Kokkadicholai Thaanthonreeswarar Temple | |
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Kokkadicholai Thanthonrichcharam Kovil | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Hinduism |
District | Batticaloa |
Province | Eastern |
Deity | Lord Shiva |
Festivals | Utsava, annual chariot festival |
Location | |
Location | Kokkadicholai |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Architecture | |
Type | thamizh or tamil architecture |
Kokkadicholai Thaanthonrichcharar Kovil (also known as Kokkadicholai Thanthonrichcharam) is the most significant Shaivism Kovil located in Kokkadicholai, 15km southwest Batticaloa District of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. [1] It is also one of the oldest and five most important Kovils in Sri Lanka and it is believed to be one of the two Kovils in Sri Lanka to have naturally built Sivalingam. The chariot festival of the temple is held annually usually in the month of September. [2] One of the main chariots used in the festival was constructed with wooden sculptures in the 18th century. [3]
The temple is believed to have been originated in the 4th century BC and built by Ulaga Naachi who belonged to the Chola Empire. [4] The temple is also well known for its miracles. One of them famously witnessed during the Portuguese era in Sri Lanka. A bull statue which is located inside the temple ate grass and chased the Portuguese soldiers away from the temple who were aiming to destroy the temple at that time. [5]
Trincomalee, also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil speaking culture on the island for nearly a millennium. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harbours. It is home to the famous Koneswaram temple from where it developed and earned its historic Tamil name Thirukonamalai. The town is home to other historical monuments such as the Bhadrakali Amman Temple, Trincomalee, the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall and, opened in 1897, the Trincomalee Hindu College. Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway station and an ancient ferry service to Jaffna and the south side of the harbour at Muttur.
Batticaloa is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial centre. It is on the east coast, 111 kilometres (69 mi) south of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island. Pasikudah is a popular tourist destination situated 35 km (22 mi) northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons.
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The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is a Hindu temple, located in Nallur, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The presiding deity is Murugan (Kartikeya) in the form of the divine spear vel in the sanctum, the primary shrine, and in other forms, namely, Shanmugar, Muthukumaraswami, Valli Kanthar with consorts Valli and Deivayanai, and Dandayuddhapani, sans consorts in secondary shrines in the temple.
Koneswaram Temple of Trincomalee or Thirukonamalai Konesar Temple – The Temple of the Thousand Pillars and Dakshina-Then Kailasam is a classical-medieval Hindu temple complex in Trincomalee, a Hindu religious pilgrimage centre in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. The most sacred of the Pancha Ishwarams of Sri Lanka, it was built significantly during the ancient period on top of Konesar Malai, a promontory overlooking Trincomalee District, Gokarna bay and the Indian Ocean. The monument contains its main shrine to Shiva in the form Kona-Ishvara, shortened to Konesar.
Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple, historically known also as the Thirutambaleswaram Kovil of Keerimalai, is a famous Hindu temple in Keerimalai, located north of Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka in the suburb of Kankesanthurai. One of the oldest shrines of the region, it is the northernmost of the island's Pancha Ishwarams of Siva, venerated by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus around the world from classical antiquity. Hindus believe its adjacent water tank, the Keerimalai Springs, to have curative properties, which irrigation studies attribute to high mineral content sourced from underground.
Munneswaram temple is an important regional Hindu temple complex in Sri Lanka. It has been in existence at least since 1000 CE although myths surrounding the temple associate it with the popular Indian epic Ramayana, and its legendary hero-king Rama. The temple is one of the ancient Pancha Ishwarams dedicated to Shiva in the region.
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History of Eastern Tamils of Sri Lanka is informed by local legends, native literature and other colonial documents. Sri Lankan Tamils are subdivided based on their cultural, dialects & other practices as into Northern, Eastern and Western groups. Eastern Tamils inhabit a region that is divided into Trincomalee District, Batticalo District and Ampara District.
Sri Kandaswamy Kovil is a Hindu temple located along Jalan Scott, Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The temple is over a century old.
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Kataragama temple in Kataragama, Sri Lanka, is a temple complex dedicated to Buddhist guardian deity Kataragama deviyo and Hindu War God Murugan. It is one of the few religious sites in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult to access; today it is accessible by an all-weather road. The shrines and the nearby Kiri Vehera are managed by Buddhists, the shrines dedicated to Teyvāṉai and Shiva are managed by Hindus and the mosque by Muslims.
Kataragama is a pilgrimage town sacred to Hindu, Buddhist and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to worship. The town has the Kataragama temple, a shrine dedicated to Skanda Kumara also known as Kataragama deviyo. Kataragama is located in the Monaragala District of Uva province, Sri Lanka. It is 228 km (142 mi) southeast of Colombo. Although Kataragama was a small village in medieval times, today it is a fast-developing township surrounded by jungle in the southeastern region of Sri Lanka.
Thambiluvil Kannaki Amman Kovil is one of the most significant Hindu temples in the Ampara District of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated about 70 km south of Batticaloa town and 11 km south to Akkaraipattu. It is considered as one of the ancient temples of Mattakkalappu Desam made for Kannaki Amman, the heroine of the great Tamil epic Silappatikaram.
Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple [Tamil: நயினாதீவு நாகபூசணி அம்மன் கோயில், romanized: Nayiṉātīvu Nākapūcaṇi Am'maṉ Kōyil - Meaning: Nainativu ; Nagapooshani ; Amman (Goddess)] is an ancient and historic Hindu temple located amidst the Palk Strait on the island of Nainativu, Sri Lanka. It is dedicated to Parvati who is known as Nagapooshani or Bhuvaneswari and her consort, Shiva who is named here as Nayinaar. The temple seems to have been mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana. The temple complex houses four gopurams ranging from 20–25 feet in height, to the tallest being the eastern Raja Raja Gopuram soaring at 108 feet high. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, such as Manimekalai and Kundalakesi. The present structure was built during 1720 to 1790 after the ancient structure was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1620. The temple attracts around 1000 visitors a day, and approximately 5000 visitors during festivals. The annual 16-day Mahostavam (Thiruvizha) festival celebrated during the Tamil month of Aani (June/July) - attracts over 100,000 pilgrims. There is an estimated 10,000 sculptures in this newly renovated temple.
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Thirukkovil Temple is the most significant Hindu temple in Thirukkovil, Ampara District of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. It is dedicated to Chitravelayudhar who was once the guardian deity of Mattakkalappu Desam and this temple enjoyed the honor of Desathukkovil of the Batticaloa region. Archaeological and historical evidences suggest that Cholan, Kotte and Kandyan kings maintained strong relations with this temple in the past.
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