History

The Thayumanavar Temple is a temple situated in the Rockfort complex in the city of Tiruchirappalli, India. The temple is situated close to the base of the Rockfort and was constructed by the Pallava king Mahendravarman I in the 6th century AD. Shiva is worshiped as Thayumanavar, and is represented by the lingam and his consort Parvati is depicted as Mattuvar Kuzhalammai. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.

According to Hindu legend, a pregnant woman named Rathnavathi was an ardent devotee of Shiva and he arrived in the form of her mother to attend to her delivery. The presiding deity is thus named Thayumanaswamy, the one who acted as mother. The Rockfort is a fortress which stands atop a 273-foot-high rock, consisting of a set of monolithic rocks accommodating many rock-cut cave temples. Originally built by the Pallavas, it was later reconstructed by the Madurai Nayaks and Vijayanagara rulers.The major complex in the temple are believed to be built during the 8th century by the Pandyan Empire.

The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The Chittirai festival during the Tamil month of Chittirai (April – May) is celebrated for fifteen days, portraying the various incidents associated with the temple legend. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
According to Hindu legend, a pregnant woman named Rathnavathi was an ardent devotee of Shiva. While nearing labor, she requested her mother to come over. Her mom could not reach on account of heavy floods in river Cauvery. As delivery time came closer, Rathnavathi prayed to Shiva. Shiva, moved by the devotion of Rathnavathi, took the form of Rathnavathi’s mother and helped with her smooth delivery. After the delivery, Shiva vanished and Rathnavathi’s mother who arrived later. The family came to know that it was Shiva who attended to the delivery. Henceforth, Shiva in the temple came to known as Thayumanaswamy, meaning the Lord who could act like a Mother. The temple obtained the name from the presiding deity, Thayumanaswamy. Shiva disguised himself as a mother for a pregnant lady, leading to the name Thayumanavar, meaning the one who became a mother.

According to Hindu mythology, the city Tiruchirappalli derives its name from legend associated with the Thayumanaswamy temple. The three-headed demon Trishira, who meditated on Thayumanavar near the present-day city to obtain favours from the god. An alternative derivation, not universally accepted, is that the source of the city’s name is the Sanskrit word “Trishirapuram”—Trishira, meaning “three-headed”, and palli or puram meaning “city”.
Tiruchirapalli was a part of the Chola kingdom and it houses a number of exquisitely sculpted temples and fortresses, the centre of which is the Rockfort temple. The temple is built in the Dravidian style of architecture; The rock-cut cave temples of the Rockfort, along with the gateway and the Erumbeeswarar Temple, are listed as monuments of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Rockfort is a fortress which stands atop a 273-foot-high rock. It consists of a set of monolithic rocks accommodating many rock-cut cave temples. Originally built by the Pallavas, it was later reconstructed by the Madurai Nayaks and Vijayanagara rulers. The major complex in the temple are believed to be built during the 8th century by the Pandyan Empire. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.