Tondeswaram temple
Encyclopedia
Tenavaram temple (historically known as the Tenavaram Kovil, Tevanthurai Kovil or Naga-Risa Nila Kovil) was a historic Hindu temple
complex situated in the port town Tenavaram, Tevanthurai (or Dondra Head
), in Maturai (now Matara
) near Galle
, Southern Province, Sri Lanka
.(see pic) Its primary deity was a Hindu god Tenavarai Nayanar and at its zenith was one of the most celebrated Hindu temple complexes of the island, containing eight major kovil shrines to a thousand deity statues of stone and bronze and two major shrines to Vishnu and Shiva. Administration and maintenance was conducted by residing Hindu Tamil merchants during Tenavaram's time as a popular pilgrimage destination and famed emporium
.
The complex, bordered by a large quadrangle cloister
, was a collection of several historic Hindu Kovil shrines, with its principle shrine designed in the Kerala
and Pallava style
of Dravidian architecture
. The central temple dedicated to Vishnu
(Tenavarai Nayanar) was the most prestigious and biggest, popular amongst its large Tamil population, pilgrims and benefactors of other faiths such as Buddhism, Kings and artisans. The other shrines that made up the Kovil Vatta were dedicated to Ganesh, Murukan, Kannagi
and Shiva
, widely exalted examples of stonework construction of the Dravidian style. The Shiva shrine is venerated as the southernmost of the 5 ancient Ishwarams of Lord Shiva (called Tondeswaram), built at coastal points around the circumference of the island in the classical period. Tenavaram temple owned the entire property and land of the town and the surrounding villages, ownership of which was affirmed through several royal grants in the early medieval period. Its keepers lived along streets of its ancient agraharam
within the complex. Due to patronage by various royal dynasties and pilgrims across Asia, it became one of the most important surviving buildings of the classical Dravidian architectural period
by the late 16th century. The temple compound was destroyed by Portuguese
colonial De Souza d'Arronches, who devastated the entire southern coast. The property was then handed over to Catholics. Tenavaram's splendor and prominence ranked it in stature alongside the other famous Pallava-developed medieval Hindu temple complex in the region, Koneswaram
of Trincomalee
. Excavations at the complex mandapam
's partially buried ruins of granite pillars, stairs and slab stonework over the entire town have led to numerous findings. Reflecting the high points of Pallava artistic influence and contributions to the south of the island are the temple's 5th-7th century statues of Ganesh, the Lingam
, sculpture of Nandi and the Vishnu shrine's 10th century Makara Thoranam (stone gateway), the frame and lintel of which include small guardians, a lustrated Lakshmi
, dancers, musicians, ganas
, and yali-riders
.
Tenavaram temple was built on vaulted arches on the promontory overlooking the Indian ocean. The central gopuram
tower of the vimana
and the other gopura towers that dominated the town were covered with plates of gilded brass, gold and copper on their roofs. Its outer body featured intricately carved domes, with elaborate arches and gates opening to various verandas and shrines of the complex, giving Tenavaram the appearance of a golden city to sailors who visited the port to trade and relied on its light reflecting gopura roofs for navigational purposes.
Tenavaram remains one of the destroyed Dravidian temples that has yet to be properly rebuilt by Tamil Hindu
s. Due to religious and demographic change after the late 18th century, most surrounding villages and towns are not directly associated with the town. The Vishnu Devale and Buddhist temples have been constructed atop the ruins.
is known historically in Tamil as Then-thurai, Tevan-thurai, Tennavan-thurai, Tendhira Thottam, Tenavaram and Tanaveram which are variations of the same meaning "Lord of the Southern Port" in the language. Then or Ten is an anglicized form of the Tamil word for South while Tennavan ("Southerner") is a historic ephitet denoting the Hindu God Shiva in the language, used by Tamil poets and simultaneously used as an honorable description of several Pandyan
kings. Tevan is God, Thurai means port, Thottam means "estate" while varam or waram denotes the Lord's abode Iswaram. The shrines' primary deity Vishnu shared the name of the town, Tenavarai Nayanar, at the southern-most point of the island. The northernmost Vishnu shrine of the island, Vallipuram Vishnu Kovil
, houses the ancient deity Vallipuram Alwar following a similar naming tradition.
The Ganesh shrine of the temple was known as the Ganeshwaran Kovil and the Shiva shrine of the complex was known as Naga-Risa Nila Kovil. This name is possibly etymologically related to Nagareshu, from the famous phrase Nagareshu Kanchi coined by the 5th century poet Kalidasa
in describing Kanchipuram
as the "best city." Nila means blue while Kovil or Koil means a Tamil Hindu temple in Tamil. The whole complex was the southernmost shrine of the five ancient Iswarams of Lord Shiva on the island of classical antiquity along with Koneswaram
(Trincomalee
), Naguleswaram
(Keerimalai
), Thiruketheeshwaram
(Mannar
) and Munneswaram
(Puttalam
).
In Pali the town is called Devapura and Devanagara. In Sinhalese it has been referred to as Devinuwara, meaning City of Gods and Devundara.
In English today the town is known as Dondra or Dondera. It was a prolific sea port and capital city in medieval Sri Lanka and housed merchants from around Asia
, amongst whom were many traders from Tamil Nadu
.
cartographers reveals the existence of a Hindu temple at the same location along the southern coast. Ptolemy
in 98 CE marks the town as "Dagana" or "Dana" (Sacra Luna), a place "sacred to the moon," which geographers note corresponds to Tenavaram. In this temple the principal deity was known as "Chandra Maul Eshwaran". On the forehead of the deity was a large precious stone shaped like a moon crescent. Ancient Tamil texts such as the Yalpana Vaipava Malai
call the town Theivanthurai (God's Port) and the deity's name Santhira Segaram or "Lord Shiva, wearer of moon on his head". This shrine became known as the Naga-Risa Nila Kovil of Tenavaram by the medieval period, and as "Tondeswaram", one of the five ancient Ishwarams of Shiva in the region.
who visited the island around the time of King Simhavishnu
of Pallava's rule in Tamilakam reveal the presence of two kings, one of whom was based in Jaffna, home to a great emporium, who ruled the coastal districts around the island. This Tamil kingdom evolved from Nāka Nadu of the ancient Nāka Dynasty. Merchant
guilds from Tamilakkam often built from scratch or maintained previously built shrines to Lord Shiva and Vishnu across South and South East Asia during the rule of Pallava, Chola
and Pandyan kings. During the conquest of Ceylon by Pallava King Narasimhavarman I
(630 - 668 CE) and the rule of the island by his grandfather and devout Vishnu devotee, King Simhavishnu (537 - 590 CE), many Pallava-built rock temples were erected in the region to various deities and this style of architecture remained popular and highly influential in the next few centuries. The temple complex was developed with a Pallava style of architecture between the 6th and 8th century CE.
