Koneswaram Temple

Koneswaram Temple

Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee (Tamil: திருக் கோணேச்சரம் கோயில்) also known as the Thirukonamamalai Konesar Kovil, the Temple of the Thousand Pillars and Thiru-Konamamalai Maccakeswaram Kovil, is a Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites. It is built atop Swami Rock, a rocky promontory cape overlooking Trincomalee, a classical period harbour port town. The primary deity is the Hindu god Lord Shiva in the form Konesar. Koneswaram is the most famous Hindu temple of the island, and at its peak was revered as the "Rome of the Pagans/Hindus of the Orient" in Europe and the Middle East.

The original temple (kovil) was developed between 300 and 1600 by Tamil kings and artisans. It was the main shrine of the Trincomalee Koneswaram Temple Compounds, one of three ancient connected Hindu temples on Swami rock with a considerably sized gopuram in a complex of nine major courtyard compounds. The Konesar temple stood distinctly in the middle of the cape at its highest eminence, with other shrines to deities Ganesh, Vishnu (Thirumal), Ambal-Shakti and Murukan stretching across the complex to its extremities. Key features combined to form its basic Dravidian temple plan, such as a thousand pillared hall (Tamil: ஆயிரம் கால் மண்டபம் Aayiram Kaal Mandapam) and the Jagati. Elaborate sculptural bas-relief ornamentation adorned a black granite megalith with multiple gopuram towers, a style that was popular on the subcontinent and admired by poets, royals, pilgrims and sailors worldwide. The village of Thirukonamalai (currently Trincomalee) was located on the isthmus of the cape within the compounds. In its floruit, the temple was royally granted ownership of several surrounding villages, and this land in addition to the property of the city composed the Trincomalee District. Revenue from the temple provided services and food to Trincomalee residents.

The temple was largely destroyed in colonial attacks between 1622 and 1624 and a fort was built at the site from its debris. Local Hindu Tamils rebuilt the shrine in the 1950s with much more modest dimensions. Soon after, underwater ruins of the Ati Konanayakar temple (built 1632) were rediscovered by Arthur C. Clarke and photographer Mike Wilson, with some sculptures and idols from the destroyed Koneswaram. These included the lingam, believed to be Swayambhu, and ancient Chola bronze idols.

In Kanda Puranam, the epic authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar, Koneswaram is venerated as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Thillai Chidambaram Temple and Mount Kailash. Koneswaram is a Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 275 Shiva Sthalams heralded as a grand seat of Shiva worship in the 6th-7th century works Tevaram, hymns of the Tirumurai canon written by the Nayanar saints Thirugnana Sambandhar and Sundarar. Legends associate the temple compound with Ramayana and Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology. Its longitudinal position and preeminence in Saivite belief earned it the epithet Dakshina/Then Kailasam (Mount Kailash of the South), while it is the easternmost shrine of the five ancient Iswarams of Shiva on the island, administered and frequented by Tamil Hindus throughout its history.

The modern temple has been a source of conflict between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils due to its position in a geo-strategically important area. The annual Koneswaram Temple Ther Thiruvilah festival involves the Pathirakali Amman Temple of Trincomalee, the Pavanasam Theertham at the temple's ancient Papanasachunai holy well and the proximal Back Bay Sea (Theertham Karatkarai) surrounding Swami Rock.

Some scholars have suggested that the worship of the almighty god Eiswara on Swami Rock is the most ancient form of worship existing.