01The Lord who saves
Uyya-kondan means he who took me in to be saved, and Ujjivanathar the Lord of life. The temple’s katha ties the name to Markandeya, the boy fated to die at sixteen, who is said to have worshipped here on his way, and to the Lord’s promise of life to all who come. The temple stands on a low hill, Karkudi, about thirty metres high, and is climbed by a flight of steps from the tank at its base. Within its four acres are the shrines of the Lord and of his consorts Anjanakshi and Balambikai.
02Chola walls
The shrine was sung in the Tevaram as Tirukkarkudi, and its walls carry inscriptions of the Chola period recording grants of land and lamps. Concentric granite walls close it in, and the river Uyyakondan, a channel of the Kaveri, runs below. Today the temple stands at the edge of Tiruchirappalli’s western suburbs, and from the top the Rock Fort can be seen to the east.
About 8 km west of central Tiruchirappalli on the Vayalur road.