One tradition states that a temple shrine in Tenavaram was constructed by King Aggabodhi IV in the middle of the 7th century CE, fusing Dravidian stone-made temple construction with a local interpretation. The Kegalla district
ola manuscript found by archaeologist Harry Charles Purvis Bell
records another popular tradition, involving the arrival of a red sandalwood Vishnu image at Tenavarai by the sea in 790 CE. King Dappula Sen was involved in restoring the Vishnu shrine of the complex during this time to house the image after envisioning its arrival in a dream. The manuscript indicates several Tamil pilgrims' arrived at Tenavaram at this time, and how the King granted its lands to the Hindus who accompanied an image of Vishnu. The Chief Brahmin Priest/merchant prince who brought the image was called Rama Chandra, (a name which alludes to Lord Rama
, an incarnation of Vishnu). The sandalwood image was moved soon after to other shrines inland. Some scholars regard the story of a sandalwood image washing ashore to be mythical. A 17th century literature source details that right after the washing ashore of the wood image, Tamil Brahmins versed in Vaishnava lore from Rameswaram in Pallava-era Tamilakkam were invited to the town to fashion and import an image of Lord Vishnu to Tenavaram. Other sources indicate the Tamils brought the statue to Tenavaram for safe-keeping as Rameswaram was under attack. Rama Chandra founded the Ganesh Kovil of Tenavaram in 790, located at Vallemadama on the sea coast, where the waves struck its walls at the Kovil Vatta. The Naga Risa Nila Kovil of Shiva was in the vicinity of this area of Tenavaram. Rama Chandra's name was recited daily at the conclusion of worship during the early hours of the morning. Hymns in praise of God were recited by Tamil priests attached to the temple. These priests settled in the established agraharam
. In traditional Hindu practice of architecture and town-planning, an agraharam consists of two rows of houses running north-south on either side of a road. At one end exists a temple to Shiva and at the other end, a temple to Vishnu. Another famous example of this is Vadiveeswaram
in Tamil Nadu.
The complex's many shrines are historically attested in grants, inscriptions and local literature. Epigraphical evidence in several languages found in the vicinity relate information about its shrines to Murukan, his goddess consorts, Ganesh, the goddess deification of Kannagi
, Vishnu and Shiva. Tenavaram became a famous Tamil emporium over the following few centuries. A ferry transported traders, pilgrims and chroniclers from Tenavaram to the Chera
and Chola kingdoms of Tamilakkam via Puttalam
on the western shore of the island (then an extension of the Malabar coast
and Hindu Jaffna kingdom
) and the Gulf of Mannar
from this time through to the late medieval period.
King Parakramabahu II, who ruled from 1236 to 1270, contains references to donations to the Tenavaram Kovil, renovating the shrine and reaffirming its land ownership and regulations to prevent evasion of customs duties at the port by traders at the estate. According to this epigraph, Tendiratota and its lands that were religious endowments of old were duly maintained by the king. The port was administered by an officer titled Mahapandita. Those coming from foreign countries were not allowed to set up places of business without permission and royal officials were required not to accept gifts from foreign merchants. His epigraph also mentions the devalayam (a Tamil temple in formal speech) section of worship and Tenavaram's agraharam (brahmadeya or chaturvedimangalam) - the Iyer
or Tamil Brahmin
quarter of the heterogenous Tenavaram village as warranting protection. A close connection existed over a long period between the Iyers of the agraharam of Tenavaram and the kings who had exercised authority over the southern and southwestern lowlands. Pocaracan Pantitan of Tenavarai, who carried the honorary designation Tenuvaraipperumal before his name, wrote the Caracotimalai, a treatise on astrology
in metrical Tamil verse. The author recited it in the presence of the king at the court of Kurunegal in 1324. A panegyric account of the royal patron at this court, Parakramabahu IV (1302 – 1326) of Dambadeniya, is in the introductory stanzas of this work. The author's honourific title, Tenuvarai-Perumal, literally means "The Prince of Tenavarai." Several other Tamil Hindus are mentioned with the special designation Tenuvarai Perumal in documents issued by the kings of the Kotte Kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries, such as Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte
, a Hindu monarch who signed all of his official proclamations in Tamil. Among the names of many Hindus listed in the Kudumirissa Inscription are included those of two individuals who had the designation Tenuvarai-p-perumal. They are Tiskhanda Tenuvarapperumal and Sarasvati Tenuvarapperumal. These "Perumals" were officiating priests of the temple and exercised authority over the administration of the town and the temple.
The Dondra slab inscriptions record the granting of lands to the Vishnu shrine in the fourteenth century. Endowments to the Shiva shrine and extensive donations of lands to it were made during the reign of King Alagakkonara
, a Raigama
chief who ruled the south between 1397 and 1409. The Naymanai inscription slab of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte (1412-1467), written in Tamil and Sanskrit in Tamil
and Grantha characters found in a jungle two miles north of Matara by Edward Müller, mentions that the king gave fields and gardens in the villages of Cunkankola, Pakarakaramullai, Vertuvai and Naymanai as endowments to Tenavaram. The grant was made for the specific purpose of providing alms for and feeding a group of twelve Brahmins at an alms-hall (Sattiram) named after "Devaraja", which was maintained regularly/daily without interruption (nicatam natakkira). The alms-hall was in the vicinity (iracarkal tiru – c - cannatiyil nisadam madakkira sattirattukku tiru-v-ullamparrina ur) or the premises of the holy shrine of the “god king” of Tenavaram. The conquest of Jaffna kingdom
by Sapumal Kumaraya
, a military leader sent by the Kotte king in 1450, was celebrated in the Kokila Sandesaya ("Message carried by Kokila bird") written in the 15th century and contains a contemporary description of the island traversed by the road taken by the cookoo bird, from Tenavaram in the south to Nallur
("Beautiful City") in Jaffna
in the north. It and other extant Sandesas mention the Vishnu shrine of Tenavaram and some of the gopurams' three storeys. The Tisara Sandesa, Kokila Sandesa and Paravi Sandesa mention the Ganesh shrine's location on the sea coast of Tenavaram. The lands owned by the Shiva shrine were detailed by King Vijayabahu VI in a 1510 dated record. Early 16th century copperplate inscriptions of the King Vijayabahu VII detail the land grants made by the king in the town on the condition that the recipient paid ten fanams
a year to the Vishnu shrine. The grants were to be enjoyed permanently by the children, the grandchildren, and the descendants of astrologers and veda – vyasaru, including Tenuvarai Perumala, a son of (one of) them.
