206-526: The Ramanathaswamy Temple ( Rāmanātasvāmi Kōyil ) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva located on Rameswaram island in the state of Tamil Nadu , India. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams , the sacred sites glorified by the Nayanars ( Shaivite poet-saints), Appar , Sundarar , and Sambandar , with their songs. According to tradition,
412-444: A Vishnu temple, Krishna temple, Rama temple, Narayana temple, Shiva temple, Lakshmi temple, Ganesha temple, Durga temple, Hanuman temple, Surya temple, etc. It is this garbha-griya which devotees seek for darsana (literally, a sight of knowledge, or vision ). Above the vastu-purusha-mandala is a superstructure with a dome called Shikhara in north India, and Vimana in south India, that stretches towards
618-419: A fort was built at the site from its debris. A 1632-built temple located away from the city houses some of its original idols. Worldwide interest was renewed following the discovery of its underwater and land ruins, sculptures and Chola bronzes by archaeologists and Arthur C. Clarke . It has been preserved through restorations, most recently in the 1950s. Granted ownership of villages in its floruit to form
824-692: A Chola regent of Sri Lanka. In the 6th century, a special coastal route by boat travelled from the Jaffna peninsula southwards to the Koneswaram temple, and further south to Batticaloa to the Thirukkovil . Koneswaram temple of Kona-ma-malai is mentioned in the Saiva literature Tevaram in the late sixth century CE by Thirugnana Sambandar . Along with Ketheeswaram temple in Mannar, Koneswaram temple
1030-422: A Hindu temple project would start with a Yajamana (patron), and include a Sthapaka (guru, spiritual guide and architect-priest), a Sthapati (architect) who would design the building, a Sutragrahin (surveyor), and many Vardhakins (workers, masons, painters, plasterers, overseers) and Taksakas (sculptors). While the temple is under construction, all those working on the temple were revered and considered sacerdotal by
1236-619: A Hindu yogin, states Gopinath Rao, one who has realised the Self and the Universal Principle within himself, there is no need for any temple or divine image for worship. However, for those who have yet to reach this height of realization, various symbolic manifestations through images, murtis and icons as well as mental modes of worship are offered as one of the spiritual paths in the Hindu way of life. Some ancient Hindu scriptures like
1442-523: A Thousand Columns among Europeans. The rocky promontory is dedicated to Siva in his ancient form of Kona-Ishvara, and is a major centre of pilgrimage today. The worship of Ishvara is noted to have been the original worship of the island; Charles Pridham, Jonathan Forbes and George Turnour state that it is probable there is no more ancient form of worship existing than that of Ishvara upon his sacred promontory. The construction time of Koneswaram has been estimated by comparison between carved reliefs on
1648-500: A UNESCO World Heritage site. The Indian rock-cut architecture evolved in Maharashtran temple style in the 1st millennium CE. The temples are carved from a single piece of rock as a complete temple or carved in a cave to look like the interior of a temple. Ellora Temple is an example of the former, while The Elephanta Caves are representative of the latter style. The Elephanta Caves consist of two groups of caves—the first
1854-511: A bed and meal to pilgrims. They relied on any voluntary donation the visitor may leave and to land grants from local rulers. Some temples have operated their kitchens on a daily basis to serve the visitor and the needy, while others during major community gatherings or festivals. Examples include the major kitchens run by Hindu temples in Udupi (Karnataka), Puri (Odisha) and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh). The tradition of sharing food in smaller temple
2060-488: A brief introduction to 12 types of Hindu temples. Other texts, such as Pancaratra Prasada Prasadhana compiled by Daniel Smith and Silpa Ratnakara compiled by Narmada Sankara provide a more extensive list of Hindu temple types. Ancient Sanskrit manuals for temple construction discovered in Rajasthan, in northwestern region of India, include Sutradhara Mandana's Prasadamandana (literally, manual for planning and building
2266-526: A call by D. Hieronymo de Azevedo the previous year to aid the latter in building a fortress in Trincomalee. The enterprise was abandoned. With the defeat of King Cankili II , all of the territory of the kingdom of Jaffna, comprising Trincomalee and Batticaloa, was assigned to the "spiritual cures of the Franciscans." This decision was taken by the bishop of Cochin, fray Dom Sebastião de S. Pedro. By
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#17327719641802472-461: A circular natural harbour which the temple crowns towards the north, is referred to in Sanskrit as Gokarna (Cow's Ear) and the deity's name Gokarneswara or Go—Natha . Pathmanathan offers the etymological link Thiru-Gokarna-Malai or Thiru-Gona-Malai based on this connection. The ethnographer Megasthenes writing in his Indica from 350 to 290 BCE, describes the island as being divided by
2678-507: A compound of Kona and Ishvara), Koneswaran , Kona—Natha and the goddess consort is called Mathumai Amman (another name for Mother goddess Amman ). It later earned the title Thiru Koneswaram Kovil . Trincomalee, the coastal peninsula town where Koneswaram is located is an Anglicized form of the old Tamil word "Thiru-kona-malai" ( Tamil : திருகோணமலை ), meaning "Lord of the Sacred Hill", its earliest reference in this form found in
2884-454: A corridor. There are separate shrines for the goddess Vishalakshi , the utsava images, sayanagriha , Vishnu and Ganesha . The samadhi of the great Yogi Patanjali is said to be at this temple and there is a separate shrine for him here. There are various halls inside the temple, namely Anuppu Mandapam, Sukravara Mandapam, Setupati Mandapam, Kalyana Mandapam, and Nandi Mandapam. There are sixty-four Tīrthas (holy water bodies) in and around
3090-432: A decorated Vilvam ( Aegle marmelos ) tree on Swami Rock. In 1956, while scuba diving , photographer Mike Wilson and author Arthur C. Clarke discovered ruins from the sunken original temple spread on the shallow surrounding sea-bed. Relics found by Wilson and Clarke included masonry, architecture, idol images, carved columns with flower insignias, and stones in the form of elephant heads. These ruins, as well as
3296-502: A house or a palace. A house-themed temple is a simple shelter that serves as a deity's home. The temple is a place where the devotee visits, just like he or she would visit a friend or relative. The use of moveable and immoveable images is mentioned by Pāṇini . In the Bhakti school of Hinduism, temples are venues for puja , which is a hospitality ritual, where the deity is honored, and where devotee calls upon, attends to and connects with
3502-535: A long river, productive of a large number of gold and pearls in one half and that the inhabitants of this country are called Paleogoni , meaning Old Goni in Tamil and Greek , who Pliny adds worshipped Hercules and Dionysus (Bacchus) like the Pandyans of Tamilakam. The Vayu Purana , written in 300 CE specifically mentions the tallest mountain peak of the great gold and silver rich mountain range Malaya on
3708-446: A main temple surrounded by smaller temples and shrines, but these are still arranged by principles of symmetry, grids and mathematical precision. An important principle found in the layout of Hindu temples is mirroring and repeating fractal-like design structure, each unique yet also repeating the central common principle, one which Susan Lewandowski refers to as "an organism of repeating cells". The ancient texts on Hindu temple design,
3914-601: A natural source of water is not present. Here too, they recommend that a pond be built preferably in front or to the left of the temple with water gardens. If water is neither present naturally nor by design, water is symbolically present at the consecration of the temple or the deity. Temples may also be built, suggests Visnudharmottara in Part III of Chapter 93, inside caves and carved stones, on hill tops affording peaceful views, on mountain slopes overlooking beautiful valleys, inside forests and hermitages, next to gardens, or at
4120-455: A number of ways. For example, one method of classification is the dimensionality of completion: Another way of classification is by the expressive state of the image: A Hindu temple may or may not include a murti or images, but larger temples usually do. Personal Hindu temples at home or a hermitage may have a pada for yoga or meditation, but be devoid of anthropomorphic representations of god. Nature or others arts may surround him or her. To
4326-552: A praiseful poem of Raja Raja Chola I , who ruled the northern Malabar country from 993 to 1014 CE was discovered in the 1970s within the premises of the Koneswaram temple. The 1033–1047 CE Tamil inscriptions of the nearby Choleeswaram temple ruins of Peraru , Kantalai and the Manankerni inscriptions reveal the administrative practices of the Chola King Ilankeshvarar Devar (Sri Cankavanamar) with
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#17327719641804532-580: A recorded history from 300, when it finds mention in the Vayu Purana . Peiris notes that Koneswaram was one of the five recognised Iswarams of the Hindu deity Shiva in Lanka before the sixth century BCE; a widely famous centre of deity worship long before the arrival of the mythical exile Vijaya to the island, attributed to the period 543—505 BCE. Koneswaram is the easternmost shrine of the Iswarams ,
4738-452: A sacred space. It represents the triple-knowledge (trayi- vidya ) of the Vedic vision by mapping the relationships between the cosmos ( brahmaṇḍa ) and the cell (pinda) by a unique plan based on astronomical numbers. Subhash Kak sees the temple form and its iconography to be a natural expansion of Vedic ideology related to recursion, change and equivalence. In ancient Indian texts, a temple
4944-437: A social meaning. Some temples have served as a venue to mark festivals, to celebrate arts through dance and music, to get married or commemorate marriages, the birth of a child, other significant life events or the death of a loved one. In political and economic life, Hindu temples have served as a venue for succession within dynasties and landmarks around which economic activity thrived. Almost all Hindu temples take two forms:
5150-432: A straight diagonal path connected to Ketheeswaram and another former Jaffna temple and Paadal Petra Sthalam Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram. This pilgrimage path of 225 km (140 mi) is often traversed by foot according to Hindu custom. The complex also lies on exactly the same longitude as Mount Kailash . In line with custom of Tamil Hindu temple compounds, the complex houses shrines to several deities. Koneswaram
5356-400: A symbolic product of knowledge and human thought, while the circle is considered earthly, human and observed in everyday life (moon, sun, horizon, water drop, rainbow). Each supports the other. The square is divided into perfect 64 (or in some cases 81) sub-squares called padas. Each pada is conceptually assigned to a symbolic element, sometimes in the form of a deity. The central square(s) of
5562-500: A temple). Manasara , a text of South Indian origin, estimated to be in circulation by the 7th century CE, is a guidebook on South Indian temple design and construction. Isanasivagurudeva paddhati is another Sanskrit text from the 9th century describing the art of temple building in India in south and central India. In north India, Brihat-samhita by Varāhamihira is the widely cited ancient Sanskrit manual from 6th century describing
