The entrance of the Thayumanaswamy temple and the Uchi Pillayar Koil is totally deceptive. It is almost like any portal on that busy Bazaar Street where the eager shoppers of Tiruchirapalli pour in each evening to buy all types of merchandise from vessels to clothes to gold jewellery.

The path leading to the temple is crammed with shops selling miniature Vinayaka idols, fancy articles, cosmetics and what have you. The intense illumination in these shops spills forth on to the pathway to create a surreal ambience where time seems on a float.  At the door-step is the crowded shrine of Manicka Vinayagar who is seated facing east donning a silver "kavacham". One prays to Him to make the arduous climb up the steps of the Rockfort easy. After all is He not the God who removes obstacles?

After a few minutes' climb up the well-lit stairway, one reaches the first landing where the breeze is funnelled through a small window. Ahead is the fork where one can go right to the Uchi Pillayar Koil or take the left to the Thayumanaswamy shrine. The antiquity of this shrine is obvious at first sight. Probably built during the Pallava period and perfected during the Chola reign, the temple has a hoary history.

The temple priest, a young man, takes us to the sanctum sanctorum. The lingam is imposing and over five feet high. The legend of Thayumanaswamy is a moving illustration of the "maternal" compassion of God towards His devotees. Legend has it that when Ratnavati, a great devotee of the Lord, became pregnant her mother went to stay with her. Ratnavati stayed on the north bank of the Cauvery. As the time for delivery approached, Ratnavati's mother had to go to Tiruchi, crossing the river. The river was in spate, making it impossible for her to return to her daughter's side. A worried Ratnavati prayed to the Lord and very soon her mother was by her side. The baby was safely born. 

After a day or two, when the flood waters receded, Ratnavati's mother came back home and asked her how she had managed all alone. The stunned Ratnavati realised that the Lord Himself had come to her aid in her own mother's form. "Thayum ana" in Tamil means the one who became the mother. Devotees offer a big bunch of plantains to the Lord for safe and easy childbirth.

The temple priest informs us that originally the entrance to the temple was facing east but the lord in anger turned to the west. What made Him angry is another story. Saramamunivar was a great devotee who grew Javanti flowers to worship the lord. One day he found a guard of King Parantaka Chola's palace taking away the flowers. The munivar complained to the king. The king, on enquiry, found that the flowers were being given to his queen. He took no action to stop the theft of the flowers. A distraught sage complained to the Lord. He turned away to the West in anger. At that precise moment a rain of sand started falling on Uraiyur where the king's palace was located. The people prayed to Vekkali Amman, who pacified the Lord and saved Uraiyur. 

The consort of the Lord here is Mattuvarkuzhal Ammai, who is grace personified. In this temple one can find Brahma in the form of Jureswarar, who cures all illnesses. The temple itself is in many tiers and is undergoing massive renovation. The timings are convenient and coincide with that of the Uchi Pillayar Koil. It opens at 5 in the morning and shuts at noon. In the evening it is open between 4 and 9 pm.

(Next week on Uchi Pillayar Koil)

Ambujam Anantharaman

More Articles