The Morrocan traveller Ibn Batuta visited the temple in the 14th century and described the deity Dinawar as sharing the same name as the flourishing trade town in which He resided, made of gold and the size of a man with two large rubies as eyes "that lit up like lanterns during the night." One thousand Hindus and Yogis were attached to this vast temple for services, with five hundred girls that danced and sang in front of the Mahavishnu idol. All people living within the vicinity of the temple and who visited it were fed with monetary endowments that were made to the idol.
The complex received revenues from seventy villages. Substantial donations of gold, silver silks and sandalwood were made from the Chinese
admiral Zheng He
to Tenavaram temple in 1411 CE, as detailed in the Galle Trilingual Inscription
. The text concerns offerings made by him and others to various religions including the God of Tamils Tenavarai Nayanar, an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, on behalf of the Yongle Emperor
. Several stone pillars here were erected through donation from Chinese kings, inscribed with letters of their nation as a token of their devotion to Tenavaram's idols. The chief deity mentioned and the donation of the trilingual inscription have also been connected to Shiva and his adjacent shrine - Nayanar
were historic Saivite Tamil saints who worshipped Shiva and lived between the 5th and 10th centuries in Tamil Nadu. The admiral invoked the blessings of Hindu deities here for a peaceful world built on trade. Portuguese cartographers such as Tomé Pires
who visited the island in the early 1500s describe Tenavarqe as an important trading and navigation port of the south, full of precious stones.
Tenavaram's gold-copper gilded roofs earned it fame amongst pilgrims and sailors, due to navigational purposes and its contribution to the town's appearance as a "golden city." Encompassed by a quadrangular cloister which opened under verandahs and terraces to the various deities' shrines, the complex contained gardens of shrubs and trees which priests used to pluck offerings to the deities. The Portuguese
historian Diogo do Couto
stated that along with Adam's Peak
, Tenavarai was the most celebrated temple on the island, and the most visited pilgrimage site of the south with a circuit of a full league, while his fellow Portuguese historian De Quieroz compares the temple port town's splendor to that of the Koneswaram temple
of Trincomalee
and states that Lord Vishnu was the primary deity of the destroyed shrine of Tenavarai.
Rajasimha I who was laying siege to the city Columbo
on the island's west coast at the time. De Sousa entered the complex to find it empty, giving up the temple to the plunder of 120 accompanying soldiers before looting its riches of ivory, gems and sandalwood, overthrowing thousands of statues and idols of the temple before leveling the complex and defiling the inner court by slaughtering cows there. The area was then burnt. Also destroyed was the deity's magnificent wooden temple car
. De Quieroz, writing a century after the destruction, states that a large Catholic
Church, the St Lucia's Cathedral was then built on the temple's foundation by Franciscans, sufficed to maintain three Portuguese churches. Ruins of several granite pillars from one of the Tenavaram shrines and an intricately designed stone doorway retain Pallava architectural influence, similar to rediscovered pillars of the ancient Koneswaram temple that was destroyed almost forty years later. James Emerson Tennent
describes Tenavaram as the most sumptuous Hindu temple complex of the island before its destruction.
Captain Colin Mackenzie
and the author Robert Percival described the Hindu ruins of several temples that they saw in the town as contemporary to the finest examples of suriviving ancient Tamil architecture and sculpture of the Coromandel Coast
of Tamil Nadu. The granite slabs, stone works and pillars of the ruins include several elephant heads and carvings of naked men and women and indicated lingam worship to the visitors. James Cordiner, writing in 1807, described the colonnade of 200 granite pillars having curved bases and capitals and others rough edged, forming an avenue to the sea, leading to an intricately carved doorway with several Hindu sculptures attached. He describes intersections of rows of pillars with this avenue proceeding to the right and left. Cordiner recounts the discovery of the ancient stone image of Ganesh worshipped in a mud hut at the site. The shrine's well had been covered by a stone slab. Another shrine dedicated to Murugan
of Kathirkamam was also present and revered during his visit. Many of the stones of the ruins of the Tenavaram complex were used to build the Matara Fort by the colonists.
Sinhalese Buddhist temples of smaller size and a much later period had come to be erected over the Tamil Hindu ruins in some locations according to their observations. The discoveries of the late 20th century indicate that a Buddhist Vihara has come to be erected where the Lord Shiva or Ganesh shrine of the complex has been located by archaeologists.
in Kanchipuram. Likely to have been the Vimanam
-Garbhagriha
or Sreekovil
of one of the shrines, this building was reconstructed/repaired in 1947. It is a simple cuboid stone room structure with a flat roof currently atop its sanctum.
A Shiva lingam sculpture was found in the foreground of the Othpilima Vihara at the site in 1998 by a gardener along with a stone image of Nandi. It is 4 ft high and 2½ feet wide. A stone image of Ganesh and Nandi had been excavated decades earlier at the site Kovil Vatta - gardens of a newly constructed Buddhist Vihara in the Vallemadama area of Tevan Thurai.
The lingam's large size has led archaeologists to conclude it could be the principal idol of the ancient temple. The Avudaiyar or the pedestal of the Shiva linga is a thin slab; the upright or vertical portion is tall and slender. The Nandi ishapam (statue of Nandi) found with the lingam dates from the Pallava
era. Other discoveries include statues of the Hindu god Ganesh and a goddess said to be Pattini
/Kannagi
. The garland decorated gateway to the original shrine, dating from the 10th century, is well preserved at the site. One of two styles of Thoranam to typical Kerala style temples, (lion-sea dragon or peacock crowned), the Makara Thoranam's (gateway's) frame and lintel include small guardians, dancers, musicians, ganas
, and yali-riders
. There is a lustration of the goddess Lakshmi
in the center of the lintel.
Hindu temple
A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
complex situated in the port town Tenavaram, Tevanthurai (or Dondra Head
Dondra Head
Dondra Head is a cape on the extreme southern tip of Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean, near the small town of Dondra near Galle, Southern Province, Sri Lanka...
), in Maturai (now Matara
Matara District
Matara is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 1,246 km². It is represented in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2010 by former Sri Lankan national Cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya who stood for the United People's Freedom Alliance....