5768-466: A trustee at Rameswaram who also oversaw structural development of this temple and the promotion of Saivite beliefs donated part of his revenue to Koneswaram. Especially to be remembered are the immense sums that were spent during the tenure of Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai towards the restoration of the Pagodas which were falling into ruins and the splendid Chockattan Mantapam or the cloistered precincts of
5974-678: A widely popular bay temple of the island in the Mahabharata , Ramayana and Yalpana Vaipava Malai , the Mattakallappu Manmiam confirms its sacred status for all Hindus. Kachiyappa Sivachariar 's Kanda Puranam compares the temple to Thillai Chidambaram Temple and Mount Kailash in Saivite esteem. According to Professor S. Pathmanathan , "the name Kōnesvaram is derived from the Sanskrit expression Gokarnesvara, which
6180-416: Is a yantra , a design laying out a Hindu temple in a symmetrical, self-repeating structure derived from central beliefs, myths, cardinality and mathematical principles. The four cardinal directions help create the axis of a Hindu temple, around which is formed a perfect square in the space available. The circle of the mandala circumscribes the square. The square is considered divine for its perfection and as
6386-560: Is a large group of five Hindu caves and the second is a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock-cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the god Shiva. A typical, ancient Hindu temple has a profusion of arts—from paintings to sculpture, from symbolic icons to engravings, from thoughtful layout of space to fusion of mathematical principles with Hindu sense of time and cardinality. Ancient Sanskrit texts classify murtis and images in
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6592-457: Is a place of pilgrimage, known in India as a Tirtha . It is a sacred site whose ambience and design attempts to symbolically condense the ideal tenets of the Hindu way of life. In a Hindu temple, all the cosmic components that produce and maintain life are there, from fire to water, from depictions of the natural world to gods, from genders that are feminine or masculine to those that are everlasting and universal. Susan Lewandowski states that
6798-478: Is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicated. Hindu temple architecture, which makes extensive use of squares and circles, has its roots in Vedic traditions, which also influence the temples' construction and symbolism. Through astronomical numbers and particular alignments connected to
7004-791: Is a spiritual destination for many Hindus, as well as landmarks around which ancient arts, community celebrations and the economy have flourished. Hindu temple architecture are presented in many styles, are situated in diverse locations, deploy different construction methods, are adapted to different deities and regional beliefs, and share certain core ideas, symbolism and themes. They are found in South Asia, particularly India and Nepal , Bangladesh , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , in Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia , Vietnam , Malaysia , and Indonesia , and countries such as Canada , Fiji , France , Guyana , Kenya , Mauritius ,
7210-546: Is at Gokarna bay, in the middle of the ocean and is the island shrine of Uma's consort Shiva, known in the three worlds and worshiped by all peoples from the subcontinent, including the native tribes Naga , Deva and the Yaksha , the rivers, ocean and mountains. It continues that the shrine is the next pilgrimage spot for Hindus en route south following Kanyakumari of the early Pandyan kingdom and Tamiraparni island ( Kudiramalai ) and that worshipers should fast for three days at
7416-541: Is dedicated to various aspects of the presiding goddess, whereas Sivarathri is dedicated to Siva. Devotees visit the temple to attend the daily pujas and make their offerings. Booths are erected outside for the sale of food, drink, brassware, pottery, cloth and holy images. These functions primarily attract Hindus to the temple. The main Thirukoneswaram Ther Thiruvilah Festival , the twenty-two-day annual chariot festival begins with
7622-503: Is everywhere in a Hindu temple. Life principles such as the pursuit of joy, connection and emotional pleasure (kama) are fused into mystical, erotic and architectural forms in Hindu temples. These motifs and principles of human life are part of the sacred texts of the Hindus, such as its Upanishads; the temples express these same principles in a different form, through art and spaces. For example, Brihadaranyaka Upanisad (4.3.21) recites: In
7828-432: Is grand. In Hindu tradition, this is discarded in favor of an open and diffusive architecture, where the secular world was not separated from the sacred, but transitioned and flowed into the sacred. The Hindu temple has structural walls, which were patterned usually within the 64-grid, or other geometric layouts. Yet the layout was open on all sides, except for the core space with a single opening for darsana. The temple space
8034-405: Is laid out in a series of courts ( mandapas ). The outermost regions may incorporate the negative and suffering side of life with the symbolism of evil, asuras and rakshashas ; but in small temples this layer is dispensed with. When present, this outer region diffuse into the next inner layer that bridges as human space, followed by another inner Devika padas space and symbolic arts incorporating
8240-592: Is mentioned in the book Birds of Prey (1997) by Wilbur Smith , set in the 1660s. The Thirukonasala Mahatyam , describing the origins of the world, Lanka and Koneswaram based on puranic legends is now lost. The historical literature Mattakallappu Manmiyam ( Batticaloa Manmiyam ) that chronicles the history of Tamil settlement in Batticaloa, follows the Dakshina Kailasa Puranam and Dakshina Kailasa Manmiam in describing Koneswaram as one of
8446-469: Is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites and has several historical references about it. The Maratha kings who ruled Thanjavur established chatrams or rest houses throughout Mayiladuthurai and Rameswaram between 1745 and 1837 CE and donated them to the temple. The primary deity of the temple is Ramanathaswamy ( Shiva ) in the form of lingam . There are two lingams inside the sanctum - According to tradition, one built by Rama from sand, residing as
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8652-528: Is praised in the same literature canon by the 8th century Nayanar Saint Sundarar in Tamilakkam . Koneswaram henceforth is glorified as one of 275 Shiva Sthalams (Shiva abodes glorified in the Tevarams ) of the continent, part of the " Paadal Petra Sthalam " group. The only other temple from Eela Nādu (the country of the temple as named in the Tamil literature) is Ketheeswaram. During this period,
8858-661: Is the easternmost shrine of the 5 ancient Iswarams of Shiva on the island, the others being Naguleswaram ( Keerimalai ), Thiruketheeswaram ( Mannar ), Munneswaram ( Chilaw ) and Tenavaram ( Tevan Thurai ). Koneswaram has attracted thousands of pilgrims from across Asia, its Shiva shrine mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata written from 400 to 100 BCE describe at length its attraction to pilgrims from many countries and from 600 to 660, it has been glorified as one of 275 Shiva Sthalams , or holy Shiva dwellings on
9064-417: Is the name of six methods or alternate viewpoints of understanding truth. These are Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta —which flowered into individual schools of Hinduism, each of which is considered a valid, alternate path to understanding truth and achieving self-realization in the Hindu way of life. From names to forms, from images to stories carved into the walls of a temple, symbolism
9270-666: Is the southernmost of all the twelve Jyotirlingas. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu . The temple comes under the renovation and consecration of the 630 temples planned by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Temple authorities had planned to renovate and widen
9476-415: Is typically called prasada . Hindu temples are found in diverse locations each incorporating different methods of construction and styles: In arid western parts of India, such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, Hindu communities built large walk-in wells that served as the only source of water in dry months but also served as social meeting places and carried religious significance. These monuments went down into
9682-498: The Four Vedas . The shrine of Muruga , adoring son of Konesar and his consort, was near one of the gopuram entrances of the complex. A rich collection of local texts written since the fourteenth century record the traditions pertaining to the shrine, including Konamamalai temple's use of the alternate name "Maccakeswaram". A temple of a thousand columns, during this medieval period, Koneswaram attracted pilgrims from around
9888-562: The Tevaram of the seventh century by Sampandar . Thiru is a word generally used to denote a "sacred" temple site while Malai means mountain or hill; Middle Tamil manuscripts and inscriptions mention the monumental compound shrine as the Thirukonamalai Konesar Kovil . Greek writer Strabo , quoting Eratosthenes and Onesicritus notes the island's proximity to the southernmost regions of India, next to
10094-671: The lingam (an aniconic form of Shiva) of the Ramanathaswamy Temple was established and worshipped by Lord Ram before he crossed the bridge called Rama Setu to the island kingdom of Lanka , identified with Sri Lanka . It is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites. The temple was expanded during the 12th century by the Pandya Dynasty , and its principal shrine’s sanctum was renovated by Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan and his successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan , monarchs of
10300-565: The Ashta Dasa Shakthi Peetha Stotram by the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara (788—820). The Vishnu - Thirumal temple was likely the first temple encountered on the promontory – and is mentioned in Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën written in 1726 by François Valentijn . The temple closest to the sea end was likely that dedicated to the goddess, where the current reconstructed Shiva temple stands. Smaller shrines within
10506-531: The Ati Konanayakar temple was built in nearby Thampalakamam to house the idols on procession that survived. The destruction of the Konesar temple is historically viewed as the biggest loot of one of the richest temples of Asia. Gold, pearls, precious stones and silks collected for more than a millennium were robbed within a few hours. A site plan by De Quieroz states: "On the first rise to the summit of
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#173277196418010712-644: The Charana Shrungarahita Stotram on Nataraja . In Kanda Puranam , the epic authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar , Koneswaram is venerated as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Thillai Chidambaram Temple and Mount Kailash. The Vishnu-Thirumal shrine of the Koneswaram complex repaired by Kullakottan Chola was referred to as the Thirukonamalai Macchakeswaram/Macceswaram Kovil in some Middle Tamil inscriptions such as
10918-597: The Dakshina Kailasa Manmiam – three chapters of the Skanda Puranam of unknown antiquity – manuscripts of which have been discovered and dated from the 5th – 7th century. It was in the Puranas that the shrine first found reference as Koneiswara Parwatia , motivating Kullakottan Chola who learnt of its sanctity to sail to Trincomalee and develop the temple. The compiler of
