DianaX6283: made place.

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{{orphan|date=November 2024}}
{{Short description|Perumal temple in Tiruchirappalli district, Tamil Nadu, India}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name = Sri Purushothaman Temple
| image = Uthamarkovil (4).jpg
| alt =
| caption = The shrine of temple
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu
| coordinates = {{coord|10.877161|78.703141|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| native_name = Sri Purushothaman Perumal
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Tiruchirappalli district|Tiruchirappalli]]
| locale = Tamilnadu, India
| elevation_m =
| deity = {{Plainlist|
* Purushothaman Perumal ([[Vishnu]])
* Poornavalli Thayar ([[Lakshmi]])
* Bikshandar ([[Shiva]])
* Soundarya Parvati ([[Parvati]])
* [[Brahma]]
* [[Saraswati]]
}}
| festivals=
| architecture = [[Dravidian architecture]]
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed =
| creator = [[Cholas]]
| website =
}}

'''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 [[Trimurti]] of [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]], and [[Brahma]]. Constructed in the [[Dravidian architecture|Dravidian style of architecture]], the temple is glorified in the ''[[Divya Prabandha|Nalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the early medieval [[Tamil literature|Tamil]] canon of the [[Alvars|Alvar]] saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 ''[[Divyadesam|Divya Desams]]'' dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Purushothaman Perumal (also called as [[Purushottama|Purushothamar]]) and his consort [[Lakshmi]] as Poornavalli Thayar.

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.

The temple is believed to have been built by the [[Medieval Cholas]] of the late 8th century CE, with later contributions from [[Vijayanagar Empire|Vijayanagara kings]] and [[Madurai Nayaks]]. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines, while the temple tank is located outside the main gateway.

Six daily rituals and four yearly festivals are held at the temple for each of trinities. The major festival of the temple, the ''Brahmotsavam'', is celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of [[Kārtika (month)|Kartikai]] (November – December) when festival images of both Purushotamar and Bikshadanar are carried together in the streets surrounding the temple. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].

==Etymology and legend==
[[File:uthamarkoil4.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Uthyanga Vimanam, the roof of the sanctum]]
As per Hindu legend, the god [[Vishnu]] emerged as a [[Neolamarckia cadamba|Kadamba tree]] here, giving the name ''Kathambanur'', which later became ''Karambanur''. The name ''Karambanur'' is mentioned by [[Thirumangai Alvar]] 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 [[Bhikshatana|Bhikshandar]] (a mendicant) and believed to have attained cure by worshiping Vishnu at this place.<ref name="temple"/>

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 [[Bhiksha|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).<ref name="temple"/>

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]].<ref name="hindu1">{{cite news|title=Temple for the Great Trinity |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/03/21/stories/2003032101220600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031013112053/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/03/21/stories/2003032101220600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2003|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=21 March 2003|last=T.A.|first=Srinivasan|access-date=2013-09-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=South Indian Shrines: Illustrated|publisher=Asian Educational Services|page=534|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLSGFW1uZboC&q=govindaraja+perumal+temple&pg=PA242|last=Ayyar|first=P. V. Jagadisa|isbn=9788120601512|location=New Delhi|year=1982}}</ref>

According to another Hindu legend, the temple is believed to have been constructed by [[Janaka]], the king of Janakapuri and the father of the goddess [[Sita]]. [[Thirumangai Azhwar|Thirumangai Alvar]] is believed to have resided in the temple to build the surrounding walls of the [[Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple]].

==Temple==
[[File:uthamarkoil1.jpg|Inside Uttamarkoil seen with the Sthalaviruksham – Kadhali(red banana)|thumb|200px]]
The temple is believed to have been built by the [[Medieval Cholas]] of the late 8th century CE, with later contributions from [[Vijayanagar Empire|Vijayanagara kings]] and [[Madurai Nayaks]]. During the war between [[British Raj|British]] and [[French Colonial Empire|French]] in 1751, the temple acted as an infantry for both the troops.<ref name="temple"/> There was no damage done to the temple during the war.<ref name=R>{{cite book|title=An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam|last=R.|first=Dr. Vijayalakshmy|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies| location=Chennai|year=2001|edition=1st|ref=R.|pages=464–5}}</ref>