) near Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
, Southern Province, Sri Lanka
Southern Province, Sri Lanka
The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. The region is economically backward compared to the Western province, where the capital Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte is situated...
.(see pic) Its primary deity was a Hindu god Tenavarai Nayanar and at its zenith was one of the most celebrated Hindu temple complexes of the island, containing eight major kovil shrines to a thousand deity statues of stone and bronze and two major shrines to Vishnu and Shiva. Administration and maintenance was conducted by residing Hindu Tamil merchants during Tenavaram's time as a popular pilgrimage destination and famed emporium
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
.
The complex, bordered by a large quadrangle cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
, was a collection of several historic Hindu Kovil shrines, with its principle shrine designed in the Kerala
Architecture of Kerala
Kerala architecture is a kind of architectural style that is mostly found in Indian state of Kerala. Kerala style of architecture is one of the most unique in India, especially in its striking contrast to Dravidian architecture, other Tamil architecture popularly seen in South India and its close...
and Pallava style
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...
of Dravidian architecture
Dravidian architecture
Dravidian architecture was a style of architecture that emerged thousands of years ago in Southern part of the Indian subcontinent or South India. They consist primarily of pyramid shaped temples called Koils which are dependent on intricate carved stone in order to create a step design consisting...
. The central temple dedicated to Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
(Tenavarai Nayanar) was the most prestigious and biggest, popular amongst its large Tamil population, pilgrims and benefactors of other faiths such as Buddhism, Kings and artisans. The other shrines that made up the Kovil Vatta were dedicated to Ganesh, Murukan, Kannagi
Kannagi
Kannagi or , a legendary Tamil woman, is the central character of the South Indian epic Silapathikaram. Legend states that Kannagi took revenge on the King of Madurai, for a mistaken death penalty imposed on her husband Kovalan, by cursing the city with disaster.-The story:Kovalan, the son of a...
and Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, widely exalted examples of stonework construction of the Dravidian style. The Shiva shrine is venerated as the southernmost of the 5 ancient Ishwarams of Lord Shiva (called Tondeswaram), built at coastal points around the circumference of the island in the classical period. Tenavaram temple owned the entire property and land of the town and the surrounding villages, ownership of which was affirmed through several royal grants in the early medieval period. Its keepers lived along streets of its ancient agraharam
Agraharam
An Agraharam or Agrahara is the name given to the Brahmin quarter of a heterogenous village or to any village inhabited by Brahmins...
within the complex. Due to patronage by various royal dynasties and pilgrims across Asia, it became one of the most important surviving buildings of the classical Dravidian architectural period
Dravidian architecture
Dravidian architecture was a style of architecture that emerged thousands of years ago in Southern part of the Indian subcontinent or South India. They consist primarily of pyramid shaped temples called Koils which are dependent on intricate carved stone in order to create a step design consisting...
by the late 16th century. The temple compound was destroyed by Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colonial De Souza d'Arronches, who devastated the entire southern coast. The property was then handed over to Catholics. Tenavaram's splendor and prominence ranked it in stature alongside the other famous Pallava-developed medieval Hindu temple complex in the region, Koneswaram
Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...
of Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
. Excavations at the complex mandapam
Mandapa
A mandapa in Indian architecture is a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public rituals.-Temple architecture:...
's partially buried ruins of granite pillars, stairs and slab stonework over the entire town have led to numerous findings. Reflecting the high points of Pallava artistic influence and contributions to the south of the island are the temple's 5th-7th century statues of Ganesh, the Lingam
Lingam
The Lingam is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples....
, sculpture of Nandi and the Vishnu shrine's 10th century Makara Thoranam (stone gateway), the frame and lintel of which include small guardians, a lustrated Lakshmi
Lakshmi
Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
, dancers, musicians, ganas
Gana
The word ' , in Sanskrit, means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series, class" . It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims".In Hinduism, the s are attendants of Shiva...
, and yali-riders
Yali (Hindu mythology)
Yali , also known as Vyalam or Sarabham in Sanskrit, is a mythical creature seen in many Hindu temples, often sculpted onto the pillars. Yali is a mythical lion, and it has been widely used in south Indian sculpture. Descriptions of and references to yalis are very old, but they became prominent in...
.
Tenavaram temple was built on vaulted arches on the promontory overlooking the Indian ocean. The central gopuram
Gopuram
A Gopuram or Gopura, is a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of any temple, especially in Southern India. This forms a prominent feature of Koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style. They are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial...
tower of the vimana
Vimana (shrine)
Vimana is a term for the tower above the Garbhagriha or Sanctum sanctorum in a Hindu temple.-Architecture:A typical Hindu temple in Dravidian style may have multiple gopurams, typically constructed into multiple walls in tiers around the main shrine...
and the other gopura towers that dominated the town were covered with plates of gilded brass, gold and copper on their roofs. Its outer body featured intricately carved domes, with elaborate arches and gates opening to various verandas and shrines of the complex, giving Tenavaram the appearance of a golden city to sailors who visited the port to trade and relied on its light reflecting gopura roofs for navigational purposes.
Tenavaram remains one of the destroyed Dravidian temples that has yet to be properly rebuilt by Tamil Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s. Due to religious and demographic change after the late 18th century, most surrounding villages and towns are not directly associated with the town. The Vishnu Devale and Buddhist temples have been constructed atop the ruins.
Etymology
Dondra HeadDondra Head
Dondra Head is a cape on the extreme southern tip of Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean, near the small town of Dondra near Galle, Southern Province, Sri Lanka...
is known historically in Tamil as Then-thurai, Tevan-thurai, Tennavan-thurai, Tendhira Thottam, Tenavaram and Tanaveram which are variations of the same meaning "Lord of the Southern Port" in the language. Then or Ten is an anglicized form of the Tamil word for South while Tennavan ("Southerner") is a historic ephitet denoting the Hindu God Shiva in the language, used by Tamil poets and simultaneously used as an honorable description of several Pandyan
Early Pandyan Kingdom
The Early Pandyas of the Sangam period were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country, the other two being the Cholas and the Cheras. As with many other kingdoms around this period , most of the information about the Early Pandyas come to us mainly through literary sources and...
kings. Tevan is God, Thurai means port, Thottam means "estate" while varam or waram denotes the Lord's abode Iswaram. The shrines' primary deity Vishnu shared the name of the town, Tenavarai Nayanar, at the southern-most point of the island. The northernmost Vishnu shrine of the island, Vallipuram Vishnu Kovil
Vallipuram
Vallipuram was an ancient capital of Northern Kingdoms of Sri Lanka. Point Pedro is the nearest town. Vallipuram is a part of Thunnalai.This place is settled by migrants from a town called Vallipuram near Namakkal which is near Coimbatore. Naga names are found in India. Nagpur, Nagar Kovil,...
