Munneswaram temple

Coordinates: 7°34′50.80″N 79°49′00.02″E / 7.5807778°N 79.8166722°E / 7.5807778; 79.8166722
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Munneswaram temple
Siva temple
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictPuttalam
ProvinceNorth Western
DeityShiva (Siva)
Location
LocationMunneswaram, near Chilaw
CountrySri Lanka
Munneswaram temple is located in Sri Lanka
Munneswaram temple
Location in Sri Lanka 200
Geographic coordinates7°34′50.80″N 79°49′00.02″E / 7.5807778°N 79.8166722°E / 7.5807778; 79.8166722
Architecture
TypeDravidian architecture
Date establishedEarliest date 1000 CE (probable)
Completed1753

Munneswaram temple (Tamil: முன்னேசுவரம் கோயில், Sinhala: මුන්නේශ්වරම් කෝවිල) is an important regional Hindu temple complex in Sri Lanka. It has been in existence at least since 1000 CE although myths surrounding the temple associate it with the popular Indian epic Ramayana, and its legendary hero-king Rama. The temple is one of the ancient Pancha Ishwarams dedicated to Shiva in the region.

The temple complex is a collection of five temples, including a Buddhist temple. The central temple dedicated to Shiva (Siva) is the most prestigious and biggest, and is popular amongst Hindus. The other temples are dedicated to Ganesha, Aiyanar and Kali. The Kali temple is also popular with Buddhists, who frequent the complex. Post-19th century, most of the devotees of all temples in the complex belong to the majority Sinhala Buddhist ethnic group; the temples, excluding the Ayyanayake and the Buddhist temple, are administered by families belonging to the minority Hindu Tamils.

The temple is located in

Portuguese colonial officers, who handed over the properties to the Jesuits. Although the Jesuits built a Catholic chapel over the temple foundation, locals reconstructed the temple both times. Due to religious and demographic change after the late 18th century, most surrounding villages and towns are not directly associated with the temple administration and maintenance. However, the villages of Maradankulama and Udappu
are associated with organizing the main temple festival.

The main festivals celebrated at the temple include

Sivarathri
. The former is a nine-day long festival in honour of the presiding Goddess, while the latter is an overnight observation in honour of Lord Shiva. In addition to these two Hindu festivals, the temple has a festival of its own, the Munneswaram festival, a four-week-long event attended by Hindus and Buddhists.

History

Timeline of Munneswaram temple
(1000–1963)
Founded as a
Kirti Sri Rajasinghe
(1753)
Renovations by Cumarasamy Kurukkal(1875)
Renovations by concerned Tamils(1919 & 1963)
Animal sacrifices banned by the Sri Lankan government(2011)
This Lingam is one of the few surviving idols from the days prior to the temple's destruction by the Portuguese.[1]

Munneswaram temple is situated in Munneswaram village, the center of the spiritual and religious life of the people dwelling in a medieval administrative division called Munneswaram Pattuva ("Munneswaram division"). For most of the temple's existence, Munneswaram Pattuva has had over 60 villages for which Maradankulama provided political leadership.

Tamil chiefs subject to Sinhalese kingdoms.[3] The presiding deity is called Sri Munnainathar ("Lord of antiquity" alluding to its ancient roots) and the goddess is called Sri Vativampika Devi ("goddess of beautiful form" another name for Mother goddess Ambal).[4][5]

The temple has historically been associated with the nearby

Chola kingdoms of Tamilakam, stopping at Puttalam of the Jaffna kingdom and sailing the Gulf of Mannar during the 14th century CE.[8]

The Siva temple is historically attested in grants and in local literature. The Kali temple is a popular

Vihara is a post-19th century CE addition. The Ganesha temple, located to the south west of the main temple is the newest amongst the Hindu temples and was built during the early 19th century by artisans from South India.[5]

Munneswaram, along with

Koneswaram (Trincomalee), Naguleswaram (Keerimalai), Thiruketheeshwaram (Mannar), forms the five ancient temples (Ishwarams) dedicated to Shiva in the region including Sri Lanka.[6][10]

Renovation and destruction

Renovation

The first known reconstruction of the temple was recorded in a grant made by Kotte Kingdom King

copper plate inscription.[4]

Destruction

The

Roman Catholic chapel. Jesuits recorded that they used iron bars to destroy the presiding deity.[13] According to a 1640 Portuguese records, they were able to convert 500 people from the village of Munneswaram as Roman Catholics. However, the locals and temple administrators were able to hide many of the idols of the temple complex before the destruction.[12][14][15]

Reconstruction

Following the destruction, the Munneswaram Pattuva area came under the control of the expanding

Kandyan Kingdom had the superstructure rebuilt in the 1750s. The Kalasam or Kotha on top was made of silver, a work of art displaying affinity to South India's Dravidian architecture. The kumbhabhishekham (consecration) ceremonies were performed in the year 1753, and for the performance of daily and special rites of the temple, Kirti Sri Rajasinghe made a grant of lands to the priests, recorded through a copper plate in 1753.[4]

