Koneswaram Kovil, Swami Rock, Trincomalee

Koneswaram Kovil, located on the highest point of Trincomalee at Swami Rock, is often said to be the most important Hindu temple in Sri Lanka with temples on this site being mentioned in the ancient chronicles of Mahavamsa where it was referred to as Gokarna. 

While the rock has stood steadfast since time began, this temple, which started as a shrine 2500 years ago, has not always been so embedded in the landscape as, in 1622 on the Tamil New Year's Day, the Portuguese attacked and destroyed it completely. They then built a Fort and their own church on the site. So, this morning, to get to the rebuilt temple, we had to drive through the Fort.

Fort Frederick. Trincomalee

Today, Fort Frederick is an army base and I was warned not to take photos as we passed through to the Temple.

Trincomalee town from Fort Frederick

Trincomalee harbour, on the Indian Ocean, was an important port for the British. Now that the conflict of the past thirty years is under wraps, it is being redeveloped. We walked along the top towards the highest point, Swami Rock, once known as the Sacred Hill of Three Temples and also as the Temple of a Thousand Pillars.

Trincomalee town, from Fort Frederick

Friday was not a busy day at the temple and the stalls selling religious icons, incense and candles were not busy. 

Religious items for sale

Having been born in the part of the world where ancient history means a mere two hundred years or so, I have always been fascinated when I stand on a spot where history goes back 2000 years or more. The legends that abound in such places have always enthralled me, giving my mind license to recreate the story, of course interpreting them with the values and beliefs of a western woman living in the 21st Century. The stories of the many Kings, still regarded as heroes, building great temples and cities, always has my mind creating a story of their advisors, subjects, slaves and women who are the real unsung heroes. Show me a king who put his shoulder out hauling one of those granite blocks that some of the ruins display! Instead, I hear the groans of the ant people above the whoosh of the whip as they heave and haul, see their broken bodies fall by the wayside, uncared for when they are of no further use.

So, here's what I understand of the story of the Koneswaram Kovil . . .

Throughout the ages the Tamil kings alternately invaded, ruled and were chased out of the northern area of the country and so established their own language, religion, social and cultural practices. This elevated point, its peak so close to the heavens, overlooking the stunning Indian Ocean with its waves crashing below, would have been a seen as the perfect place for a shrine. Between 300 and 1600 the Tamil kings thought so because they built several shrines and endowed them with many riches such as pearls, precious stones, silk, bronze statues. The fame of this temple was known over India and other Asian countries. It thrived until that terrible day, the fourteenth of April 1622 when the Portuguese rulers descended on it with great force, seizing many of its treasures before toppling it, sending it bouncing over the monstrous rocks, down the cliff and into the raging surf below. There it slept for three and a quarter centuries.

Swami Rock, 1935

No religious further religious ceremonies on the rock were permitted by the Portuguese who built a Fort in its place. The Dutch ousted the Portuguese and captured the Fort in 1639 and it was not until the British took over the rule of Sri Lanka around 1795 that the Hindu believers were able to access their holy rock more freely. After that, the high priest would come and conduct ceremonies once a year and the pilgrims would cast offerings and fruit over the cliff. After the country regained independence from the British, shrines began to appear and the temple was reconstructed in 1963.

Swami Rock - picture from sacred sites

The most famous legend about this temple is that involving King Ravana who  was a character in the famous Ramayana story where he was portrayed as King of Lanka. It is said that he was a man of incredible strength and that he got that strength from the holy lingam that was part of the temple. He and his ailing mother used to worship at the shrine and, maybe because it was in a difficult spot for his feeble mother, he wanted to move the temple of Koneswaram to another spot. As he tried to lift a rock, Lord Shiva, the chief deity of the temple, made him drop his sword, creating a cleft in the rock. This cleft became known as Ravana's cleft.

lingum, Koneswaram Temple

On the day that the Portuguese raided and then wrecked this famous temple, gaining access, it is said, with their soldiers dressed as priests, many of its valuable icons and statues disappeared to surface a very long time later in Europe. Some quick thinking priests fled with as many items as they could, burying them in secret locations while the rest of the temple and its treasures, including Ravana's lingum, were thrown into the sea. Gradually some of the treasures that found their way to Europe have returned home and some that were buried by the priests resurfaced and were restored to the temple or sent for safe guarding to a museum in Lanka.

As luck, or design, would have it, some of those treasures that lay buried on the ocean floor, including the lingum, were discovered by the world famous Sci Fi writer and foreteller of space travel, Arthur C Clark. Clarke had emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956, it is said for his passion in scuba diving, and lived there until his death aged about 90. Already famous internationally, this discovery made him Sri Lanka's most important foreign citizen.

Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

Just below the flight of steps  we left our shoes at the booth, read the useful notice that outlined the religious requirements of visitors, washed our feet in the water trough provided on the edge of Lover's Leap and made our way up the steps under the gaze of Lord Shiva.

Religious requirements and Rules, Koneswaram Kovil

Lover's Leap, Swami Rock, Trincomalee

Lover's Leap  is so named after a love stricken young girl, daughter of a Portuguese Official, threw herself to her death after her forbidden lover was sent from her, back to Europe.

Lord Shiva, Koneswaram kovil

The Hindu God Lord Shiva, the presiding deity at this temple, sits impressively atop the whole hill commanding the pilgrim's full attention as they make their way up the steps.

Seaside Entrance Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

Inside, other deities such as Vishnu, Ganesha, Durga, Murukan and the Sun god Surya, have their own shrines.

As with many of the significant Hindu Temples in Sri Lanka, the main shrines are in the centre with others around the walls. Devotees make circuits praying as they go, many carrying coconuts which they later smash outside. There are several explanations as to the question "Why coconuts?" The coconut is regarded as an auspicious fruit by both Hindu and Buddists Sri Lankans and rituals involving it are common at many important events, such as the opening of a new building, weddings . . . and so on. It is believed to symbolise God - the fruit of the gods- sacred, pure, clean, healthy. Once broken, a small piece is then placed as an offering to Lord Shiva. Another explanation is that it resembles a human head with the outer coir being the hair, the hard shell the skull, the water blood and the kernel the brain.

Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

Not only are the carvings of Hindu temples exceptionally colourful, their designs are also so very intricate and detailed, each layer gradually drawing attention ever upwards. 

Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

Realising that my companions were long gone and disappointed that I hadn't found the famous lingum, I hurried outside to the temple compound and found myself in front of an amazing tree! It was a frangipani tree, adorned with wooden boxes and  colourful ribbons, some of which I recognised as pieces of sari fabric. I was puzzled until a young woman whom I had noticed praying in the temple went over to the tree and tied another box to an already laden branch. I  realised then that the boxes were actually tiny cradles and that they had been placed there after women had made a plea to the gods for a baby.

Pleas for a baby, Koneswarum Kovil, Trincomalee

Following  path on the edge of the cliff I found the lingum and other interesting tableaux in the clefts of rocks.

Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

Koneswaram Kovil. Trincomalee

Koneswaram Kovil, Trincomalee

During this visit I chatted with two women after they had completed their devotions. As I followed my companions out of the temple complex, I reflected on how faith in something far greater than oneself brings peace and acceptance to a large number of people as they deal with personal problems.

Seruwila Mangala Raja Maha Vihara, Sri Lanka

At Palatadichcheni we left the A4 and headed towards the famous Seruwila Temple passing through a pleasant, peaceful environment abuzz with bird life.

The sight of this more modern temple structure standing tall among the trees took me by surprise! I was looking for an ancient but renovated stupa, so where was it?

Seruwila Temple

 Seruwila temple is one of the holiest temples in Sri Lanka because it is said to contain a relic of the Buddha, his frontal lobe bone. How did it get there? 

Well, in the 2nd century BC, our King Kavantissa - the one who married Cast Away Princess Devi - was in danger of having his kingdom invaded by South Indian kings and needed to solve this problem in a strategically, peaceful way. At that time the northeastern area of the country, which would provide him with a buffer state was ruled by a Prince Siva. King Kavantissa knew he could count on this Prince's loyalty if he could arrange some way of avoiding confrontation. So . . .

Seruwila Temple, Toppur, Sri Lanka

. . . soon the powerful Buddhist monks were letting everyone know that King Kavantissa was in possession of a very holy relic, namely the Buddha's frontal lobe bone, and that it had been destined that he would place it in a stupa to be built at Seru.

Accompanied by his spiritual mentors and army, Kavantissa marched towards Seru while the minor Kings and Princes debated what to do. If they did not receive him in a friendly manner there would be trouble with their own people, after all, he had the most holy relic in his possession and the support of the Sangha and other respected kings.  Their hands were tied. "What to do ?"  as they say in Sri Lanka. The only thing they could do was to welcome him and assist with the building of the stupa. This they did! Problem solved without any confrontation for King Kavantissa.

Shrine, Seruwila Mangala Raja Maha Vihara

So, King Kavantissa now had no threats to his kingdom to worry about and in fact became King over a very large area of the country. To reward the kings in the Seru area, he had the wet, marshy area around the temple drained and converted into a lake leaving lands eleven miles around to be dedicated to rice cultivation to support the five hundred monks at the temple. This area was once a huge marshy area and home during certain times of the year to the migratory birds known as seru - teals. It is thought that this is where the name Seruwila originated.