11124-556: The Far East and conquest of Srivijaya of the Malay Archipelago . The Koneswaram temple compounds and its adjacent region, from Periyakulam and Manankerni in the north, Kantalai and Pothankadu in the west, and Verugal in the south, formed a great Saiva Tamil principality. Residents in this collective community were allotted services, which they had to perform at the Koneswaram temple. An inscriptional record containing
11330-522: The Jaffna kingdom paid homage to the Koneswaram shrine under its sovereignty, offering gifts of gold and silver. Among the visitors were King Singai Pararasasegaram and his successor King Cankili I . King Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan (1380—1410 CE) had the traditional history of the temple compiled as a chronicle in verse, entitled Dakshina Kailasa Puranam , known today as the Sthala Puranam of Koneswaram Temple . The literature describes how from
11536-472: The Jaffna kingdom . The temple has the longest corridor among all the Hindu temples of India. It was built by King Muthuramalinga Sethupathy. The temple is considered a pilgrimage site for Shaivites, Vaishnavites , and Smartas . Rama , the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, prayed to Shiva here to absolve any sins that he might have committed during his war against the demon-king Ravana in Sri Lanka, who
11742-467: The Jagati . Regarded as the greatest building of its age for its architecture, elaborate sculptural bas-relief ornamentation adorned a black granite megalith while its multiple gold plated gopuram towers were expanded in the medieval period. One of three major Hindu shrines on the promontory with a colossal gopuram tower, it stood distinctly on the cape's highest eminence. The journey for pilgrims in
11948-546: The Kantalai tank after finding them in ruins. He was the son of the king Vara Rama Tevan, who had been a prolific benefactor of the Konesar temple. Kulakkottan visited the Munneswaram temple on the west coast, before settling ancient Vanniars in the east of the island. According to the chronicles, he extensively renovated and expanded the shrine, constructed several lofty gopuram towers and lavished much wealth on it; he
12154-586: The Konesar Kalvettu , the 17th-century stone inscription chronicle of the temple, gives the shrine's date of birth as circa 1580 BCE. Archaeologists point to its initial phase consisting of a rock cave, multilayered brick shrine style popularly constructed to Tamil deities of a range of faiths during the Sangam period (see Religion in ancient Tamil country ). Contemporary historians such as S. Pathmanathan and Paul E. Peiris suggest Koneswaram temple has
12360-609: The Netherlands , South Africa , Suriname , Tanzania , Trinidad and Tobago , Uganda , the United Kingdom , the United States , Australia , New Zealand , and other countries with a significant Hindu population. The current state and outer appearance of Hindu temples reflect arts, materials and designs as they evolved over two millennia; they also reflect the effect of conflicts between Hinduism and Islam since
12566-662: The Pagode of Triquinimale as a principle temple of its kingdom while Portuguese Catholic priest and author Fernão de Quieroz described it as the "Rome of the Hindus of the Orient more frequented by pilgrims than Rameshwaram , Tirumalai - Tirupati , Kilvelur , Kanchipuram , Jagannath in Odisha or Vaijayanti in Bengal ." Furthermore, he described the splendor of the famous temple of Tenavarai at its zenith as similar in its greatness on
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#173277196418012772-595: 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 . The original kovil combined key features to form its basic Dravidian temple plan, such as its thousand pillared hall – "Aayiram Kaal Mandapam" – and
12978-606: The Saraswathi Mahal Library and forced conversion in the Tamil country was conducted by the Portuguese upon their arrival to the island and conquest of the Jaffna kingdom ; the temple had been paying protection fees of 1280 fanams a year to the Portuguese. Trincomalee witnessed several naval battles of Europe's Thirty Years' War under Phillip II 's man Filipe de Oliveira . Between 1639 and 1689 CE,
13184-564: The Telika Mandir in Gwalior , built in the 8th century CE, is not a square but a rectangle in 2:3 proportion. Further, the temple explores a number of structures and shrines in 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:5, 3:5 and 4:5 ratios. These ratios are exact, suggesting that the architect intended to use these harmonic ratios, and the rectangle pattern was not a mistake, nor an arbitrary approximation. Other examples of non-square harmonic ratios are found at
13390-654: The Tevaram . A major shrine to the deity Bhadrakali exists within the Mahabaleshwar Temple complex, and similarly the Bhadrakali Amman Temple of Trincomalee , dedicated to the same deity and significantly expanded by Rajendra Chola I , stands on Konesar Road before the entrance to Swami Rock. Heralded as "Dakshina Kailasam"/"Then Kailasam" (Kailash of the South) because it lies on exactly
13596-537: The Three Pagodas of Thirukonamalai , the other two dedicated to Vishnu-Thirumal and that of the Mother-Goddess ( Tirukkamakkottam – a consort of Shiva) on the promontory over a far greater area than at present. This latter temple to the goddess – Ambal/Uma/Shakti/Shankari Devi – was one of the 18 Maha Shakthi Peethas, those Shakti Peethas consecrated to the goddess which are mentioned in
13802-611: The Vanni region flourish. The Vanniar claim descent from this chief. Kullakottan's restorations took place despite interferences from the queen of the Pandyan King Pandia, who was absent from his throne in Anuradhapura on a visit to Jaffna. Kullakottan constructed and re-established the large temple of Shiva, the temple of Vishnu and that of the Mother-Goddess ( Tirukkamakkottam ) on the promontory, these shrines of
14008-523: The Vāstu-puruṣa-mandala and Vastu Śāstras , do not limit themselves to the design of a Hindu temple. They describe the temple as a holistic part of its community, and lay out various principles and a diversity of alternate designs for home, village and city layout along with the temple, gardens, water bodies and nature. A predominant number of Hindu temples exhibit the perfect-square grid principle. However, there are some exceptions. For example,
14214-608: The Yoga Sutras , Patañjali 's place of birth at the temple corroborates Tirumular 's Tirumandhiram , which describes him as hailing from Then Kailasam and his self description as a "Gonardiya" from Gonarda , "a country in the southern and eastern division" of the Indian continent. Both men were ardent disciples of Nandhi. Patanjali famously visited the Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram , where he wrote
14420-419: The garbha-griya (literally, "womb house")—a small, perfect square, windowless, enclosed space without ornamentation that represents universal essence. In or near this space is typically a cult image—which, though many Indians may refer to casually as an idol, is more formally known as a murti, or the main worshippable deity, who varies with each temple. Often this murti gives the temple a local name, such as
14626-406: The "coming of the Franks" after the 16th century. The prediction reads "O King! The franks shall later break down the holy edifice built by Kulakoddan in ancient times; and no future kings of this island will rebuild it! Following the successive reigns of the cat eyed, the red eyed and the smoke eyed nations it will voluntarily revert to the Tamils." Pandyan king Jatavarman Veera Pandyan's insignia of
14832-514: The 10th-century attached medical care along with their religious and educational roles. This is evidenced by various inscriptions found in Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere. An inscription dated to about 930 CE states the provision of a physician to two matha to care for the sick and destitute. Another inscription dated to 1069 at a Vishnu temple in Tamil Nadu describes a hospital attached to
15038-585: The 12th century. The Swaminarayanan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey , between the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, was inaugurated in 2014 as one of the world's largest Hindu temples. A Hindu temple reflects a synthesis of arts, the ideals of dharma , beliefs, values and the way of life cherished under Hinduism. It is a link between man, deities, and the Universal Puruṣa in
15244-630: The 19th century by Tamil scholar Masilamanipillai Muttucumaru on the temple and the Thirukonasala Vaipavam on Koneswaram was written by V. Akilesapillai in 1889, published sixty years later in 1952. In 1950, the Urban Council of Trincomalee recovered a number of the original shrine's statues buried five hundred yards from the Koneswaram site. The discovery occurred during digging for a water well . The statues are of gold and copper alloy bronze and are believed to be from
15450-515: The 4th century CE suggest the existence of schools around Hindu temples, called Ghatikas or Mathas , where the Vedas were studied. In south India, 9th century Vedic schools attached to Hindu temples were called Calai or Salai , and these provided free boarding and lodging to students and scholars. The temples linked to Bhakti movement in the early 2nd millennium, were dominated by non-Brahmins. These assumed many educational functions, including
15656-638: The 64- or 81-grid is dedicated to Brahman (not to be confused with brahmin, the scholarly and priestly class in India), and are called Brahma padas . The 49-grid design is called Sthandila and is of great importance in creative expressions of Hindu temples in South India, particularly in Prakaras . The symmetric Vastu-purusa-mandala grids are sometimes combined to form a temple superstructure with two or more attached squares. The temples face sunrise, and
15862-408: The 6th century CE. Vastu-Sastra manuals included chapters on home construction, town planning, and how efficient villages, towns and kingdoms integrated temples, water bodies and gardens within them to achieve harmony with nature. While it is unclear, states Barnett, as to whether these temple and town planning texts were theoretical studies and if or when they were properly implemented in practice,
16068-1097: The Chinna Pradhani (Deputy Chief Minister) was Krishna Iyengar. The Setupati's statue and those of his two Pradhanis (ministers) can be seen at the western entrance to the third corridor. The composite columns of Virabhadra holding sword and horn are found be additions of the Vijayanagara kings during the early 1500s. Similar columns of Virabhadra are found in Adikesava Perumal Temple at Thiruvattaru, Meenakshi Temple at Madurai , Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli , Kasi Viswanathar temple at Tenkasi , Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple , Soundararajaperumal temple at Thadikombu , Srivilliputhur Andal temple , Srivaikuntanathan Permual temple at Srivaikuntam , Avudayarkovil , Vaishnava Nambi and Thirukurungudivalli Nachiar temple at Thirukkurungudi . There are separate shrines for Ramanathaswamy and his consort goddess Parvathavardhini separated by
16274-511: The Coylot Wanees Country and across Asia, culminating in it becoming the richest and most visited place of worship in the world of any faith. The last rites during the funeral of King Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte , a Hindu monarch who signed all of his official proclamations in Tamil were conducted at Koneswaram in 1551. His closest religious official and most trusted ambassador was of Hindu faith. Historian Diogo do Couto described
16480-759: The Jabaladarshana Upanishad appear to endorse this idea Koneswaram temple Saiddhantika Non - Saiddhantika Koneswaram Temple of Trincomalee ( Tamil : திருக்கோணேச்சரம் கோயில் ) or Thirukonamalai Konesar Temple – The Temple of the Thousand Pillars and Dakshina-Then Kailasam (Southern / Ancient Kailash) is a classical-medieval Hindu temple complex in Trincomalee , a Hindu religious pilgrimage centre in Eastern Province , Sri Lanka . The most sacred of