Myths

Most of the myths associated with the temple are not dated and vary with the different religious and ethnic groups as well. One set of myths deals with the creation of the temple, and the other deals with various reconstruction efforts. For the Hindu Tamils, the Munneswaram temple is primarily a Siva temple. According to a Tamil legend, Sinhala Buddhists who hail from outside of Pattuva, Munneswaram is primarily a goddess temple, currently associated with Kali, and also a popular place of sorcery. Sinhalese myths say that Munneswaram is the place where the deity Kali landed from India. The legend further postulates that another Sinhalese female deity, Pattini, prevented Kali from devouring human beings and made her settle down in Munneswaram.[16]

Another myth current amongst Tamils says that the temple was renovated by a legendary

Chola king, Kullakotan. According to that myth, the king, who was afflicted with an incurable skin disease, was cured after taking a bath in the ruined temple's holy pond. Following the miracle, the king went on to renovate the temple and created a community of temple caretakers to maintain the temple. The equivalent myth amongst the Sinhalese people indicates that the diseased king was Rajasinghe or Bhuvanekabahu and the king prayed to the presiding goddess who cured him of his affliction. There were at least two kings called Rajasinghe in Sri Lanka, and both of them were involved in the actual renovations of the temple, and at least seven kings named Bhuvanekabahu, thereby making it difficult to identify the right king.[16]

Modern temple

It has been recorded that in 1830 the temple festival attracted thousands of people from the surrounding Pattuva, but by the 1870s the temple was abandoned again.

subsistence farming. By 1816, Munneswaram village had hardly 64 people, and the entire Munneswaram Pattuva had 1008 people in 63 villages.[17]

The temple properties were no longer cultivated, and tanks were not maintained. Thus the population was surviving on

slash and burn agriculture. British colonial policies favored the conversion of these lands into lucrative coconut plantations quickly covering all suitable Pattuva lands. Establishments of large-scale plantations also led to population increase due to migration and settlement of plantation workers from the interior of the country. This led to a demographic change, and the local Pattuva people became disassociated from the temple and its administration.[18]

A few villagers from Munneswaram village filed a case in the Chilaw district courts to prevent the

land grab of temple properties by outsiders. The case resulted in the British colonial government accepting temple properties as belonging to a newly created temple trust. The trust came under the control of one Cumaraswamy Kurukal from Colombo. His family maintains the hereditary priestly position of the Siva temple, and controls all temple properties. A Tamil family from Munneswaram village controls the priestly position of the Kali temple. The Siva temple was renovated in 1875 by the personal efforts of Cumaraswamy Kurukal.[19] Improvements were effected again in 1919 and 1963 through public support from Tamil Hindus from Colombo and Jaffna. The temple has become very popular amongst the Sinhalese and they make up over 78% of the pilgrims to both the Siva and Kali temples.[20]

Temple layout

The presiding deity Siva is installed in the form of

fig tree stands by the side of it. The main sanctum and the structure above the sanctum are one of the largest in Sri Lanka.[4]

The Siva temple is surrounded by various other temples and shrines. To the southeast of the Siva Temple is a shrine dedicated to Ganesha. A temple dedicated to Ayyanayake, a Sinhalese Buddhist deity, is situated in the northeast corner of the third pathway of the Siva temple. The popular temple dedicated to

Nayanmar saints, various aspects of Siva, Ganesha and Amman.[4]

Center of Kali cult

Panel View within the Munneswaram temple, depicting goddess Durga.

According to anthropologists

Theravada Buddhism towards the Bhakti ("Personal veneration of deity") aspect of Hinduism.[21] Following protests by Buddhist monks and animal rights activist, the government banned the age old custom of animal sacrifices at the Kali temple in 2011.[22]

Festivals

A chariot carrying images of the deities in procession, as part of the temple festivals.

The Munneswaram temple is well known for its celebration of

Skanda, and the presiding consort goddess are paraded around the temple. Local Pattuva village deity temples also have festivals that coincide with the annual festival. Villagers belonging to Maradankulama and Uddappu sponsor a day each of the 28-day festival.[10][12]

Devotees visit the temple to attend the daily

Nadeswaram and Thavil musicians. The procession then passes the Ayyanayake and Kali temples prior to entering the main temple.[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Bastin 2002, p. 35
  2. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 158
  3. ^ Bastin 2002, pp. 17–18
  4. ^ a b c d e Velupillai 1995, pp. 68–71
  5. ^ a b Bastin 2002, pp. 21–23
  6. ^ a b Bastin 2002, p. 15
  7. ^ Bastin 2002, pp. 20–22
  8. ^ Ross E. Dunn. (1986). The adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler of the fourteenth century. pp. 242-243
  9. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 21
  10. ^ a b Maniccavasagar, Chelvatamby (14 August 2009). "Munneswaram Annual festival". Daily News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  11. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 36
  12. ^ a b c d Schokman, Derrick (6 September 2003). "The Munneswaram Festival". Daily News. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  13. ^ Wikramesinghe 2005, p. 21
  14. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 18
  15. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 23
  16. ^ a b Bastin 2002, pp. 45–52
  17. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 30
  18. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 30–31
  19. ^ Bastin 2002, pp. 35–38
  20. ^ Bastin 2002, p. 28
  21. ^ Gombrich 1999, pp. 133–162
  22. ^ Samantha, Jude. "Mervyn Bans Slaughter Houses". Sunday Leader. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.

References

External links

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