Храм Конесварам: Древнее святилище Шивы в Тринкoмали

Hindu temple in Sri Lanka

Koneswaram Temple of Trincomalee 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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".

Heralded as "Dakshina Kailasam"/"Then Kailasam" (Kailash of the South) because it lies on exactly 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 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. Both men were ardent disciples of Nandhi. Patanjali famously visited the Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, where he wrote 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 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 a Thousand Columns among Europeans.

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 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, 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 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. The fertile Koddiyapuram area of Trincomalee district paid one hundred avanams of rice to the shrine and was tasked with growing oil seed for Koneswaram annually. 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. 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 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 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 – 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 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.

The Tamil Aryacakravarti dynasty kings of 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 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 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 the promotion of Saivite belief, donated part of his revenue to Koneswaram. 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 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 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). Between 1639 and 1689 CE, 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 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.

Under Dutch Ceylon, most of Trincomalee town was administered under Jaffna dependent Vanniars again, while 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 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 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. The statues are of gold and copper alloy bronze and are believed to be from 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. These ruins, as well as 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. 350 years after its destruction, Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu people of Trincomalee organised the temple restoration committee to restore the temple; the old images were reinstalled amid opening ceremonies in the newly restored shrine on 3 March 1963. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 – the Temple Garden Festival is held during this twenty two day festival period. An annual three day procession follows Maha Shivaratri Day, observed every year since 1951 following the rediscovery of the bronze idols in 1950. Occurring in three stages, on each day of the festival, the images of the chief deity Konesar, the presiding consort goddess Mathumai Amman, Ganesha and Murugan are brought from Swami Rock to the entrance of Fort Fredrick in decorated Ther temple cars before being paraded through the whole Periyakadai of the Trincomalee town. The chariot cars are pulled by devotees through a decorated route while singing hymns. Devotees hold Poorna kumbham outside their houses along the route and worship as the procession moves. On the second day of the festival there is a procession to the Pathirakalai Ambal Temple where the images are kept for the evening. On the final day of the festival, the large chariots are pulled back to Koneswaram along a route through Trincomalee, accompanied by traditional Nadeswaram and Thavil musicians.

According to one Hindu legend, Shiva at Koneswaram was worshipped by Indra, king of the gods. King Ravana of the epic Ramayana and his mother are believed to have worshiped Shiva in the sacred lingam form at Koneswaram circa 2000 BCE; the cleft of Swami Rock is attributed to Ravana's great strength. The Dakshina Kailasa Manmiam, a chronicle on the history of the temple, notes that the Sage Agastya proceeded from Vetharaniam in South India to the Parameswara Shiva temple at Tirukarasai – now in ruins – on the bank of the Mavilli Kankai before worshipping at Koneswaram; from there he went to Maha Tuvaddapuri to worship Lord Ketheeswarar and finally settled down on the Podiya Hills. Dutch legends connected with the Hindu pillar from the ruins on Swami Rock concern an inscription found engraved on the re erected monument dated to 1687. The inscription reads: "Tot gedaghtenis van Fran cina van Reede, lofr. van Mydregt, dezen A° 1687 M April opgeregt", or in English : " This has been erected on the 24th April 1687 to commemorate Francina van Reede, Lady of the Manor of Mydrecht". The Dutch Governor of Ceylon Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff mentions the pillar in his diaries of 1738, visiting "Pagoodsberg" or "Pagoda Hill" on a trip from Jaffna to Trincomalee to meet Vanniar chiefs in the region. There he notes on his visit on 31 May, the "name of Francina van Reede, daughter of the late Commissaris Generaal van Reede was found cut on a shaft, with the year 1687, which shows that she too came as far as this. Nothing else worth mentioning ". The girl's father was Hendrik van Rheede, commander of Jaffna during Dutch Ceylon, and sailed from Trincomalee to Point Pedro on 23 April 1687. Historian Jonathan Forbes writing in 1810 in his book Eleven Years in Ceylon describes the pillar as a memorial to Francina's suicide, having flung herself off the edge of the cliff into the sea having seen her lover, a young Dutch officer to whom she was betrothed, sail away to Holland. Some historians describe this story as a conflation with practices that Queyroz claimed occurred with pilgrims at the site as idol worshiping sailors venerated the site from the sea. Historical records from closer to the period indicate Francina van Reede remarried in 1694. Writers describe the intentions of the person who re erected the old Hindu pillar and carved the inscription on it as being to commemorate Francina having climbed the crag to wave goodbye to her father as he sailed past, and a token of human affection. Ravana's Cleft is also known as Lover's Leap in reference to this legend. Another tradition holds that during his rule in the 12th century, King Gajabahu II marched from his southern strongholds to the Konesar Kovil with the intention of demolishing it and converting it to a Buddhist temple. When nearing the Kantalai tank, he is believed to have been miraculously cured of his blindness by a Hindu, and henceforth converted to Hinduism. The tank is said to be named on this account Kandalai meaning "eye grows" in Tamil. It was also based on an assertion made by archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana in reading a 13th century Sanskrit donative inscription in Grantha Tamil script made by a Codaganga Deva found in the Hindu temple's premises. The inscription reads that Codaganga landed in Gokarna in 1223. A temple dedicated to a deity in "Gokarna" city is mentioned in the Mahavamsa. It mentions that Mahasena (334–361) a Mahayanist zealot known for his temple destructions, who ruled a central kingdom of the island from the southern city of Anuradhapura destroyed temples dedicated to a deity in Gokarna and built Buddhist Viharas in its place. A twelfth century commentary on Mahavamsa indicates that the destroyed deity temple had a lingam – a form of Shiva in it. Other sources indicate that the complex may have had Hindu and Buddhist sections prior to its destruction. During the 1958 riots, Tamils cut down bo trees near the temple to fabricate that it was not a Buddhist entity. In 1968, the unity government of majority Sinhalese dominated United National Party and the minority Tamil dominated Federal Party collapsed over disagreements about declaring the holy Hindu site a protected area. A committee appointed by a Federal Party Minister to study the viability of declaring the site protected was disbanded without consultation by the Prime Minister at the time, Dudley Senanayake, after receiving a letter of complaint from a prominent Buddhist monk who objected because the temple area would "get into the hands" of those "who are neither Sinhalese or Buddhist". The Federal Party withdrew its support to the government following that action. According to journalists like T. Sabaratnam, this incident had negative repercussions towards the future co operation between Tamil and Sinhalese communities. The temple and its environs are currently occupied by the Sri Lankan Army, which maintains a base at Fort Frederick. On 21 September 2008, the chief priest of the temple Sivashri Kugarajakurrukal was assassinated in a campaign that has targeted Hindu priests in the region.