Tuesday, 28 September 2021

Sithra Velayutha Swamy Kovil, Kovil Porathivu

Sithra Velayutha Swamy Kovil is a Hindu shrine situated in Kovil Porathivu in Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka.

History
According to local tradition, the area where the present temple stands was a well-developed realm of Mandu Nagan who reigned in Nagan Cholai near Mandur (Arumugam, 1991). It is said that the Hindu temples and stately palaces in this area were destroyed and the region become to be named Kali-thesam later (Arumugam, 1991). In the 12th century, when a king named Mahinda was ruling Sri Lanka, the eastern region was looked after by a local chieftain called Mathi Suthan dwelling in Kali-thesam (Arumugam, 1991). He is said to have constructed a temple for deity Murukan named Sithra Velayutha Swamy Kovil at Porathivu with the recruited sculptors and artists from Thondai Nadu in South India (Arumugam, 1991). 

In the course of centuries, due to neglect and devastation, the temple went into ruins. However, the Velayutha Swamy deity of that temple was installed in the present Sithra Velayutha Swamy Kovil erected by Nagappa Chettiyar at Kovil Porathivu (Arumugam, 1991).

References
1) Arumugam, S., 1991. More Hindu temples of Sri Lanka. London. p.101.

Location Map
This page was last updated on 28 September 2021
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map

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