Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, dedicated to Lord Shiva, dates back to the 3rd century BCE. It was destroyed in the 17th century and later restored.
Koneswaram Temple (Trincomalee) Koneswaram Temple , also known as Thirukkoneswaram Kovil (Tamil: திருகோணமலை கோணேச்சரம் கோயில்; Sinhala: ත්රිකුණාමලය කෝනේෂ්වරම් කෝවිල), is a famous Hindu Kovil/temple in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. The temple has been built on the top of a rock situated on the brink of the sea and can be reached through the main entrance of Fort Fredrick . Koneswaram is traditionally considered one of the ancient Saiva shrines in the country. History The origin of the Koneswaram temple is obscure (Dharmadasa, 1976; Gunasingam, 1975). However, its history can be composed with the help of the nearby Trincomalee Harbour, one of the ancient seaports in the country. Trincomalee was a well-known harbour in the region and Koneswaram may have been built on this seaport to fulfil the religious needs of the Hindus of the area as well as the merchants who landed at the port. The Indian Hindu text Vayu Purana (this ancient work is generally assigned to the first half of the 1st millennium A.D.) mentions about a temp…