16686-514: The Konesar temple. Dating the reign of the king has proved difficult. The Konesar Kalvettu dates Kullakottan's renovations to specifically between 432 and 440. C. Rasanayagam notes that the Vanniar chiefs who were in control of the temple could not have multiplied so fast within 150 years causing the king Aggrabodhi I of Anuradhapura to take elaborate steps to contain the Vanniars in 593. He argues
16892-421: The Koneswaram shrine and the Trincomalee region at the time. Construction activities at the temple were aided by architect and Chola dignitary Muventavelan Kanavati. The Palamottai inscription from the Trincomalee district, found amongst the inscriptions in nearby Kantalai, records a monetary endowment to the "Siva temple of Then Kailasam (Kailash of the South)" by a Tamil widow for the merit of her husband. This
17098-623: The Naresar temple site of Madhya Pradesh and at the Nakti-Mata temple near Jaipur , Rajasthan. Michael Meister suggests that these exceptions mean that the ancient Sanskrit manuals for temple building were guidelines, and Hinduism permitted its artisans flexibility in expression and aesthetic independence. A Hindu temple is a symbolic reconstruction of the universe and the universal principles that enable everything in it to function. The temples reflect Hindu philosophy and its diverse views on
17304-645: The Nilaveli inscription of the 10th century, a Tamil rendering of the Sanskrit Matsyakesvara . In fact, Matsya is the fish incarnation of Vishnu, and this shrine's significance along with that of the third pagoda of the promontory to the goddess is expounded further in the Dakshina Kailasa Puranam and the Thirukonasala Puranam. The temple's "Aayiram Kaal Mandapam" earned it the title Pagoda of Trincomalee – Temple of
17510-557: The Pagoda is 600 fathoms long (1.2 km) and 80 feet at its broadest, narrowing to 30 feet." The complex stretches across Konesar Road off the promontory, and includes shrines to Ganesha, Murukan and Bhadrakali. Koneswaram of Konesar Malai is located 152 kilometres (94.4 mi) directly east from Kudiramalai , the ancient royal district and southern pearl-bank emporium of the Thiru Ketheeswaram temple, Mannar. Koneswaram lies on
17716-430: The Pagoda is 600 fathoms long and 80 feet at its broadest, narrowing to 30 feet." Regarding a prophetic Tamil inscription de Noronha found at the site, he added "When I went there to make this Fort, I found engraved on the Pagoda, among many other inscriptions, one that ran thus: Kulakottan has built this pagoda..." Under Dutch Ceylon , most of Trincomalee town was administered under Jaffna-dependent Vanniars again, while
17922-645: The Pushpaka Vimana, saying he received grace of MahaDeva at that place. According to Firishta, Malik Kafur , the head general of Alauddin Khalji , the ruler of Delhi Sultanate , reached Rameswaram during his political campaign in spite of stiff resistance from the Pandyan princes in the early 14th century. He erected a mosque by name Alia al-Din Khaldji in honour of victory of Islam . The records left by
18128-463: The Setupatis of Ramanathapuram. In the seventeenth century, Dalavai Setupati built a portion of the main eastern Gopuram. In the late eighteenth century, the world-famous third corridor was constructed by Muthuramalinga Setupati who lived for forty-nine years and ruled between 1763 and 1795. The corridor was called "Chokkatan Mandapam". The Mukhya Pradhani (Chief Minister) was Muthuirullappa Pillai and
18334-673: The Ther festival period. The deity and other holy artefacts are bathed in the water of the well in the complex's sacred precincts. Devotees are sprayed with the holy water following the Theertham. The Theppath Thiruvilah Boat Festival consists of Konesar and goddess Mathumai Ambal taken in a boat around the temple from Swami Rock via the Back Bay Sea to the Dutch Bay Sea. Religious discourses and cultural items take place throughout
18540-591: The Trincomalee District, Trincomalee village is located on the cape isthmus within the compounds. Revenue from the temple provides services and food to local residents. Koneswaram has many strong historical associations. The shrine is described in the Vayu Purana , the Konesar Kalvettu and Tevaram hymns by Sambandhar and Sundarar as a Paadal Petra Sthalam along with its west coast Ishwaram counterpart Ketheeswaram temple , Mannar , and
18746-737: The Trincomalee Koneswaram Temple Compounds on the extremity of the peninsula in his map of the Livro das plantas das fortalezas cidades e povoaçois do Estado da India Oriental document of 1635, but these temples are missing from the copy of the document stored at the Paço Ducal di Vila Viçosa library in Lisbon. The stone inscription discovered by the temple's destroyer has a Double-Fish insignia and its engraved prophecy, translated from ancient Tamil script, warns of
18952-551: The Vanniars of the Vannimai were a buffer state between Trincomalee and Mannar from the classical period. Other historians suggest that Kullakottan arrived to the island during the island's reign of The Five Dravidians of Pandyan descent, between 103 and 88 BCE, corroborating the Yalpana Vaipava Malai equation of his grandfather Manu Needhi Chola's identity with that of Ellalan Chola , a historical king who ruled
19158-588: The West and Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram in the South. The temples are revered by the various spiritual traditions of Hinduism, such as Saivism and Vaishnavism . The Char Dham pilgrimage is an all Hindu affair. There are four abodes in the Himalayas called Chota Char Dham ( Chota meaning small): Badrinath , Kedarnath , Gangotri and Yamunotri - all of these lie at the foothills of Himalayas. The name Chota
19364-428: The West, and passes into the place of Shiva called Thiruketheecharam at Manthottam in Mannar. These three rivers are described as "highly meritorious streams". He shipped stone blocks from Trincomalee to the temple of Rameswaram to renovate its sanctum sanctorum. Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan's successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan (Pararacacekaran V), a trustee at Rameswaram who also oversaw structural development of that temple and
19570-479: The age of 25. Apart from specialist technical competence, the manuals suggest that best Silpins for building a Hindu temple are those who know the essence of Vedas and Agamas, consider themselves as students, keep well verse with principles of traditional sciences and mathematics, painting and geography. Further they are kind, free from jealousy, righteous, have their sense under control, of happy disposition, and ardent in everything they do. According to Silparatna,
19776-409: The ancient Sanskrit texts of India (for example, the Vedas and Upanishads ), while their structural rules are described in various ancient Sanskrit treatises on architecture ( Bṛhat Saṃhitā , Vāstu Śāstras ). The layout, the motifs, the plan and the building process recite ancient rituals, geometric symbolisms, and reflect beliefs and values innate within various schools of Hinduism. A Hindu temple
19982-617: The artworks and sculptures within them, were considered by the ancient Sanskrit texts to deploy arts whose number are unlimited, Kala (techniques) that were 64 in number, and Vidya (science) that were of 32 types. The Hindu manuals of temple construction describe the education, characteristics of good artists and architects. The general education of a Hindu Shilpin in ancient India included Lekha or Lipi (alphabet, reading and writing), Rupa (drawing and geometry), Ganana (arithmetic). These were imparted from age 5 to 12. The advanced students would continue in higher stages of Shilpa Sastra studies till
20188-606: The central space typically is surrounded by an ambulatory for the devotee to walk around and ritually circumambulate the Purusa, the universal essence. Often this space is visually decorated with carvings, paintings or images meant to inspire the devotee. In some temples, these images may be stories from Hindu Epics; in others, they may be Vedic tales about right and wrong or virtues and vice; in yet others, they may be murtis of locally worshipped deities. The pillars, walls and ceilings typically also have highly ornate carvings or images of
20394-468: The centre of the temple, typically below and sometimes above or next to the deity , is mere hollow space with no decoration, symbolically representing Purusa , the Supreme Principle, the sacred Universal, one without form, which is omnipresent, connects everything, and is the essence of everyone. A Hindu temple is meant to encourage reflection, facilitate purification of one's mind, and trigger
20600-583: The complex to Ganesha , Durga , Murukan , Agastya , and the Navagraha including the sun god Surya would have been customary near the main shrine in the centre to Shiva – the Murukan shrine is hailed at large in the Tiruppugal series of Arunagirinathar. The temple to Bhadrakali is located further along in the complex inland along Konesar Road, benefitted from Rajendra Chola I. The Kali temple
20806-461: The compound becoming the Three Pagodas of Tirukonamalai. The Yalpana Vaipava Malai and Konesar Kalvettu , as well as a 16th-century Tamil inscription in Trincomalee and Tamil copper-plate inscriptions of the temple relate many details about Kullakottan's founding of Trincomalee and the Vanni. Modern historians and anthropologists agree as historically factual the connection of the Vanniars with
21012-535: The continent in Tevaram . Swami Rock is heralded as a Shiva Upa Peetha (base) of Lanka in the Sivacharita , a Sanskrit work in praise of Shiva, and subsequent manuscripts of the Pithanirnaya (Maha Piitha Nirupana) as a general Sakta Peetha of Lanka with a temple of the compounds dedicated to the goddess Indraksi Devi and a male deity Raksasesvara – a reference to Ravana . Kullakottan reconstructed
21218-574: The cosmos and on truth. Hinduism has no traditional ecclesiastical order, no centralized religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet nor any binding holy book save the Vedas; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic , pantheistic , monistic , or atheistic . Within this diffuse and open structure, spirituality in Hindu philosophy is an individual experience, and referred to as kṣaitrajña ( Sanskrit : क्षैत्रज्ञ ) ). It defines spiritual practice as one's journey towards moksha , awareness of self,
21424-455: The country of the " Koniakoi people," found south up to a coastal promontory on an eastern limit, and describes the island as extending towards Ethiopia and being home to elephants. The temple was constructed atop Swami Rock, also called Swami Malai or Kona-ma-malai, a cliff on the peninsula that drops 400 feet (120 metres) directly into the sea. " Listen as I now recount the isle of Tamraparni below Pandya-desa and KanyaKumari, gemmed upon
21630-555: The court historians of the Delhi Sultanate state that Malik Kafur raided Madurai , Chidambaram , Srirangam , Vriddhachalam , Rameswaram and other sacred temple towns, destroyed the temples which were sources of gold and jewels. He brought back enormous loot from Dwarasamudra and the Pandya kingdom to Delhi in 1311. The temple in its current form is believed to have been built during the 17th century, while Fergusson believes
21836-521: The deity. In other schools of Hinduism, the person may simply perform japa , or meditation, or yoga , or introspection in his or her temple. Palace-themed temples often incorporate more elaborate and monumental architecture. The appropriate site for a temple, suggests ancient Sanskrit texts, is near water and gardens, where lotus and flowers bloom, where swans, ducks and other birds are heard, and where animals rest without fear of injury or harm. These harmonious places were recommended in these texts with