, houses the ancient deity Vallipuram Alwar following a similar naming tradition.
The Ganesh shrine of the temple was known as the Ganeshwaran Kovil and the Shiva shrine of the complex was known as Naga-Risa Nila Kovil. This name is possibly etymologically related to Nagareshu, from the famous phrase Nagareshu Kanchi coined by the 5th century poet Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
in describing Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
as the "best city." Nila means blue while Kovil or Koil means a Tamil Hindu temple in Tamil. The whole complex was the southernmost shrine of the five ancient Iswarams of Lord Shiva on the island of classical antiquity along with Koneswaram
Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...
(Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
), Naguleswaram
Naguleswaram temple
-See also:* Hinduism in Sri Lanka* Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil* Vallipuram* Keerimalai* Kantharodai-External links:******...
(Keerimalai
Keerimalai
Keerimalai is a town in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. Naguleswaram temple is located in this suburb also a mineral water spring called Keerimalai Springs reputed for its curative properties.In Tamil Keerimalai means Mongoose-Hill, see Naguleswaram temple....
), Thiruketheeshwaram
Ketheeswaram temple
Ketheeswaram temple is an ancient Hindu temple in Mannar, Northern Province Sri Lanka. Overlooking the ancient period Tamil port towns of Manthai and Kudiramalai, the temple has lay in ruins, been restored, renovated and enlarged by various royals and devotees throughout its history...
(Mannar
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...
) and Munneswaram
Munneswaram temple
Munneswaram temple is an important regional Hindu temple complex in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country. It has been in existence at least since 1000 CE, although myths surrounding the temple associate it with the popular Indian epic Ramayana, and its legendary hero-king Rama...
(Puttalam
Puttalam
Puttalam is the capital city of the Puttalam District in North Western Province, Sri Lanka.-History:The history of this dry zone dates back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya, nearly 2500 years ago, when his vessel washed ashore. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of the Tamil word Uppuththalam...
).
In Pali the town is called Devapura and Devanagara. In Sinhalese it has been referred to as Devinuwara, meaning City of Gods and Devundara.
In English today the town is known as Dondra or Dondera. It was a prolific sea port and capital city in medieval Sri Lanka and housed merchants from around Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, amongst whom were many traders from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
.
Early History
A map drawn by early GreekGreeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
cartographers reveals the existence of a Hindu temple at the same location along the southern coast. Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
in 98 CE marks the town as "Dagana" or "Dana" (Sacra Luna), a place "sacred to the moon," which geographers note corresponds to Tenavaram. In this temple the principal deity was known as "Chandra Maul Eshwaran". On the forehead of the deity was a large precious stone shaped like a moon crescent. Ancient Tamil texts such as the Yalpana Vaipava Malai
Yalpana Vaipava Malai
Yalpana Vaipava Malai is a book written by a Tamil poet called Mayilvagana Pulavar 1736 AD. This book contains historical facts of the early Tamil city of Jaffna. The book which may have been written around 1736 during the Governorship of Jan Maccara, the then Dutch Governor of Jaffna. It was...
call the town Theivanthurai (God's Port) and the deity's name Santhira Segaram or "Lord Shiva, wearer of moon on his head". This shrine became known as the Naga-Risa Nila Kovil of Tenavaram by the medieval period, and as "Tondeswaram", one of the five ancient Ishwarams of Shiva in the region.
Construction development in 6th - 8th century CE
There is scattered literary and archeological evidence from local and foreign sources describing the division of the whole island in the first few centuries of the common era between two kingdoms. The accounts of 6th century Greek merchant Cosmas IndicopleustesCosmas Indicopleustes
Cosmas Indicopleustes was an Alexandrian merchant and later hermit, probably of Nestorian tendencies. He was a 6th-century traveller, who made several voyages to India during the reign of emperor Justinian...
who visited the island around the time of King Simhavishnu
Simhavishnu
Simhavishnu , also known as Avanisimha , son of Simhavarman III and one of the Pallava kings of India, was responsible for the revival of the Pallavan dynasty. He was the first Pallava monarch whose domain extended beyond Kanchipuram in the South...
of Pallava's rule in Tamilakam reveal the presence of two kings, one of whom was based in Jaffna, home to a great emporium, who ruled the coastal districts around the island. This Tamil kingdom evolved from Nāka Nadu of the ancient Nāka Dynasty. Merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
guilds from Tamilakkam often built from scratch or maintained previously built shrines to Lord Shiva and Vishnu across South and South East Asia during the rule of Pallava, Chola
Chola Dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
and Pandyan kings. During the conquest of Ceylon by Pallava King Narasimhavarman I
Narasimhavarman I
Narasimhavarman I was a Tamil king of the Pallava dynasty who ruled South India from 630–668 CE. He shared his father Mahendravarman I's love of art and completed the work started by Mahendravarman in Mahabalipuram....
(630 - 668 CE) and the rule of the island by his grandfather and devout Vishnu devotee, King Simhavishnu (537 - 590 CE), many Pallava-built rock temples were erected in the region to various deities and this style of architecture remained popular and highly influential in the next few centuries. The temple complex was developed with a Pallava style of architecture between the 6th and 8th century CE.
One tradition states that a temple shrine in Tenavaram was constructed by King Aggabodhi IV in the middle of the 7th century CE, fusing Dravidian stone-made temple construction with a local interpretation. The Kegalla district
Kegalle District
Kegalle is a district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 1,663 km². It was a former Dissavani of Sri Lanka. Has a population of 785,524 according to census 2001.-Physical Information:...
ola manuscript found by archaeologist Harry Charles Purvis Bell
Harry Charles Purvis Bell
Harry Charles Purvis Bell , more often known as HCP Bell, was a British civil servant, a commissioner in the Ceylon Civil Service. Appointed an official archaeologist, he carried out many excavations in Ceylon , for the Archaeological Survey, during an appointment running from 1890 to 1912After...