Dagaba, Seruwila Temple

In ancient times, this part of the country was under pressure with invasions by the South Indian Tamil kings and, although it is believed that the Kandyan Kings at least knew of its existence in the 17th Century, it was abandoned, nature finally claiming it. The stupa was rediscovered in the 1920s  by an important monk then restored, with assistance by the Archeological Department.  Since then further restoration has progressed slowly.

ancient guardstone, Seruwila

This moonstone has both horses and elephants in one of the circlets.

Moonstone, Seruwila Temple

As well as the stupa, other remains have been recovered including the image house, Bo tree shrine, an ancient pond and remains of monasteries.

Bo tree Shrine

Seruwila ruins

Once you walk around the original dagaba, the new temple is again visible through the trees.

New Temple, Seruwila

Modern guardstone, Seruwila

This new temple is still under construction with work on the interior being done.

Modern moonstone, Seruwila

New temple, Seruwila

The walls of this temple are covered with paintings illustrating the teachings an beliefs of  Buddhism. A surprisingly big crowd of worshipers was sitting on the floor, their chanting led by a lay man. While this was going on, work men were climbing ladders above their heads, working on a higher roof level. Not wanting to intrude or disrupt their devotions or work, we tip toed out.

If you are passing this way on the A4 why not detour for a couple of hours to see this lovely place of worship and take in its interesting history?

I'm glad we did!

Passikudah to Trincomalee

From my diary, Thursday 5th September

"Today's drive from Passikudah to Trincomalee took us through rather sad looking country. Flat, dry coastal land, tsunami affected like the southern part of the same coastline, the overall impression was one of people struggling to survive. Unlike those villages we had passed through earlier, these presented a very poor picture with dilapidated houses instead of newly built or brightly repainted ones. The demeanor of the people was also different, not so energetic or busy, clothes more worn. We passed many little huts, roofed with cadjanz - no solar water panels along here. Ï am reminded of a similar area we saw last year from Vauvuniya to Kilinochchi in the Northern Province. No landmines along the main road here though."

Flat, dry land of the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

There were a few clusters of more robust housing. Unlike those we saw earlier, these were often clustered more like a village community and not in straight single file lines.

Free Range Cows

The wide, open, dry spaces sometimes surprised us when we came upon  herd of cows feeding free range, their ribs protruding on bony skeletons. Once we saw a herd of buffalo submerged in a small pond, noses and horn tips only showing. In the small villages a common sight was a bullock cart trotting along the road, sometimes loaded with firewood - a reminder that cooking for the family is no easy task.

Oddamavadi Bridge

It is sad that such a catastrophic event that the 2004 tsunami was, had to happen before the area got an excellent road and sturdy bridges to replace the several ferries that were formerly needed to cross the many inlets and lagoons. A lot of foreign aid has been channeled into this with this bridge possible because of assistance from the Kingdom of Spain. Now that this part of the infrastructure has been improved hopefully it will bring economic advantages to the villagers along the way.

Sun dried fish, Kathiraveli

The economic focus for the people who live on the Easy Coast is, of course, fishing. Sri Lankan people eat a lot of fish which, when pounded pounded to a coarse powder, is a key ingredient in many traditional dishes. At first, forty five years ago, this was something that I had to acquire a taste for however I now consider it an essential ingredient in many good curries.

Fishing village, Kathiraveli

Fishing boats resting for the night's work

Dried fish for sale

Squid, anyone?

A few kilometres south of the Trincomalee harbour we made a detour to visit Seruwila Temple before crossing the Kallady bridge and entering the city. It was a lovely place so I will post about it separately.

Kallady Bridge

Below this famous bridge another fishing venture was doing well!

For the people along this coast another tsunami is still on their minds.

Tsunami sign in Trincomalee

The streets of Trincomalee were a maze of narrow alleys and lanes, often with some devilish electricity lines tangled messily above.

Messy electrical engineering in Trincomalee

The construction of the A4 from Pottuvil to Trincomalee with its beautiful bridges is now complete. Next job - replacing the power lines?

Trincomalee

Mother and three children scooter home from school

Transport to and from school is always a problem and its great to see women taking up scooters to give themselves freedom to get around. It looks like a friend has hitched a ride as one girl is not wearing a safety helmet.

In the easy comfort of our own personal transport we continued the  four kilometres to our final beach destination, Chaaya Blu at  Uppuvali.