TIRUCHIRAPALLI - The name Tiruchirappalli might have been derived from Tiru-chinna-palli meaning "holy little town".
It has a long history dating back to the centuries before the Christian era when it was a Chola citadel. During the first millennium AD, it changed hands between the Pallavas and Pandyas many times before being taken by the Cholas in the 10th century AD. When the Chola Empire finally declined, Tiruchi passed into the hands of the Vijayanagar kings of Hampi and remained with them until their defeat, in 1565 AD by the forces of the Deccan Sultans.
The city has a number of historical monuments, the Rockfort and Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam being the most prominent ones. Tiruchirapalli is also famous for the number of Christian churches -- it is said to have the highest number of chapels in India.
This temple was built by the Cholas and is about 1800 years old. It is one of the famous temples of Trichy. The beautiful temple has 7 gopurams which are indeed magnificent. The temple is an architectural marvel. There is a fable associated with this place that an elephant and a spider worshipped Lord Shiva here under a guava (jambu) tree, hence it was named Jambukeshwara temple.
Rockfort temple stands tall on a magnificent hill which is believed to be 3500 million years old. This temple dates back to 7th century. This hillock forms the landmark of bustling Trichy town. There are two temples here one for Siva and the other for Vinayagar known here as Ucchi Pillayair, Ucchi means zenith. The deity here sits and watches the whole Trichy town from the summit. The uchipillayar temple is very small; one has to climb about 400 steps to reach the summit. One can have a panoramic view of the whole town from the top of the hill.
This superb temple complex at Srirangam, about three km from the Rock Fort, is surrounded by seven concentric walls with 21 gopurams and is probably the largest in India. Most of it dates from the 14th to 17th centuries, and many people have had a hand in its construction, including the Cheras, Pandyas, Cholas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagars. The temple complex is very well preserved, with excellent carvings throughout and numerous shrines to various gods, though the main temple is dedicated to Vishnu.
(It remains closed from 1200 hrs till 1500 hrs).
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