records another popular tradition, involving the arrival of a red sandalwood Vishnu image at Tenavarai by the sea in 790 CE. King Dappula Sen was involved in restoring the Vishnu shrine of the complex during this time to house the image after envisioning its arrival in a dream. The manuscript indicates several Tamil pilgrims' arrived at Tenavaram at this time, and how the King granted its lands to the Hindus who accompanied an image of Vishnu. The Chief Brahmin Priest/merchant prince who brought the image was called Rama Chandra, (a name which alludes to Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
, an incarnation of Vishnu). The sandalwood image was moved soon after to other shrines inland. Some scholars regard the story of a sandalwood image washing ashore to be mythical. A 17th century literature source details that right after the washing ashore of the wood image, Tamil Brahmins versed in Vaishnava lore from Rameswaram in Pallava-era Tamilakkam were invited to the town to fashion and import an image of Lord Vishnu to Tenavaram. Other sources indicate the Tamils brought the statue to Tenavaram for safe-keeping as Rameswaram was under attack. Rama Chandra founded the Ganesh Kovil of Tenavaram in 790, located at Vallemadama on the sea coast, where the waves struck its walls at the Kovil Vatta. The Naga Risa Nila Kovil of Shiva was in the vicinity of this area of Tenavaram. Rama Chandra's name was recited daily at the conclusion of worship during the early hours of the morning. Hymns in praise of God were recited by Tamil priests attached to the temple. These priests settled in the established agraharam
Agraharam
An Agraharam or Agrahara is the name given to the Brahmin quarter of a heterogenous village or to any village inhabited by Brahmins...
. In traditional Hindu practice of architecture and town-planning, an agraharam consists of two rows of houses running north-south on either side of a road. At one end exists a temple to Shiva and at the other end, a temple to Vishnu. Another famous example of this is Vadiveeswaram
Vadiveeswaram
Vadiveeswaram is a village, now part of the town of Nagercoil, in Kanyakumari district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The village was originally an agraharam, or a traditional double line of houses occupied by Brahmins and flanking a temple or pair of temples...
in Tamil Nadu.
The complex's many shrines are historically attested in grants, inscriptions and local literature. Epigraphical evidence in several languages found in the vicinity relate information about its shrines to Murukan, his goddess consorts, Ganesh, the goddess deification of Kannagi
Kannagi
Kannagi or , a legendary Tamil woman, is the central character of the South Indian epic Silapathikaram. Legend states that Kannagi took revenge on the King of Madurai, for a mistaken death penalty imposed on her husband Kovalan, by cursing the city with disaster.-The story:Kovalan, the son of a...
, Vishnu and Shiva. Tenavaram became a famous Tamil emporium over the following few centuries. A ferry transported traders, pilgrims and chroniclers from Tenavaram to the Chera
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
and Chola kingdoms of Tamilakkam via Puttalam
Puttalam
Puttalam is the capital city of the Puttalam District in North Western Province, Sri Lanka.-History:The history of this dry zone dates back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya, nearly 2500 years ago, when his vessel washed ashore. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of the Tamil word Uppuththalam...
on the western shore of the island (then an extension of the Malabar coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
and Hindu Jaffna kingdom
Jaffna Kingdom
The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...
) and the Gulf of Mannar
Gulf of Mannar
The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka. A chain of low islands and reefs known as Adam's Bridge, also called Ramsethu, which includes Mannar Island, separates the...
from this time through to the late medieval period.
Floruit in the 11th - 16th century CE
The royal grant by DambadeniyanKingdom of Dambadeniya
-Founding:Four kings ruled from here. They were,# Vijayabahu III # Parakramabahu II # Vijayabahu IV # Bhuvanekabahu I The first king to choose Dambadeniya as his capital was Vijayabahu III...
King Parakramabahu II, who ruled from 1236 to 1270, contains references to donations to the Tenavaram Kovil, renovating the shrine and reaffirming its land ownership and regulations to prevent evasion of customs duties at the port by traders at the estate. According to this epigraph, Tendiratota and its lands that were religious endowments of old were duly maintained by the king. The port was administered by an officer titled Mahapandita. Those coming from foreign countries were not allowed to set up places of business without permission and royal officials were required not to accept gifts from foreign merchants. His epigraph also mentions the devalayam (a Tamil temple in formal speech) section of worship and Tenavaram's agraharam (brahmadeya or chaturvedimangalam) - the Iyer
Iyer
Iyer is the title given to the caste of Hindu Brahmin communities of Tamil origin. Most Iyers are followers of the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara...
or Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmins are Tamil-speaking Brahmins from Tamil Nadu who have settled in other South Indian states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka...
quarter of the heterogenous Tenavaram village as warranting protection. A close connection existed over a long period between the Iyers of the agraharam of Tenavaram and the kings who had exercised authority over the southern and southwestern lowlands. Pocaracan Pantitan of Tenavarai, who carried the honorary designation Tenuvaraipperumal before his name, wrote the Caracotimalai, a treatise on astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
in metrical Tamil verse. The author recited it in the presence of the king at the court of Kurunegal in 1324. A panegyric account of the royal patron at this court, Parakramabahu IV (1302 – 1326) of Dambadeniya, is in the introductory stanzas of this work. The author's honourific title, Tenuvarai-Perumal, literally means "The Prince of Tenavarai." Several other Tamil Hindus are mentioned with the special designation Tenuvarai Perumal in documents issued by the kings of the Kotte Kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries, such as Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte
Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte
Bhuvanekabahu VII was King of Kotte in the sixteenth century, who ruled from 1521 to 1551. He succeeded his father Vijayabahu VII as king and was his eldest son. Bhuvanekabahu VII was succeeded by his grandson Dharmapala...
, a Hindu monarch who signed all of his official proclamations in Tamil. Among the names of many Hindus listed in the Kudumirissa Inscription are included those of two individuals who had the designation Tenuvarai-p-perumal. They are Tiskhanda Tenuvarapperumal and Sarasvati Tenuvarapperumal. These "Perumals" were officiating priests of the temple and exercised authority over the administration of the town and the temple.
The Dondra slab inscriptions record the granting of lands to the Vishnu shrine in the fourteenth century. Endowments to the Shiva shrine and extensive donations of lands to it were made during the reign of King Alagakkonara
Alagakkonara
Alagakkonara or Allegakoen or Alakeshwara is a name of a prominent feudal family that provided powerful ministers and military rulers during the medieval period in Sri Lanka. Although some historian say that the family was of Malayalee origin others say it originated in Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu,...