22042-404: The design and construction of Nagara style of Hindu temples. A Hindu temple design follows a geometrical design called vastu-purusha-mandala . The name is a composite Sanskrit word with three of the most important components of the plan. Mandala means circle, Purusha is universal essence at the core of Hindu tradition, while Vastu means the dwelling structure. The Vastu-purusha-mandala
22248-432: The discovery of higher truths, true nature of reality, and a consciousness that is liberated and content. A Hindu temple reflects these core beliefs. The central core of almost all Hindu temples is not a large communal space; the temple is designed for the individual, a couple or a family—a small, private space to allow visitors to experience darsana . Darsana is itself a symbolic word. In ancient Hindu scripts, darsana
22454-883: The donations (melvarum) they collected from devotees. According to James Heitzman, these donations came from a wide spectrum of the Indian society, ranging from kings, queens, officials in the kingdom to merchants, priests and shepherds. Temples also managed lands endowed to it by its devotees upon their death. They would provide employment to the poorest. Some temples had large treasury, with gold and silver coins, and these temples served as banks. Hindu temples over time became wealthy from grants and donations from royal patrons as well as private individuals. Major temples became employers and patrons of economic activity. They sponsored land reclamation and infrastructure improvements, states Michell, including building facilities such as water tanks, irrigation canals and new roads. A very detailed early record from 1101 lists over 600 employees (excluding
22660-483: The early classical to medieval era, the temple flourished in the early centuries of the First Millennium. Hindus built at least three great stone temples with gopura on Swami Rock during Koneswaram's zenith, one to Vishnu-Thirumal, one to the goddess and the principal temple of the complex to Shiva at its highest eminence. Mahabharata , the Hindu epic written between 400 and 100 BCE notes that Koneswaram
22866-714: The earth towards subterranean water, up to seven storeys, and were part of a temple complex. These vav (literally, stepwells) had intricate art reliefs on the walls, with numerous murtis and images of Hindu deities, water spirits and erotic symbolism. The step wells were named after Hindu deities; for example, Mata Bhavani's Stepwell , Ankol Mata Vav, Sikotari Vav and others. The temple ranged from being small single pada (cell) structure to large nearby complexes. These stepwells and their temple compounds have been variously dated from late 1st millennium BCE through 11th century CE. Of these, Rani ki vav , with hundreds of art reliefs including many of Vishnu deity avatars , has been declared
23072-479: The east and the west and finished gate towers to the north and south. The temple has striking long corridors in its interior, running between huge colonnades on platforms above five feet high. The second corridor is formed by sandstone pillars, beams, and ceiling. The junction of the third corridor on the west and the paved way leading from the western gopuram to the Setumadhava shrine forms a unique structure in
23278-417: The east and west and about 640 feet in the north and the south. The inner corridors are about 224 feet each in the east and the west and about 352 feet each in the north and the south. Their width varies from 15.5 feet to 17 feet in the east and west about 172 feet on the north and south with width varying 14.5 feet to 17 feet. The total length of these corridors is thus 3850 feet. There are about 1212 pillars in
23484-838: The eastern coastline and existing on mountains is not a coincidence, and that the Kōnesvaram temple was likely first established by settlers from Kalinga whose "favourite deity was Gokarnasvamin enshrined on the Mahendra mountain in Kalinga". In the Tamil language , temples are known as kovils , ; thus the temple complex is known locally as Konecaram Kovil ( Tamil : கோணேச்சரம் ), the abode of Kona — Ishvara (the Chief Lord or God). The presiding Shiva deity's names are Konesar ( Tamil : கோணேசர் ) (pronounced Konechar or Konasir –
23690-565: The eastern states of India. Other ancient texts found expand these architectural principles, suggesting that different parts of India developed, invented and added their own interpretations. For example, in the Saurastra tradition of temple building found in western states of India, the feminine form, expressions and emotions are depicted in 32 types of Nataka-stri compared to 16 types described in Silpa Prakasa . Silpa Prakasa provides
23896-410: The embrace of the beloved, one forgets the whole world, everything both within and without; in the same way, one who embraces the Self knows neither within nor without. The architecture of Hindu temples is also symbolic. The whole structure fuses the daily life and its surroundings with the divine concepts, through a structure that is open yet raised on a terrace, transitioning from the secular towards
24102-707: The end of 1619, a small Danish fleet had arrived at Trincomalee; in May 1620, the Danes occupied Koneswaram temple and began works for the fortification of the peninsula before being defeated. The shrine was attacked and destroyed on 14 April 1622, the Tamil New Years Day , by the Portuguese general Constantino de Sá de Noronha (who called it the Temple of a Thousand Pillars ). Eleven brass lamps had been lit in
24308-412: The end of eternity. The jyotirlinga is regarded to be the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyotirlinga shrines are believed to be the places where Shiva is said to have appeared as a fiery column of light. Originally, there were believed to have been 64 jyotirlingas, of which the present 12 are considered to be sacred to Shiva. Each of the twelve jyotirlinga sites take
24514-400: The entrance for the devotee is typically this east side. The mandala pada facing sunrise is dedicated to Surya , the sun-god. The Surya pada is flanked by the padas of Satya, the deity of Truth, on one side and Indra , the king of the demigods, on other. The east and north faces of most temples feature a mix of gods and demigods; while the west and south feature demons and demigods related to
24720-462: The exile's arrival. Pathmanathan differs from Peiris in his view on the shrine's birth however, stating that Koneswaram temple was most likely established as a Hindu shrine by the mercantile communities that frequented the island from the fourth-century BCE. Kalinga region in India, where another temple dedicated to Shiva in the form Gokarnasvamin at Mahendra mountains is found. The Yalpana Vaipava Malai , an 18th-century Tamil chronicle connects
24926-406: The explanation that such are the places where gods play, and thus the best site for Hindu temples. The gods always play where lakes are, where the sun's rays are warded off by umbrellas of lotus leaf clusters, and where clear waterpaths are made by swans whose breasts toss the white lotus hither and thither, where swans, ducks, curleys and paddy birds are heard, and animals rest nearby in
25132-558: The exposition, recitation and public discourses of Sanskrit and Vedic texts. Some temple schools offered wide range of studies, ranging from Hindu scriptures to Buddhist texts, grammar, philosophy, martial arts, music and painting. By the 8th century, Hindu temples also served as the social venue for tests, debates, team competition and Vedic recitals called Anyonyam . According to Kenneth G. Zysk—a professor specializing in Indology and ancient medicine, Hindu mathas and temples had by
25338-406: The figure Vijaya and seven hundred of his followers to the shrine, stating they extensively repaired the five Iswarams upon their arrival to the island, before mixing with native tribes on the island forming matrimonial links with the Tamil kingdom through Pandyan queens. The Encyclopædia Britannica currently appears to follow this view, although in volume 10 of the encyclopedia, printed in 1974,
25544-621: The form of a chess board, popularly known as Chokkattan Madapam, where the Utsava deities are adorned and kept during the Vasanthotsavam (Spring festival) and on the 6th day festival in Adi (July–August) and Masi (February–March) conducted by the Sethupathi of Ramnad . The outer set of corridors is reputed to be the longest in the world, measuring about 6.9 m in height, 400 feet each in
25750-457: The fort was occupied by the Dutch on what they called "Pagoda Hill". Batticaloa district remained dependent to Trincomalee's fort until 1782. No ceremonies were permitted to take place on Swami Rock until British rule of the island , when pilgrims were permitted to return and worship Shiva at the fortressed sacred site. By the mid-19th century, sailors, the high priest and other pilgrims visited
25956-424: The four just and necessary pursuits of life—kama, artha, dharma and moksa. This walk around is called pradakshina . Large temples also have pillared halls, called mandapa —one of which, on the east side, serves as the waiting room for pilgrims and devotees. The mandapa may be a separate structure in older temples, but in newer temples this space is integrated into the temple superstructure. Mega-temple sites have
26162-605: The head of a town street. Ancient builders of Hindu temples created manuals of architecture, called Vastu-Sastra (literally "science" of dwelling; vas-tu is a composite Sanskrit word; vas means "reside", tu means "you"); these contain Vastu-Vidya (literally, knowledge of dwelling) and Sastra meaning system or knowledge in Sanskrit. There exist many Vastu-Sastras on the art of building temples, such as one by Thakkura Pheru , describing where and how temples should be built. Sanskrit manuals have been found in India since
26368-493: The hoisting of the temple Nandi flag. This is followed by temple processions of Konesar and his consort Mathumai Ambal, installed and pulled in an ornate chariot temple car while deities Pillayar and Murugan with his two consorts Valli and Theivayanai are taken ahead in two other decorated chariots. This is conducted throughout Trincomalee district, and follows Kulakottan's stone scriptures detailing how Hindus in Tamil villages like Sambaltivu, lands which historically belonged to
26574-416: The island as the great "Island of Coliadis" whose inhabitants worship the multi-towered Cholian temple to Venus on their Cholian rock promontory, phallic-shaped and located at the end of the island's Ganges river by the ocean. The Chola royal Kankan ( Kulakkottan ), a descendant of the legendary King Manu Needhi Cholan of Thiruvarur , Chola Nadu , restored the Koneswaram temple at Trincomalee and
26780-406: The island from 205 to 161 BCE that shared many character traits with the legendary Manu Needhi. In Geography of Avienus , a poem of Latin geographer and writer Rufius Festus Avienius in 350 CE, the author bases his writing on the island on Orbis descriptio by Alexandrian Greek poet Dionysius Periegetes (117—138 CE), who called the island the "great Island of Coliadis " whose inhabitants worship
26986-567: The island of Rameswaram , Tamil Nadu , India . According to Skānda Purāṇa , twenty-four of them are important. Bathing in these Tīrthas is a major aspect of the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and is considered equivalent to penance. Twenty-two of the Tīrthas are within the Rāmanāthasvāmī Temple . The number 22 indicates the 22 arrows in Rama's quiver. The first and major one is called Agni Theertham,
