Kailasanathar Sivan Temple (Captain's Garden)

Kailasanathar Sivan Temple (Captain's Garden)

Kailasanathar Sivan Temple , also known as Kailasanatha Swamy Kovil , Sri Kailesanathar Swamy Devasthanam , Sri Kaileswaram Temple (Tamil: ஸ்ரீ கைலேஸ்வரம் கோவில்; Sinhala: කෛලේශ්වරම් කෝවිල), is a Hindu temple situated in Captain's Garden near Colombo Terminus Railway Station  in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. It is considered the first and oldest Hindu temple in Colombo City (Somasundaram, 1949). History The temple was built by the South Indian Vaniga Vaishya Chettyars (Thiruvilanga Nagaratthar) who settled down in the Captain's Garden area in Colombo during the latter part of the Dutch regime (Dutch Ceylon: 1658-1796 A.D.) or during the reign of the King Rajadhi Rajasinha (1781-1798 A.D.) of  Kandy  (Arumugam, 1991; Somasundaram, 1949). At the time of their arrival, most of the maritime provinces of the country were under the control of the Dutch. The Chettyars successfully built relations with the Dutch and established their business activities in Gilmabhoodhawatta (or Kadurgahawatta)…