, a Raigama
Kingdom of Raigama
Raigama, according to some historians, was the seventh capital of ancient Lanka, after Anuradhapura , Polonnaruwa , Dambadeniya , Yapahuwa , Kurunegala and Gampola...
chief who ruled the south between 1397 and 1409. The Naymanai inscription slab of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte (1412-1467), written in Tamil and Sanskrit in Tamil
Tamil script
The Tamil script is a script that is used to write the Tamil language as well as other minority languages such as Badaga, Irulas, and Paniya...
and Grantha characters found in a jungle two miles north of Matara by Edward Müller, mentions that the king gave fields and gardens in the villages of Cunkankola, Pakarakaramullai, Vertuvai and Naymanai as endowments to Tenavaram. The grant was made for the specific purpose of providing alms for and feeding a group of twelve Brahmins at an alms-hall (Sattiram) named after "Devaraja", which was maintained regularly/daily without interruption (nicatam natakkira). The alms-hall was in the vicinity (iracarkal tiru – c - cannatiyil nisadam madakkira sattirattukku tiru-v-ullamparrina ur) or the premises of the holy shrine of the “god king” of Tenavaram. The conquest of Jaffna kingdom
Jaffna Kingdom
The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...
by Sapumal Kumaraya
Sapumal Kumaraya
Bhuvanekabahu VI or Chempaha Perumal or Sapumal Kumaraya was by self admission an adopted son of Parakramabâhu VI whose principal achievement was the conquest of Jaffna Kingdom in the year 1447 or 1450. He ruled the Kingdom for 17 years when he was apparently summoned to the south after the demise...
, a military leader sent by the Kotte king in 1450, was celebrated in the Kokila Sandesaya ("Message carried by Kokila bird") written in the 15th century and contains a contemporary description of the island traversed by the road taken by the cookoo bird, from Tenavaram in the south to Nallur
Nallur (Jaffna)
Nallur , , is a small holy town within the present day city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It is located 3 km away from the colour and bustle of Jaffna Town. Originally known by its Royal term "Singai Nagar", Nallur formerly functioned as the capital of the ancient Jaffna kingdom for many years during...
("Beautiful City") in Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
in the north. It and other extant Sandesas mention the Vishnu shrine of Tenavaram and some of the gopurams' three storeys. The Tisara Sandesa, Kokila Sandesa and Paravi Sandesa mention the Ganesh shrine's location on the sea coast of Tenavaram. The lands owned by the Shiva shrine were detailed by King Vijayabahu VI in a 1510 dated record. Early 16th century copperplate inscriptions of the King Vijayabahu VII detail the land grants made by the king in the town on the condition that the recipient paid ten fanams
Madras fanam
The fanam was a currency issued by the Madras Presidency until 1815. It circulated alongside the Indian rupee, also issued by the Presidency. The fanam was a small silver coin, subdivided into 80 copper cash, with the gold pagoda worth 42 fanams. The rupee was worth 12 fanams...
a year to the Vishnu shrine. The grants were to be enjoyed permanently by the children, the grandchildren, and the descendants of astrologers and veda – vyasaru, including Tenuvarai Perumala, a son of (one of) them.
The Morrocan traveller Ibn Batuta visited the temple in the 14th century and described the deity Dinawar as sharing the same name as the flourishing trade town in which He resided, made of gold and the size of a man with two large rubies as eyes "that lit up like lanterns during the night." One thousand Hindus and Yogis were attached to this vast temple for services, with five hundred girls that danced and sang in front of the Mahavishnu idol. All people living within the vicinity of the temple and who visited it were fed with monetary endowments that were made to the idol.
The complex received revenues from seventy villages. Substantial donations of gold, silver silks and sandalwood were made from the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
admiral Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
to Tenavaram temple in 1411 CE, as detailed in the Galle Trilingual Inscription
Galle Trilingual Inscription
The Galle Trilingual Inscription was a stone tablet inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, that was erected in 1411 in Galle, Sri Lanka to commemorate the second visit to the island by the Chinese admiral Zheng He...
. The text concerns offerings made by him and others to various religions including the God of Tamils Tenavarai Nayanar, an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, on behalf of the Yongle Emperor
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor , born Zhu Di , was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. His Chinese era name Yongle means "Perpetual Happiness".He was the Prince of Yan , possessing a heavy military base in Beiping...
. Several stone pillars here were erected through donation from Chinese kings, inscribed with letters of their nation as a token of their devotion to Tenavaram's idols. The chief deity mentioned and the donation of the trilingual inscription have also been connected to Shiva and his adjacent shrine - Nayanar
Nayanar
Nayanar can refer to:*Nayanars, Shaivite saints from Tamil Nadu, India.*Nayanar , an honorific title used by certain clans of Nair caste from the north Malabar region of Kerala, India.*Nayanar, title used by Isai Vellalar of Tamil Nadu...
were historic Saivite Tamil saints who worshipped Shiva and lived between the 5th and 10th centuries in Tamil Nadu. The admiral invoked the blessings of Hindu deities here for a peaceful world built on trade. Portuguese cartographers such as Tomé Pires
Tomé Pires
Tomé Pires was an apothecary from Lisbon who spent 1512 to 1515 in Malacca immediately after the Portuguese conquest, at a time when Europeans were only first arriving in South East Asia...
who visited the island in the early 1500s describe Tenavarqe as an important trading and navigation port of the south, full of precious stones.
Tenavaram's gold-copper gilded roofs earned it fame amongst pilgrims and sailors, due to navigational purposes and its contribution to the town's appearance as a "golden city." Encompassed by a quadrangular cloister which opened under verandahs and terraces to the various deities' shrines, the complex contained gardens of shrubs and trees which priests used to pluck offerings to the deities. The Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
historian Diogo do Couto
Diogo do Couto
Diogo de Couto was a portuguese historian.-Biography:He was born in Lisbon in 1542 and studied Latin and Rhetoric at Saint Antão College and philosophy at the convent at Benfica...
stated that along with Adam's Peak
Adam's Peak
Sri Pada , is a tall conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka...
, Tenavarai was the most celebrated temple on the island, and the most visited pilgrimage site of the south with a circuit of a full league, while his fellow Portuguese historian De Quieroz compares the temple port town's splendor to that of the Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...
of Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
and states that Lord Vishnu was the primary deity of the destroyed shrine of Tenavarai.
Destruction
The Portuguese called the great shrine the "Pagode of Tanauarê." It was destroyed in February 1588 by soldiers led by the Portuguese colonial Thome De Souza d'Arronches, a naval captain. The temple was attacked to distract the Sitawakan kingKingdom of Sitawaka
The Kingdom of Sitawaka was a kingdom located in south-central Sri Lanka. It emerged from the division of the kingdom of Kotte following the Spoiling of Vijayabahu in 1521, and over the course of the next seventy years came to dominate much of the island. Sitawaka also offered fierce resistance to...
