Uthamar Kovil Sri Purushothaman Perumal Temple, Trichy

Diety: Sri Purushottama Perumal Amman: Sri Poornavalli Thayar
Temple Address: Uthamar Kovil Sri Purushothaman Perumal Temple, Manachanallur (t.k) Trichy District. Telephone no : 0431-2591466(officer room),0431-2591405
Open between: 06:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 04:00 AM to 08:30 AM

Introduction

Uthamar Kovil (also known as Thirukkarambanoor or Bhikshandar Kovil) in Uthamarkoil, a village in the outskirts of Tiruchirappalli in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Trimurti Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Purshottamar and his consort Lakshmi as Poornavalli. Purushottamar is believed to have appeared to Hindu gods Brahma and Shiva, to relieve Shiva off his sins committed while cutting one of Brahma’s heads. The temple is one of the few historical temples in India where the images of the Trimurti, Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are housed in the same premises. It is one of the two temples in Chola Nadu where the trinity can be seen in the same premises, the other being Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple at Thirukkandiyur. Thala Virutcham : Plantain tree (Kathali variety) Theertham : Kadhamba Theertham Agamam / Pooja : Vaikanasam

Puranic Significance

The temple is believed to have been built by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, with later contributions from Vijayanagar kings and Madurai Nayaks. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines, while the temple tank is located outside the main gateway. As per Hindu legend, the god Vishnu emerged as a Kadamba tree here, giving the name Kathambanur, which later became Karambanur. The name Karambanur is mentioned by Thirumangai Azhwar in Nalayira Divya Prabandam, in which he refers to the presiding deity as “Karambanur Uthaman”. The temple is commonly called “Uthamar Kovil” derived from the presiding deity. The temple is also called Bhikshandar Kovil as the god Shiva is present in the form of Bhikshandar (a mendicant) and believed to have attained cure by worshiping Vishnu at this place. As per Hindu legend, once Vishnu wanted to test the devotion of the god Brahma. He raised as a Kadamba tree in the place; Brahma worshipped him with thirumanjanam (ablution). The water from the ablution filled a tank nearby, which came to be known as “Kathamba Theertham”. Vishnu was satisfied with the devotion of Brahma and gave a boon to Brahma to have a shrine in this place. Shiva wanted to expiate the sin for decapitating a head of Brahma and went on a pilgrimage. Here, Vishnu requested his consort Lakshmi to give alms to Shiva. Shiva’s grail was filled by the alms and Lakshmi came to be known as Poornavalli Thayar (the one who filled the grail). As per another legend, Brahma and Shiva both had originally five heads. Parvati, the wife of Shiva, once got confused and worshipped Brahma, instead of her husband. Shiva got enraged and cut off one of Brahma’s heads; the head stuck in Shiva’s hand due to Brahma’s curse. To atone for the sin, Shiva worshipped Vishnu here; Shiva was fully relieved of the curse after worshipping Vishnu at Hara Saabha Vimocchana Perumal Temple.

Beliefs

Devotees pray to Lords for child boon and relief from adverse planetary effects. Devotees perform special abishek and archanas to Lord Mother with nivedhanas.

Special Features

A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temples has images and separate shrines for Purushottamar (Vishnu), Bhikshadanar (Shiva), Brahma and their respective consorts Poornavalli (Lakshmi), Soundaraya Parvati and Saraswati. This is one of the few historical Hindu temples in the world, where the Hindu Trimurti are worshipped along with their consorts in six separate shrines within the same temple complex. The central shrine facing East houses the image of Vishnu, as Purushottamar, in reclining posture with the discus in one hand. The roof or vimana of the central shrine is called Udhyoga Vimana. There are two shrines located to the south east, each housing the image of Poornavalli and Mahalakshmi. The Shiva shrine, located behind Vishnu’s, houses the lingam (aniconic form of Shiva) as Bhikshadanar. The granite images of the deities Ganesha (son of Shiva and god of wisdom), Murugan (son of Shiva and god of war), Nandi (the bull and vehicle of Shiva) and Navagraha (nine planetary deities) are located in the hall leading to the Shiva sanctum. As in other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the first precinct of the Shiva shrine has images of Dakshinamurthy (Shiva as the Teacher), Durga (warrior-goddess) and Chandikeswarar (a saint and devotee of Shiva). The shrines of Brahma and his consort Saraswati are located in the south west corner of the temple complexThe Sapthaguru or seven gurus (teachers) are identified in the temple. The seven are Bhikshadanar (representing Sadasiva Guru, Shiva as a guru), Brahma (Brahma Guru), Soundarya Parvati (Shakti Guru, the Goddess as a guru), Brihaspati (Deva Guru, the teacher of the gods), Varadarajaperumal (Vishnu Guru), Murugan (Gnana Guru, the guru of knowledge) and Shukra (Asura Guru, the guru of demons)

Festivals

Brahmotsavam – November or December Rama Navami Utsavam – April or May Vaikunta Ekadashi – December or January Pongal – January Diwali – October or November