27192-423: The island to Koneswaram and how idolatrous navigators would descry Koneswaram from the sea. In a 1613 written letter by Jesuit fray Manuel Barradas, Koneswaram is described as a "... massive structure, a singular work of art. It is of great height, constructed with wonderful skill in blackish granite, on a rock projecting into the sea, and occupies a large space on the summit." King Ethirimana Cinkam had resisted
27398-536: The island to intervene and decisively defeat Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga , a usurper of the northern Tamil throne; he proceeded to implant the Pandyan bull flag of victory and insignia of a "Double Fish" emblem at Konamalai while he subjugated the other king of the island. Historically, the Pandyans were known to have sculpted two fishes facing each other on the ceilings of their multi-storey temple gopurams once they were completed (and left it with one fish in case it
27604-599: The island, and that "to the east of this island at the shore of the sea lies a great Siva temple in a holy place called Gokarna ." Gokarna is also a place name in Karnartaka, India , Kalinga , Tamil Nadu and Nepal all associated with ancient Shiva temples and some with Ravana of the Ramayana , the former temple in Karnartaka ;– the Mahabaleshwar Temple – also earning praise in
27810-472: The king's companions. In 1468 CE Saint Arunagirinathar Swamikal paid homage at Koneswaram during his pilgrimage from Jaffna 's Nallur Kandaswamy temple to Kadirkamam. At Koneswaram, he offered a garland of Thiruppugazh verses in praise of the Sthalam. The population, he stated, at Koneswaram, where the deep ocean rolled its furious waves, was vast, the temple well organised and the priests well versed in
28016-443: The koil that forms a distinct part of the site plan of classical Dravidian temple architecture. Ruins of this feature at Koneswaram indicate that the hall was a structural addition erected by Pallava artisans, dated between 537 and 668. It formed one of the nine prakara or major courtyard compounds of the Koneswaram complex. Two other temples were prominent compound monuments on the promontory, containing prolific gopura structures over
28222-711: The lingam, Sita built a lingam made of sand from the nearby seashore, which is also believed to be the one in the sanctum of the temple. This account is well supported by the original Ramayana authored by Valmiki where it is written in Yudha Kanda. According to another version, as quoted in Adhyatma Ramayana , Rama installed the lingam before the construction of the bridge to Lanka. This version also finds reference in Valmiki Ramayana , where Sri Rama on his way back to Ayodhya, shows an Island to Sita from
28428-689: The main deity, called the Ramalingam, and the one brought by Hanuman from Kailash , called the Vishvalingam. Rama is said to have instructed that the Vishvalingam be worshipped first since it was brought by Hanuman - the tradition continues even today. Like all ancient temples in South India , there is a high compound wall (madil) on all four sides of the temple premises measuring about 865 feet furlong from east to west and one furlong of 657 feet from north to south with huge towers ( Gopurams ) to
28634-532: The manuals suggest that town planning and Hindu temples were conceived as ideals of art and integral part of Hindu social and spiritual life. The Silpa Prakasa of Odisha, authored by Ramacandra Bhattaraka Kaulacara in the 9th or 10th centuries CE, is another Sanskrit treatise on Temple Architecture. Silpa Prakasa describes the geometric principles in every aspect of the temple and symbolism such as 16 emotions of human beings carved as 16 types of female figures. These styles were perfected in Hindu temples prevalent in
28840-537: The middle of Sivanoli Padam Malai , three rivers or "kankai" ( Ganges ) were generated to rise out of Shiva's foot print – Mavillie-Kankai flowing towards the North, reaches Shiva's abode at Trincomalee, and falls into the sea south of it. Manikka-Kankai flows towards the East and passes by the temple of Kadirkamam , dedicated to Muruga, son of Shiva, and then falls into the eastern sea. Kavary-Kankai flows towards
29046-403: The multi-towered Cholian temple to Venus on their Cholian rock promontory by the sea. A twelfth-century commentary on Periegetes by Eustathius of Thessalonica also compares the shape of Konesar Malai to a phallus. The Portuguese historian De Quieroz cited poetic and inscriptional evidence to date Kullakottan's renovations to 1589 BCE, based on a Tamil poem by Kavi Raja Virothayan he read which
29252-1300: The name of the presiding deity - each considered a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is the lingam representing the stambha pillar, symbolising the infinite nature of Shiva (without beginning or end). The twelve jyotirlinga are Somnath at Veraval in Gujarat , Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh , Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh , Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh , Kedarnath in Himalayas , Bhimashankar in Maharashtra , Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh , Triambakeshwar in Maharashtra, Vaidyanath at Deoghar in Jharkhand , Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat , Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad, Maharashtra . This temple
29458-470: The next few centuries. The 8th–10th century Kanda Puranam (a Puranic Tamil literature epic and translation of the Skanda Puranam ) authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram describes the Koneswaram shrine as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Chidambaram temple in Tamil Nadu and Mount Kailash of Tibet. Several inscriptions written in the Tamil and Vatteluttu scripts interspersed with Grantha characters relate to
29664-408: The night before Puthandu at the Dutch Bay Sea beach. Thereafter the deities are taken to the temple early morning the next day on Puthandu by road through the Fort Frederick entrance. The Trincomalee Bhadrakali Amman Temple and other Hindu temples have held their water-cutting Theertham festivals in the Back Bay Sea (Theertha Kadatkarai) for several centuries. The Koneswaram Poongavanam Festival –
29870-448: The nine most important and sacred sites in the world for all Hindus. The statue of Shiva was reconstructed in 2018. The Koneswaram temple is well known for its celebration of the traditional Ther chariot festival, the Navaratri and Sivarathri functions. The Ther Chariot Festival lasts for twenty two days in April and focuses on preparing the deities and the community for Puthandu, the Tamil New Year. Navaratri lasts for nine days and
30076-413: The ocean. The gods underwent austerities there, in a desire to attain greatness. In that region also is the lake of Gokarna. Then one should go to Gokarna, renowned in the three worlds. O Indra among kings! It is in the middle of the ocean and is worshipped by all the worlds. Brahma, the Devas, the rishis, the ascetics, the bhutas (spirits or ghosts), the yakshas, the pishachas, the kinnaras, the great nagas,
30282-403: The old Koneswaram temple and a portion of the prophetic inscription are seen today at the door entrance to Fort Fredrick. The shrine was known to Europeans as the Pagoda of Trincomalee – Temple of a Thousand Columns. The main shrine was built upon the jagati while its thousand pillared hall was the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam – a distinctly thousand pillared platform close to the vimana of
30488-413: The origins are not clearly known, the Advaita school of Hinduism established by Sankaracharya , who created Hindu monastic institutions across India, attributes the origin of Char Dham to the seer. The four monasteries lie across the four corners of India and their attendant temples are Badrinath Temple at Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Temple at Puri in the East, Dwarakadheesh Temple at Dwarka in
30694-424: The others being Naguleswaram ( Keerimalai ), Thiruketheeswaram ( Mannar ), Munneswaram ( Chilaw ) and Tenavaram ( Tevan Thurai ). The historian Diogo de Couto of the 16th century adds Ramanathaswamy Temple , Rameswaram to this group of principle temples in the region most revered on the Indian subcontinent. Other writers point to the worship of Ishvara by mythical royals on the island like Kuveni before
30900-404: The outer corridor. Their height is about 30 feet from the floor to the center of the roof. The main tower or rajagopuram is 53 m tall. Most pillars are carved with individual compositions. At the beginning, Ramanathaswamy Temple was a thatched shed. The present structure was the work of many individuals spread over a number of centuries. The pride of place in the establishment of the Temple goes to
31106-456: The pathways to the 22 holy theerthams of the temple. The consecration of the temple was planned during 2013. The temple is among those offering free meals under the Free Meals Scheme of the government, which provides meals to devotees of the temple. A pilgrim house is planned by the government to extend the scheme to more pilgrims. Hindu temple Traditional A Hindu temple , also known as Mandir , Devasthanam , Pura , or Kovil ,
31312-452: The patron as well as others witnessing the construction. Further, it was a tradition that all tools and materials used in temple building and all creative work had the sanction of a sacrament. For example, if a carpenter or sculptor needed to fell a tree or cut a rock from a hill, he would propitiate the tree or rock with prayers, seeking forgiveness for cutting it from its surroundings, and explaining his intent and purpose. The axe used to cut
31518-452: The pillar on Swami Rock, display Tamil, Pallava , and Chola architectural influence of the 3rd–9th century era. Corroborated by the discovery of Pallava Grantha and Chola script inscriptions and Hindu images found in the premises, this suggests that the dynasties took a keen interest in the temple. Wilson and Clarke also retrieved the legendary Swayambhu lingam from the ocean floor. According to legend, this large natural stone obelisk
31724-622: The point where the sea stretches out towards the South and the ocean curves the blue straits of the deep into its familiar paths and soon here the tall ridges of the Cholian rock will lie open before you and you will behold the towers of the roof stretched out. — Geography of Avienus poem of Rufius Festus Avienius , 350 CE Latin geographer and writer on the island, based on Orbis descriptio by Alexandrian Greek poet Dionysius Periegetes (117—138 CE): ( Inde convenus ante promontoriam Auatrale, Confestim ad magnam Coliadis insulam perveneris, Taprobanen Aaianoram elephantam genitricein ), mentioning
31930-441: The positive and joyful side of life about the good and the gods. This divine space then concentrically diffuses inwards and lifts the guest to the core of the temple, where resides the main murti , as well as the space for the Purusa, and ideas held to be most sacred principles in Hindu tradition. The symbolism in the arts and temples of Hinduism, suggests Edmund Leach, is similar to those in Christianity and other major religions of
32136-401: The priests) of the Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur , still one of the largest temples in Tamil Nadu . Most worked part-time and received the use of temple farmland as reward. For those thus employed by the temple, according to Michell, "some gratuitous services were usually considered obligatory, such as dragging the temple chariots on festival occasions and helping when a large building project
32342-503: The process of inner realization within the devotee. The specific process is left to the devotee's school of belief. The primary deity of different Hindu temples varies to reflect this spiritual spectrum. In Hindu tradition, there is no dividing line between the secular and the lonely sacred. In the same spirit, Hindu temples are not just sacred spaces; they are also secular spaces. Their meaning and purpose have extended beyond spiritual life to social rituals and daily life, offering thus