Rajasimha I who was laying siege to the city Columbo
Columbo
Columbo is an American crime fiction television film series, which starred Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. It was created by William Link and Richard Levinson. The show popularized the inverted detective story format...
on the island's west coast at the time. De Sousa entered the complex to find it empty, giving up the temple to the plunder of 120 accompanying soldiers before looting its riches of ivory, gems and sandalwood, overthrowing thousands of statues and idols of the temple before leveling the complex and defiling the inner court by slaughtering cows there. The area was then burnt. Also destroyed was the deity's magnificent wooden temple car
Temple car
Temple cars are chariots used to carry representations of Hindu gods. The car is usually used on festival days, when many people pull the cart....
. De Quieroz, writing a century after the destruction, states that a large Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Church, the St Lucia's Cathedral was then built on the temple's foundation by Franciscans, sufficed to maintain three Portuguese churches. Ruins of several granite pillars from one of the Tenavaram shrines and an intricately designed stone doorway retain Pallava architectural influence, similar to rediscovered pillars of the ancient Koneswaram temple that was destroyed almost forty years later. James Emerson Tennent
James Emerson Tennent
Sir James Emerson Tennent, 1st Baronet FRS , born James Emerson, was an Irish politician and traveller. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 5 June 1862....
describes Tenavaram as the most sumptuous Hindu temple complex of the island before its destruction.
Ruins and rediscovery
18th century chroniclers such as orientalistOriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
Captain Colin Mackenzie
Colin Mackenzie
Colonel Colin Mackenzie was Surveyor General of India, and an art collector and orientalist.Mackenzie was born in Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, Scotland...
and the author Robert Percival described the Hindu ruins of several temples that they saw in the town as contemporary to the finest examples of suriviving ancient Tamil architecture and sculpture of the Coromandel Coast
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
of Tamil Nadu. The granite slabs, stone works and pillars of the ruins include several elephant heads and carvings of naked men and women and indicated lingam worship to the visitors. James Cordiner, writing in 1807, described the colonnade of 200 granite pillars having curved bases and capitals and others rough edged, forming an avenue to the sea, leading to an intricately carved doorway with several Hindu sculptures attached. He describes intersections of rows of pillars with this avenue proceeding to the right and left. Cordiner recounts the discovery of the ancient stone image of Ganesh worshipped in a mud hut at the site. The shrine's well had been covered by a stone slab. Another shrine dedicated to Murugan
Murugan
Murugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
of Kathirkamam was also present and revered during his visit. Many of the stones of the ruins of the Tenavaram complex were used to build the Matara Fort by the colonists.
Sinhalese Buddhist temples of smaller size and a much later period had come to be erected over the Tamil Hindu ruins in some locations according to their observations. The discoveries of the late 20th century indicate that a Buddhist Vihara has come to be erected where the Lord Shiva or Ganesh shrine of the complex has been located by archaeologists.
20th century recovery of idols
A small stone building currently called the Galge or Galgane at Tenavaram that once is held to have supported a brick dome or upper storeys (Vimana tower) atop its roof displays a Dravidian provincial style of construction and architecture assigned to the late Pallava period with strong affiliations to the Kailasanathar TempleKailasanathar Temple
The Kailasanath temple is the oldest temple of Kanchipuram, located in Tamil Nadu, India. It is Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Siva and known for its historical presence...
in Kanchipuram. Likely to have been the Vimanam
Vimana (shrine)
Vimana is a term for the tower above the Garbhagriha or Sanctum sanctorum in a Hindu temple.-Architecture:A typical Hindu temple in Dravidian style may have multiple gopurams, typically constructed into multiple walls in tiers around the main shrine...
-Garbhagriha
Garbhagriha
Garbhagriha or Garbha griha is the small unlit shrine of a Hindu temple.Garbhagriha or ' is a Sanskrit word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides the murti of the primary deity of the temple...
or Sreekovil
Sreekovil
The Sreekovil, also known as the Sanctum sanctorum, is the building in which the idol of the deity in a Hindu temple is installed.The area around the Sreekovil is referred as to the Chuttapalam, which generally includes other deities and the main boundary wall of the temple...
of one of the shrines, this building was reconstructed/repaired in 1947. It is a simple cuboid stone room structure with a flat roof currently atop its sanctum.
A Shiva lingam sculpture was found in the foreground of the Othpilima Vihara at the site in 1998 by a gardener along with a stone image of Nandi. It is 4 ft high and 2½ feet wide. A stone image of Ganesh and Nandi had been excavated decades earlier at the site Kovil Vatta - gardens of a newly constructed Buddhist Vihara in the Vallemadama area of Tevan Thurai.
The lingam's large size has led archaeologists to conclude it could be the principal idol of the ancient temple. The Avudaiyar or the pedestal of the Shiva linga is a thin slab; the upright or vertical portion is tall and slender. The Nandi ishapam (statue of Nandi) found with the lingam dates from the Pallava
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...
era. Other discoveries include statues of the Hindu god Ganesh and a goddess said to be Pattini
Pattini
In Sinhala Buddhist belief the Pattini is a guardian deity of Buddhism. She is the deification of Kannagi, who is the central character of the Tamil epic Silapadhikaram of Ilango Adigal...
/Kannagi
Kannagi
Kannagi or , a legendary Tamil woman, is the central character of the South Indian epic Silapathikaram. Legend states that Kannagi took revenge on the King of Madurai, for a mistaken death penalty imposed on her husband Kovalan, by cursing the city with disaster.-The story:Kovalan, the son of a...
. The garland decorated gateway to the original shrine, dating from the 10th century, is well preserved at the site. One of two styles of Thoranam to typical Kerala style temples, (lion-sea dragon or peacock crowned), the Makara Thoranam's (gateway's) frame and lintel include small guardians, dancers, musicians, ganas
Gana
The word ' , in Sanskrit, means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series, class" . It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims".In Hinduism, the s are attendants of Shiva...
, and yali-riders
Yali (Hindu mythology)
Yali , also known as Vyalam or Sarabham in Sanskrit, is a mythical creature seen in many Hindu temples, often sculpted onto the pillars. Yali is a mythical lion, and it has been widely used in south Indian sculpture. Descriptions of and references to yalis are very old, but they became prominent in...
. There is a lustration of the goddess Lakshmi
Lakshmi
Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
in the center of the lintel.