Uthamar Koil (also known as Thirukkarambanoor or Bhikshandar Kovil) is situated in the outskirts of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha by the Azhwar saints. It is one of the 108 Divyadesams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Purshothamar and his consort Lakshmi as Poornavalli. The temple is commonly called “Uthamar Koil” deriving the name from the presiding deity.
The temple is one of the few historical temples in India where the images of Hindu Trimurthis – Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are housed in the same premises; the other being Hara Shaapa Vimochana 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 kings and Madurai Nayaks. Thirumangai Azhwar is believed to have resided in the temple to build the surrounding walls of Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple. Periyavachan Pillai, who translated the verses of Thirumangai Azhwar, glorifies the temple as “the one without doors where devotees can always visit and worship”.
As per mythology, once Vishnu wanted to test the devotion of Brahma. He raised as a Kadamba tree in the place; However Brahma realized the true nature of the tree and worshipped him with Thirumanjanam. 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 have a shrine for him in this place. Hence the place came to be known as Kathambanur, which later became Karambanur. Thirumangai Azhwar refers to the presiding deity as “Karambanur Uthaman”.
As per another legend, Lord 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 . Thus the name Bhikshandar Koil came about for this place.
The temple has 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.
Additionally, all the seven gurus – Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Sakthi, Subramanaya, Deva Guru (Bruhaspathi), Asura Guru (Shukracharya) are present here. This is the only temple where Lord Brahma himself is present as Lord Guru facing South in a separate shrine with a Vimana and Urchava idol. Usually in other temples, only Lord Dakshinamoorthy will be present as Lord Guru, so this is a very significant temple for Guru Worship.
| Dhivyadesam No. | 3 |
| Dhivyadesam Name | Uthamarkoil |
| Main Deity | Purushothamar, Pooranavalli |
| Location | Trichy, Tamil Nadu (Chozha Nadu) |
| Architecture Style | Dravidian (Chola Style) |
| Temple Age | At least 1000 years |
| Azwars who did Mangalasasanam | Thirumangaiyazhwar |
| Divyaprabandam reference |
Peria Thirumozhi (1399) |
| Unique Specialties |
Presence of all Tirumurtis with their consorts Presence of all seven Gurus, including Brahma |
| Prayers made for | Doing pooja with Nagalinga flower is said to eradicate all problems in life |
| Popular Events |
Brahmotsavam – Karthigai (Nov – Dec) |
Link to previous posts in this series
https://thedal.info/gateways-of-mukthi-salvation-temples-of-india-part-2-thiruppullani/
Rangarajan has been blogging for over 12 years now on various topics. With Thedal, he becomes one with the universe and he is hoping that his search will help him discover the eternal truth. Please join him as he traverses through the universe across temples, philosophies and science!
Interesting read.
I once read a story where Lord Shiva assigns a task to Lord Vishnu & Lord Brahma. As Lord Brahma does not complete his task fairly, Lord Shiva says that he won’t have any temple dedicated to him.
So this must be a very special temple where Lord Brahma is also worshipped.
Thanks Shoba. Yes, however I still don’t think there is any dedicated temple for Brahma. There are a few temples like this where there is a sanctum for him though.