| Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple | |
|---|---|
மாவிட்டபுரம் கந்தசாமி கோவில் | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Jaffna District |
| Deity | Murugan |
| Location | |
| Location | Maviddapuram |
| State | Northern Province |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
  Location withinNorthern Province | |
| Geographic coordinates | 09°48′04.00″N80°02′06.20″E / 9.8011111°N 80.0350556°E /9.8011111; 80.0350556 |
Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple (Tamil:மாவிட்டபுரம் கந்தசாமி கோவில்) is aHindu temple inMaviddapuram in northernSri Lanka.
According to legend Maviddapuram has had a Hindu shrine for 5,000 years.[1] According to another legend, an 8th-centuryChola[a] princess Mathurapuraveeravalli,[b] daughter of Tissai Ughra Cholan, the King ofMadurai, was inflicted with a persistent intestinal disorder as well as facial disfigurement which made her face look like a horse.[3][4][5] She was advised by a priest/sage to bathe in the freshwater spring atKeerimalai.[3][4] After bathing in the spring Mathurapuraveeravalli's illness and disfigurement vanished.[3][4] In gratitude she renovated a Hindu shrine, located in Kovil Kadavai about two kilometers south east of the spring, into a full temple honouring the Hindu godMurugan (Skanda).[3][4][5] The King of Madurai sent sculptors, artists, building material, granite, statues, gold, silver etc. to assist with the renovation.[3] The temple's statue of Kankesan (Murugan) was brought via the port of Gayathurai which was later renamedKankesanthurai.[6][7]
The name Maviddapuram is derived fromma (horse),vidda (removed) andpuram (holy city).[3] The temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times.[1] The present day temple dates from the 17th century.[8]
Only "high" caste Hindus had been allowed to worship in the temple.[9] In 1968 several hundred "low" caste Hindus, mainlyPallar andNalavar, staged a non-violent protest outside the temple gates but were met with violence from a group of "high" caste Hindus.[10] In June 1968 "low" caste Hindus stormed the temple.[11] They were given access to the temple following the intervention ofIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK, Federal Party).[12]C. Suntharalingam, who had led the "high" caste resistance to opening the temple up to the "low" castes, was prosecuted under thePrevention of Social Disabilities Act and finedRs. 50 by theSupreme Court.[13] This act, which had been brought in as aprivate member's bill by ITAK in 1957, made the denial of entry into a place of worship on grounds of caste an offence.[12][13]
During the early 1990s the northern part of theValikamam region were declared a High Security Zone (HSZ) and all the residents expelled.[14][15] The temple was inside the HSZ and as a result its priests were evicted by the military.[8][16] The temple's structure was bombed and its contents looted.[8] Following the end of thecivil war the military relaxed some restrictions on entering the HSZ, allowing priests and worshipers to return to the temple.[8] The temple's 108 footgopuram has been re-built but much of the 17th century temple was destroyed during the civil war.[8]
The temple was declared anarchaeological protected monument in December 2011.[17]
Media related toMavidapuram Kandasamy temple at Wikimedia CommonsTopics onNorthern Province, Sri Lanka | |||||||||||
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