32548-409: The progenitor of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh – made rich donations after visiting Konamamalai on Tamil New Years Day 1223 CE, according to a Sanskrit inscription in Grantha script excavated on a doorjamb at the Hindu temple. A millennium-old Tamil inscription of the Chola Vatteluttu alphabet was discovered in October 2010 when digging for construction on an esplanade on
32754-404: The promotion of Saivite belief, donated part of his revenue to Koneswaram. The powerful Jaffna emperor Martanda Cinkaiariyan (Pararasasekaram III) took the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta to Sivanoli Padam Malai in 1344 CE along with four yogis who were in the habit of visiting the foot-mark on the mountain peak annually; and with these men they were also accompanied by four Brahmanas and ten of
32960-433: The proximal Back Bay Sea (Theertham Karatkarai) surrounding Konesar Malai. The Sinhalese king Gajabahu II who ruled Polonnaruwa from 1131 to 1153 CE is described in the Konesar Kalvettu as a devout worshipper of Shiva and a benefactor of the temple of Konamalai. He spent his last days in the associated Brahmin settlement of Kantalai . The complex was destroyed in colonial religious attacks between 1622 and 1624 and
33166-479: The right side of Konesar Road leading to the shrine. Involvement of the medieval Pandyan Dynasty in the affairs of the Tamil country became stronger after the conquest of Pandyan king Srimara Srivallabha from 815 to 862, a strongly welcomed intervention by the local Tamils on the island. While under Pandyan suzerainty in 1262 CE, Prince Jatavarman Veera Pandyan I , brother and lieutenant of King Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I repeated his brother's 1258 conquest of
33372-412: The rock was a Pagoda , another at mid-ascent – the principal one of them all at the highest eminence, visited by a concourse of Hindus from the whole of India." He describes three temples of the compound on the promontory, stating that pilgrims leaped from the last temple into the ocean in sacrifice to their idols. In his dispatch to Philip III, King of Portugal , Constantine described: "The land of
33578-410: The rock, broke a coconut and said prayers, performing sacred rites every January. Fruits and other offerings were often cast over the edge of the cliff, falling to the ruins below. The first photograph of the shrine's remains and its promontory was taken in 1870. Literature on the shrine began to be written as the site began to regain popularity among pilgrims. Thirukonasala Puranam was written during
33784-400: The sacred, inviting the visitor inwards and upwards towards the Brahma pada, the temple's central core, a symbolic space marked by its spire ( shikhara, vimana ). The ancient temples had grand, intricately carved entrances but no doors, and they lacked a boundary wall. In most cultures, suggests Edmund Leach , a boundary and gateway separates the secular and the sacred, and this gateway door
33990-411: The same longitude as the Tibetan mountain Mount Kailash (the primary abode of Shiva), Koneswaram's early black granite rock-cut architectural style shared similarities to Kailasanathar Temples of the subcontinent. Its traditional history and legends were compiled into the Sanskrit treatises Dakshina Kailasa Puranam – Sthala Puranam of Koneswaram , written in 1380 by Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan , and
34196-443: The sea ( Bay of Bengal ). Rameswaram is one of the few temples that has the distinction of being the stala, Murthy, Theertham. Ramanathaswamy Temple Theertham is very special. There are 22 theerthams in the form of a pond and a well. These 22 theerthams represent the 22 arrows of Sri Rama. The temple is one of the holiest Hindu Char Dham (four divine sites) sites comprising Badrinath , Puri , Dwarka and Rameshwaram . Though
34402-674: The shade of Nicula trees on the river banks. The gods always play where rivers have for their braclets the sound of curleys and the voice of swans for their speech, water as their garment, carps for their zone, the flowering trees on their banks as earrings, the confluence of rivers as their hips, raised sand banks as breasts and plumage of swans their mantle. The gods always play where groves are near, rivers, mountains and springs, and in towns with pleasure gardens. While major Hindu temples are recommended at sangams (confluence of rivers), river banks, lakes and seashore, Brhat Samhita and Puranas suggest temples may also be built where
34608-461: The shrine and the main statues were taken out to town during the ther procession in the festive period, during which time Portuguese soldiers entered the temple dressed as Iyer priests and began robbing it. In an act of religious zeal, the temple was then levered over the edge into the sea. Fleeing priests buried some of the temple's statues in the surrounding area, and all remaining priests, pilgrims and employees were massacred. The final monument of
34814-436: The shrine and was tasked with growing oil seed for Koneswaram annually. Trincomalee figured prominently during the medieval golden age of the Tamil Chola Dynasty , due to the proximity of the Trincomalee bay harbour with the rest of the continent and its benefits for the Chola's maritime empire and the two powerful merchant guilds of the time – the Manigramam and the Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavolu in their trade with
35020-445: The shrine's establishment is attributed to Tamil migrants. Encyclopedia Americana and New International Encyclopedia note that early Tamil rulers erected the temple of a thousand columns on the hilltop. The prince Kulakottan of the Chola Dynasty extensively renovated the Koneswaram temple and the Kantalai Tank , responsible for irrigating plains belonging to the shrine. Due to royal patronage by various Tamil dynasties from
35226-454: The shrines built to Vishnu-Thirumal and the goddess Ambal-Shakti. Together, they became known as the Three Pagodas of Thirukonamalai. A site plan by De Quieroz states: "On the first rise to the summit of the rock was a Pagoda, another at mid-ascent, and the principal one of them all at the highest eminence, visited by a concourse of Hindus from the whole of India." In his dispatch to Philip III, King of Portugal, Constantine described: "The land of
35432-696: The sick and needy in the 1st millennium, but with the destruction of Buddhist centers after the 12th century, the Hindu religious institutions assumed these social responsibilities. According to George Michell, Hindu temples in South India were active charity centers and they provided free meal for wayfarers, pilgrims and devotees, as well as boarding facilities for students and hospitals for the sick. The 15th and 16th century Hindu temples at Hampi featured storage spaces (temple granary, kottara ), water tanks and kitchens. Many major pilgrimage sites have featured dharmashalas since early times. These were attached to Hindu temples, particularly in South India, providing
35638-444: The siddhas, the charanas , the gandharvas, humans, the pannagas, rivers, ocean and mountains worship Uma's consort there". Mahabharata. Volume 3. pp. 46–47, 99 . Vyasa , Mahabharata . c.401 BCE Corroborating the map of Ptolemy drawn four hundred years later, this text also elaborates on two ashrams of the Siddhar Agastya in the region, one near the bay and another atop the Malaya mountain range. The Trincomalee Harbour ,
35844-459: The sky. Sometimes, in makeshift temples, the dome may be replaced with symbolic bamboo with few leaves at the top. The vertical dimension's cupola or dome is designed as a pyramid, a cone or other mountain-like shape, once again using the principle of concentric circles and squares. Scholars suggest that this shape is inspired by the cosmic mountain of Meru or Himalayan Kailasa, the abode of the gods, according to Vedic mythology. In larger temples,
36050-507: The small vimana in the west corridor belongs to the 11th or 12th century. The temple is said to have been sanctioned for construction by King Kizhavan Sethupathi or Raghunatha Kilavan . The contribution of the Jaffna kings of Pandya Dynasty to the temple was considerable. King Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan (1380–1410 CE) shipped stone blocks from Koneswaram temple , Trincomalee to renovate the temple's sanctum sanctorum. Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan's successor Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan (Pararacacekaran V),
36256-920: The temple at Rameswaram that he finally completed. The rulers of Sri Lanka also contributed to the temple; Parakrama Bahu (1153–1186 CE) was involved in the construction of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Also, Sri Lankan king Nissanka Malla, contributed to the temple's development by making donations and sending workers. Pappakudi a village was donated as a grant to Rameshwaram Temple and one Deva Venkala Perumal Ramanathar in (1667 CE) by Perumal Servaikaran Son of Sokkappan Servaikarar who belongs to Pandiyur. They are local Chieftain under Tirumalai Regunatha Sethupathy Thevar Rein in Ramnad Kingdom. The grant details are published by Government Press, Madras Presidency for Archeological Survey of India in 1885. Along with Pappakudi, Anandur and Urasur villages are also donated to Rameshwaram Temple. These Villages falls under Melaimakani Seermai province of Radhanallur Division. The temple
36462-443: The temple complex was destroyed two years later in 1624. Temple stones and its carved pillars were used to construct Fort Fredrick to strengthen the colonists' influence over the eastern seaboard of the island against other invading European armies, including the Dutch navy during the Dutch–Portuguese Wars . A new church and village were built in and around the fort. An extensive campaign of destruction of five hundred Hindu shrines,
36668-485: The temple from this period. Koneswaram temple is mentioned in the 10th century Tamil Nilaveli inscriptions as having received a land grant in the Tamil country of one thousand seven hundred and ten acres (two hundred and fifty four vèli ) of dry and wet land to meet its daily expenses – revealing the temple's role in providing various services to the local community by 900—1000 CE. The fertile Koddiyapuram area of Trincomalee district paid one hundred avanams of rice to
36874-420: The temple saw structural development in the style of Dravidian rock temples by the Tamil Pallava Dynasty . This occurred when Pallava King Narasimhavarman I (630–668 CE) armies conquered the island and when the island was under the sovereignty of his grandfather King Simhavishnu (537–590 CE), when many Pallava-built rock temples were erected in the region and this style of architecture remained popular in
37080-544: The temple's location and the relationship between the deity and the worshipper, the temple's design also illustrates the idea of recursion and the equivalency of the macrocosm and the microcosm . A temple incorporates all elements of the Hindu cosmos—presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of the Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life—symbolically presenting dharma , artha , kama , moksha , and karma . The spiritual principles symbolically represented in Hindu temples are detailed in
37286-448: The temple's ruins, literature on the shrine and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters from the 5th to 18th centuries but its exact date of birth remains vague. The evidence extant attests to the shrine's classical antiquity . Construction of Hindu temples was made possible due to the prevalent faith amongst the locals and mercantile communities in the region during the Sangam period. Kaviraja Varothiyan's Tamil poem inscribed on
