KONESWARAM TEMPLE AND SHANKARI DEVI SHAKTI PEETHAM IN SRI LANKA

 


Main entrance of Koneswar Temple and Shankari Devi Shakti Peetham in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. 


In front of the Koneswar Temple and Shankari Devi Shakti Peetham in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.

Koneswaram Temple is a Shiva shrine of 1580 BC, as per a 17th-century stone inscription. Historians dated it to 400 BC as a rock cave shrine of bricks. Vayu Purana, in 300 AD, mentioned it as one of five Iswarams (Shiva shrines) in Sri Lanka of the 6th century BC, the mythical arrival of Prince Vijaya (543–505 BC). Linked it to Ramayana and Mahabharata, with Ravana as devotee. Chola king Elara (205 BC) renovated it as a Dravidian-style complex called the Temple of 1000 Pillars (not seen). Later, Chola ruler Kankan (103–88 BC) restored the site as a pilgrimage centre. It was considered a cultural hub by Tamil and Sri Lankan societies before destruction by Portuguese colonisers in the 17th century. Later, it is reconstructed.



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