous deities of Lord Vishnu in the temple. The vastness of the temple is inexplicable - the entire town of Srirangam was located inside the temple at a period of time. Even today, there are a number of houses within the prakarams of the temple. The shrine over the sanctum sanctorum is shaped like the symbol of Om and is plated with gold.
The 236-feet Rajagopuram is the second tallest temple tower in Asia. The 13-tiered Rajagopuram dominates the landscape for miles around and can be spotted from most peaks in and around Trichy. One would need atleast 2 hours to visit all the deities in this temple through the normal queue. However, for those who do not have time, there are the paid queues. In the temple, it is advisable to be aware of touts. The "Paramapada Vasal" in the temple is opened only once a year during Vaikunta Ekadasi when thousands of devotees pay their respects to Lord Ranganathaswamy and walk through the door praying for entry to heaven. After circumambulating the inner prakarams of the temple, we moved through the outer prakarams to view the magnificent Rajagopuram.
The next stop was at Samayapuram - situated on the Trichy Chennai highway. The place boasts of the famous Mariyamman temple which is visited by thousands daily. It is believed that the Goddess here has extreme powers over curing illness. From there, we returned back to Trichy.
After a good nap in the afternoon, we were up and ready for our last visit of the day - to the popular Rock Fort Ucchi Pillaiyar temple. Situated in the heart of Trichy, the temple is best visited during dawn and dusk. The temple is located on top of a mountain and can be reached by a flight of around 200 steps from the base.
The hill also houses the Thayumanaswamy temple - which lies at a lower altitude to the Ucchi Pillaiyar temple. The peak provides breath taking views of the city below and must be a boon for photographers. I got the opportunity to capture some lovely moments on my camera, as well.
Surely, these temples are must-visits - in case you travel to Trichy.
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