37492-469: The temple, are entitled to hold poojahs as their Upayam during the annual festival period. Until April 1624 the Koneswaram Ther Festival occurred around Puthandu in April annually with five chariots and this tradition was reintroduced in April 2003, three hundred and seventy nine years later. The water-cutting Theertham Thiruvilah festival (holy bath) takes place annually in the centuries-old Papanasachunai holy well (Papanasam Theertham) on Swami Rock during
37698-502: The temple, listing the nurses, physicians, medicines and beds for patients. Similarly, a stone inscription in Andhra Pradesh dated to about 1262 mentions the provision of a prasutishala (maternity house), vaidya (physician), an arogyashala (health house) and a viprasattra (hospice, kitchen) with the religious center where people from all social backgrounds could be fed and cared for. According to Zysk, both Buddhist monasteries and Hindu religious centers provided facilities to care for
37904-674: The temple. In the same time period, the Ramayana in written form describes how King Ravana and his mother had worshipped Shiva at the shrine, when the former wanted to remove the temple of Koneswaram when his mother was in ailing health. This literature continues that as the king was heaving the rock, Shiva made him drop his sword. As a result of this a cleft was created on the rock, today called Ravana Vettu – meaning Ravana's Cleft . " Contemplator item qua se mare tendit in Austrum, Inque notum Oceanus freta ponti caerula curvat; Altaque coliadis mox hic tibi dorsa patescent rupis, et intenti spectabis cospitis arces ". -Translation: Mark also
38110-419: The temple; the old images were reinstalled amid opening ceremonies in the newly restored shrine on 3 March 1963. Some of the artefacts from the demolished temple, including De Sa de Noronha's translation of the prophecy sent to Portugal, are kept in the Ajuda Library of Lisbon (Bibliotheca da Ajuda), along with a painting and map of the original shrine. The chronicler António Bocarro shows three monuments of
38316-404: The tenth century CE. They depict a seated figure of Shiva (in the form of Somaskanda ), Shiva as Chandrasekhar , his consort goddess Parvati , the goddess Mathumai Ambal and Ganesha . They were taken in procession around the region before being reinstalled at Koneswaram. Other Koneswaram statues that survived remain at the Ati Konanayakar temple. A pillar from the original temple stands under
38522-414: The tenth-century CE Koneswaram idols as "among the finest examples of Hindu bronze sculpture known to exist", the seated Shiva Chola bronze "a masterpiece" and the battered stone work at the foot of Swami Rock as "probably the most photographed underwater ruins in the world." 350 years after its destruction, Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu people of Trincomalee organised the temple restoration committee to restore
38728-707: The texts were copied when they wore out. In South India, temples and associated mathas served custodial functions, and a large number of manuscripts on Hindu philosophy , poetry, grammar and other subjects were written, multiplied and preserved inside the temples. Archaeological and epigraphical evidence indicates existence of libraries called Sarasvati-bhandara , dated possibly to early 12th-century and employing librarians, attached to Hindu temples. Palm-leaf manuscripts called lontar in dedicated stone libraries have been discovered by archaeologists at Hindu temples in Bali Indonesia and in 10th century Cambodian temples such as Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei . Inscriptions from
38934-408: The three worlds as a huge and endless pillar of light called the jyotirlinga . Vishnu and Brahma split their ways downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either directions. Brahma lied that he discovered the end of the pillar in his direction, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. Shiva cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies while Vishnu would be worshipped till
39140-440: The town begins at the opening of Konesar Road and follows a path through courtyard shrines of the compound to the deities Bhadrakali , Ganesha , Vishnu Thirumal , Surya , Raavana , Ambal - Shakti , Murukan and Shiva who presides at the promontory's height. The annual Koneswaram Temple Ther Thiruvilah festival involves the Bhadrakali temple of Trincomalee , the Pavanasam Theertham at the preserved Papanasuchunai holy well and
39346-594: The tree would be anointed with butter to minimize the hurt to the tree. Even in modern times, in some parts of India such as Odisha , Visvakarma Puja is a ritual festival every year where the craftsmen and artists worship their arts, tools and materials. Hindu temples served as nuclei of important social, economic, artistic and intellectual functions in ancient and medieval India. Burton Stein states that South Indian temples managed regional development function, such as irrigation projects, land reclamation, post-disaster relief and recovery. These activities were paid for by
39552-497: The underlying principle in a Hindu temple is the belief that all things are one, that everything is connected. The pilgrim is welcomed through 64-grid or 81-grid mathematically structured spaces, a network of art, pillars with carvings and statues that display and celebrate the four important and necessary principles of human life—the pursuit of artha (prosperity, wealth), of kama (pleasure, sex), of dharma (virtues, ethical life) and of moksha (release, self-knowledge). At
39758-401: The underworld. This vastu-purusha-mandala plan and symbolism is systematically seen in ancient Hindu temples on the Indian subcontinent as well as those in southeast Asia, with regional creativity and variations. Beneath the mandala's central square(s) is the space for the all-pervasive, all-connecting Universal Spirit, the highest reality , the purusha . This space is sometimes known as
39964-422: The wealth of the temple under the Pandyan's rule of the north of the island. The 13th century Tamil stone inscription in Kankuveli village records the assignment by Vanniar chiefs Malaiyil Vanniyanar and Eluril Atappar of income and other contributions from the rice fields and meadows of the Vannimai districts of the ascending Jaffna kingdom to the Koneswaram shrine. The Tamil Aryacakravarti dynasty kings of
40170-455: The word "Silpin". "Silpa", explains Stella Kramrisch, is a multicolored word and incorporates art, skill, craft, ingenuity, imagination, form, expression and inventiveness of any art or craft. Similarly, "Shilpin", notes Kramrisch, is a complex Sanskrit word, describing any person who embodies art, science, culture, skill, and rhythm and employs creative principles to produce any divine form of expression. Silpins who built Hindu temples, as well as
40376-400: The world. Indian texts call the craftsmen and builders of temples "Silpin" ( Sanskrit : शिल्पिन् ), derived from "Silpa". One of the earliest mentions of the Sanskrit word "Silpa" is in Atharvaveda , from about 1000 BCE; according to scholars, the word was used to denote any work of art. Some scholars suggest that the word "Silpa" has no direct or one-word translation in English, nor does
40582-473: Was a brahmin. According to the Puranas (Hindu scriptures), upon the advice of sages, Rama along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana , installed and worshipped the lingam (an iconic symbol of Shiva) here to expiate the sin of Brahmahatya incurred while killing Ravana (who was a Brahmin and son of Vishrava ). To worship Shiva, Rama directed his trusted lieutenant Hanuman (avatar of Shiva himself) to bring it from Himalayas. Since it took longer to bring
40788-591: Was added during the mid of 20th century to differentiate the original Char Dhams. The journey across the four cardinal points in India is considered sacred by Hindus who aspire to visit these temples once in their lifetime. Traditionally the trip starts at the eastern end from Puri, proceeding in clockwise direction in a manner typically followed for circumambulation in Hindu temples. As per the Shiva Purana , once, Brahma (the god of creation) and Vishnu (the god of preservation) had an argument in terms of their supremacy in creation. To settle their dispute, Shiva pierced
40994-478: Was administered by a member of the Tamil military caste – the Velaikkarar , troops deployed to protect shrines in the state that were closely associated to King Ilankeshvarar Devar. King Gajabahu II who ruled Polonnaruwa from 1131 to 1153 CE is described in the Konesar Kalvettu as a devout worshipper of Shiva and a benefactor of the temple of Konamamalai. King Chodaganga Deva, a descendant of King Virarajendra Chola 's grandson Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva –
41200-404: Was applied as the name of the form of Shiva for whose worship the temple at Tirukōnamalai had been dedicated". In India there exists three other important Shaiva shrines named Gokarna. The Gokarna Shiva temple in Kalinga (modern day Orissa ) is also located on a mountain and the presiding deity is known as Gokarnasvamin. S. Pathmanathan states that both Shaiva shrines named Gokarna facing
41406-410: Was crowned with the ephitet Kulakkottan meaning Builder of tank and temple . Further to the reconstruction, Kulakottan paid attention to agriculture cultivation and economic development in the area, inviting the Vanniar chief Tanniuna Popalen and several families to a new founded town in the area including Thampalakamam to maintain the Kantalai tank and the temple itself. The effects of this saw
41612-422: Was incomplete). Sundara Pandyan had renovated the gopurams by gold plating the roofs and installing gold gilded Kalasam atop them, a work of art displaying affinity to Dravidian architecture. Swami Rock at this time is described as "Kona ma-malai, around which the ocean waves swept pearls, gold, precious stones, and shells from the depth of the ocean and heaped them along the shore." Local residents contributed to
41818-519: Was one of 69 naturally occurring lingams from time immemorial originally found on Mount Kailash of Tibet and housed in Koneswaram by King Raavan – his most sacred power object from mythological times. This lingam was reinstalled at the Koneswaram site. Publishing their findings in the 1957 book The Reefs of Taprobane , Clarke expresses admiration for Swami rock's three thousand year veneration by Hindus. Identifying at least three Hindu temples as having been built on and around Swami rock, Clarke describes
42024-405: Was praised for its tradition by Arunagirinathar upon his visit. The Dakshina Kailasa Puranam and Manmiam works note it as Dakshina/Then Kailasam ( Mount Kailash of the South) for its longitudinal position and pre-eminence, it lies directly east of Kudiramalai west coast Hindu port town, while it is the easternmost shrine of the five ancient Ishwarams of Shiva on the island. Mentioned as
42230-404: Was translated into English in 1831 by Simon Cassie Chitty. A major temple of the compound was built to the glory of the God Videmal by King Manica Raja 1300 years before the nativity according to Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën written in 1726 by François Valentijn . Some consider the story of Kullakotan to be mythical based on the travails of historical figures such as Gajabahu II , Kalinga Magha or
42436-568: Was undertaken". Temples also acted as refuge during times of political unrest and danger. Historically, the Scheduled Castes or Dalits were prohibited from the entry into temples. In contemporary times, the process of building a Hindu temple by emigrants and diasporas from South Asia has also served as a process of building a community, a social venue to network, reduce prejudice and seek civil rights together. John Guy and Jorrit Britschgi state Hindu temples served as centers where ancient manuscripts were routinely used for learning and where
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