TIRUCHIRAPPALLI
Like
many other places in Tamil Nadu, Tiruchirappalli has a legend. The city was
named in the memory of a fight Lord Shiva had with a three-headed demon named
Trisiras. Tiruchirappalli actually means "city of the three-headed
demon". Situated about 145 km northeast of Madurai and 320 km southwest of
Chennai, Tiruchirapalli, known for short as Trichy, is the fourth largest city
in the state. The city evokes the glory of a bygone era.
A land so soaked in history, that every sculpture in every temple tells a
story. A city with marvelous monuments, places of worship and a fine blend of
tradition and modernity. Come to Tiruchirapalli and travel down the stream of
time.
Situated on the banks of river Kaveri, Tiruchirappalli was a citadel of the
Early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas.
But
the Pallavas in turn lost it to the Pandyas several times. This tug of war
finally ended when the Cholas reasserted themselves in the 10th century. The
fort of Tiruchirappalli continued to be in their possession until the decline of
the empire after which it became a Vijayanagara stronghold. When this empire
collapsed in 1565, Tiruchirappalli came to be occupied in turn by the Nayaks of
Madurai, the Nawabs of Carnatic, the French and finally the British. But it was
under the Nayaks of Madurai that Tiruchirappalli flourished and prospered in its
own right and grew to be the city that it is today.
SRIRANGAM
The
Srirangam Temple is the most important of the 108 main Vishnu temples and is
the largest temple in India. Srirangam is located about 2 km north of Tiruchirappalli
and the main deity is Lord Ranganatha or Lord Vishnu, reclining on the celestial
serpent Adi Sesa, who has five raised and wide-open hoods. At the feet of the
Lord is Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana.
The temple is situated on a 600 acre island complex covering over about 2 ½
sq km. Before you enter the temple, just raise your eyes a little and see the
temple tower, the Sriranga Vimana, which is gold-plated. The temple has 21 gopurams
(towers) and there are seven walls (prakaras) around the temple.
The temple is open from 6.15 am to 1 pm and 3.15 pm to 8.45 pm.
ROCK FORT TEMPLE
The first thing that comes to a person's mind, when you mention the word
Tiruchi is Rock Fort. The fort has almost become synonymous with the place.
This is Tiruchy's most famous landmark situated on an 83 m high rock .
The most amazing fact about the rock is that it is one of the oldest in the
world - approximately 3,800 million years, which makes it as old as the rocks
of Greenland and older than the Himalayas. Atop the rock is the Uchipillaiyar
Koil, a temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka (the famous Elephant God) from where
one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchirappalli. There is a huge temple tank
at the foot of the Rock Fort and near it, there is a pavilion which are used
during the float festival of the temples.
The entrance to the fort is in China Bazaar. The Fort is open 6 am to 8 pm and
the admission costs about Re.1.00 and for camera, Rs.10.00.
JAGANNATH MUTT
Jagannath Mutt, situated in the northwest corner of the sixth enclosure,
is a ten-minute walk from the main entrance of the Srirangam Temple. It is a
small, aesthetically constructed temple where Sri Chaitanya spent the four months
of the rainy season in 1510. The temple has many paintings depicting Sri Chaitanya's
pastimes at Srirangam.
SRI JAMBUKESWARA TEMPLE (Thiruvaanaikkaval)
Since the 'Linga' in the temple is placed under a holy Jambu (guava) tree and
Eshwara means "the Lord", in Sanskrit, the temple is called Jambukeswara
Temple. This temple has seven gopurams and five surrounding walls.
This Shiva temple has many deities and well-chiseled sculptures. You can find
the Appu-linga (water), one of the five element Shiva-lingas, in this temple.
The base of the Appu-linga is submerged in water, which comes from a spring
in the inner sanctum. The temple has a special significance, it is said that
Lord Rama came here after killing Ravana and Kumbakarna, to worship Lord Shiva
and offer prayers.
SAINT JOSEPH'S CHURCH
This Catholic church bears a lot of similarity to the Lourdes Basilica in
France.
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