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]]), Soundarya [[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, similar to the idol of [[Ranganatha]] at the nearby [[Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam|temple]] in [[Srirangam]] with the [[Sudarshan Chakra|discus]] in one hand and the procession idols of [[Vishnu]], [[Lakshmi]] and [[Bhumi (goddess)|Bhumi]] ([[Earth]] goddess). The roof or ''[[vimana (tower)|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 [[Bhikshatana|Bhikshadanar]]. The granite images of the deities [[Ganesha]] (son of Shiva and god of wisdom), [[Murugan]] (son of Shiva and god of war), [[Nandi (bull)|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 [[Chandeshvara Nayanar|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 complex.{{fact|date=July 2020}}

The ''Saptaguru'' 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).<ref name="temple">{{cite journal|title=Thirukoyil|publisher=Hindu Religious And Endowment Board Tamil Nadu|volume=15|series=1|date=January 2013|url=http://www.tnhrce.org/thirukoil.html|pages=14–15|access-date=2013-03-17}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="The Hindu">{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/21/stories/2010112158750200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203203949/http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/21/stories/2010112158750200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-12-03|title=A seat to shun ego and seek wisdom |last=M.|first=Balaganessin|date=2010-11-21|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2013-03-17}}</ref><ref name="dinamalar">{{cite news|url=https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=169|title=Sri Uthamar temple|newspaper=Dinamalar|access-date=2013-03-17}}</ref>

==Festival and administration==
[[File:Uthamarkovil (9).jpg|250px|thumb|left|An aerial view of the temple]]

The temple priests perform the ''[[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]]'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The priests of the Bhikshadanar shrine belong to the [[Shaiva]] community, while the priests of Purushothamar are from [[Vaishnava]] community. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; Ushathkalam at 5:30 a.m., Kalasanthi at 8:00 a.m., Uchikalam at 10:00 a.m., Sayarakshai at 5:00 p.m., Irandamkalam at 7:00 p.m. and Ardha Jamam at 8:30 p.m. The Shaiva and Vaishnava sects have their own rituals. The ritual of Bhikshadanar comprises four steps: ''[[abhisheka]]'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''[[Naivedhya|naivethanam]]'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Bhikshadanar and Soundarya Parvati. The worship is held amidst religious instructions in the [[Vedas]] (sacred texts) read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like ''{{lang|te-Latn|somavaram}}'' (Monday) and ''{{lang|te-Latn|sukravaram}}'' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like ''[[pradosha]]m'' and monthly festivals like ''[[amavasya|amavasai]]'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', ''[[pournami (festival)|pournami]]'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi'' for Bhikshadanar. The major festival of the temple, the ''Brahmotsavam'', is celebrated during the [[Tamil calendar|Tamil month]] of Kartigai (November – December) when festival images of both Purushothamar and Bhikshadanar are carried together in the streets surrounding the temple. Kadambha Tiruvila is a festival celebrated in the temple when the festival image of [[Ranganatha]] (a form of Vishnu) is brought to the Kadambha tank of the temple for ''Theerthavari''. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the [[Government of Tamil Nadu]].<ref name="temple"/>

==Religious significance==
[[File:Uthamarkovil (8).jpg|250x250px|thumb|Sculpture of Vinayaga on the wall of the temple]]
Uthamar Kovil 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. Trimurti in Hindu mythology refers to the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction. They are personified by the forms of [[Brahma]] the creator, [[Vishnu]] the preserver, and [[Shiva]], the destroyer.<ref name="hindu1"/>

The temple is revered in ''[[Nalayira Divya Prabandham]]'', the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by [[Thirumangai Alvar]] in ten hymns. The temple is classified as a ''[[Divyadesam|Divya Desam]]'', one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book.<ref name="dinamalar"/> Thirumangai Alvar have sung in praise of the perumal in this temple with one [[Mangalasasanam by Divyadesam|pasuram]] (hymn).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.srivaishnava.org/ddesam/uttamar/|title=Thirumangai Azhwar pasuram on Uthamar Kovil|publisher=Srivaishnava.org|access-date=2013-03-17}}</ref>

Periyavachan Pillai, who translated the verses of Thirumangai Alvar, glorifies the temple as "the one without doors where devotees can always visit and worship".<ref name="temple"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Famous Vishnu temples}}

[[Category:Divya Desams| ]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Tiruchirappalli district]]
[[Category:Brahma temples]]
[[Category:Shiva temples in Tiruchirappalli district]]

Sri Purushothaman Perumal Temple - Revision history

DianaX6283: made place.