Hinduism

Annual festival of Bandarawela Sri Siva Subramaniya Devasthanam

P. Kulendrakumar

Bandarawela Sri Siva Subramaniya Swamy Devasthanam which is located in the close proximity of the town is surrounded by the high ranges of hills of tea estates, was erected with the strenuous effort of Mr. A.S. Muthaiah Pillai along with the other honorable leaders in 1937.

Ravi Studio,Bandarawela.

The Devasthanam committee at present consists of five administrative committee members and the poojas and rituals are performed under the direction of this committee members at a great ceremonially by the chief priest Rev. Siva Shri Balakugeswara Kurukkal regularly.

In 1972, then Devasthana committee established the young men Hindu Association for the betterment and infrastructural development.

This association extends its service even now to the improvement of spiritualism, education, educational seminars etc, for the benefit of the Tamil speaking community.

The adjoining premises of the Devasthanam is the cultural Hall.

Which was erected in view of being beneficial to Tamil community of Bandarawela to have their weddings, puberty ceremonies, cultural events etc. and this hall could accommodate approximately a crowd of one thousand people.

Quite recently, the inhabitants of Bandarawela splendidly celebrated the annual festival of Sri Siva Subramaniya Devasthanam which also coincided with the Posan religious observances in the month of June.

The festival was celebrated for twelve consecutive days and each day the temple was full of devotees praying and taking part in the religious rituals performed at scheduled auspicious times. The well – wishers of temple activities offered alms giving in their turns generously to the devotees. The people in Bandarawela celebrated the festival in harmony with the spirit of the “Bagavath Geetha’s teachings irrespective of caste, creed, colour and religion”. On the 9th day of these festival three colorful chariots were taken in procession along the main street of the town.

The streets and shops were seen decorated with plantain trees, leaf streamers and colourful lights.

Thousands of devotees both Hindus and Buddhist participated in the event with devotion and offered poojas and performed religious returns as well.

The students of Bandarawela Tamil Central College performed cultural programme such as ‘Kavadi dance’, ‘Kolattam’, singing devotional songs etc along the tri-chariots procession. The students of the nearby schools had come to witness the tri-chariots procession and participated in the poojas and rituals. The Devasthana administrative committee members Niththyanandan J.P., V. Maruthapillai J.P., M. Jayakumar, Lion A. Ganeshan and S. Sivabalan had undertaken this herculean task and successfully executed the twelve consecutive days festival splendidly. The chairman of Bandarawela Municipal Council Hon. L.W. Chaminda Wijesiri, for Vice chairman and the present members of the municipal council S. Sathyamoorthy, R. Ragupathy also participated in the tri-chariots procession and graced the occasion.

Thiruketheeswaram temple and its ancient glory

Chelvatamby Maniccavasagar

Thiruketheeswaram is an ancient and historical temple in Manthoddam situated in the Mannar District about seven miles north of the Mannar town. According to the legends this temple is considered to be famous since “Kethu Bagavan” worshipped Lord Eeswaram. Hence this Holy Shrine acquired the name of Thiruketheeswaram.

According to Dr. Paul E. Peiris, an erudite scholar and historian, long before the arrival of Vijaya (6th century BC) there was in Ceylon five recognised Eeswarams of Lord Shiva which claimed and received adoration of Ceylon and India.These were “Thiruketheeswaram,” Munneswaram, Thondeswaram, Thirukoneswaram and Naguleswaram.

Even another well-known historian, “Cassiechetty” had said that Manthoddam was a centre of international trade. Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Ethiopians, Persians, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese and others vied with each other at various times to monopolise the trade of North Ceylon.

Thiruketheeswaram which is dedicated to the worship of the supreme God Shiva has been the most venerated temple for centuries. This temple and the holy waters of the Palavi Tank by its side are venerated in the sacred hymns of the two foremost Saiva Saints namely “Thirugnana Sampanthar” and “Suntharar” who lived in the 7th and 8th centuries respectively.

This great temple was completely destroyed by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the very stones of this temple were used by them to build the Fort of Mannar, the churches and also the Hammershield Fort at Kayts.

In fact “Srila Sri Arumuganavalar” who was responsible for renaissance of Saivisim in Sri Lanka in the 19th century made the Hindus realize that they were duty bound to rebuild this historic temple. Following his appeal made in 1872, the exact location of the destroyed temple was traced and a land in extend of about 40 acres was purchased by Nattucoddai Chettiar on 13th December 1893 at an auction held at Jaffna Kachcheri and some restoration work was done in the early part of the 20th century.

In fact a small temple was re-consecrated on the 28th June 1903. The central shrine was reconstructed and re-consecrated in about 1921 by the Hindu public servants who worked in Mannar and it was then that Talaimannar Railway line was constructed. It is also said that with the passage of time the management of the temple passed into the hands of the Nattucoddai Chettiars of Colombo who maintained the temple for a few years. However, it was on 28th October 1948, a Temple Restoration Society was formed which dedicated itself to the task of building a proper Sivan Temple in conformity with Saiva Agamar and with sculptured granite stones. Work was commenced on 28th November 1953 and it was completed as 14th September 1956. The consecration ceremony of the renovated temple was held on 31st October 1960. Indeed, it was the first phase of reconstruction. Further renovations were done by the Tiruketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society and another Mahakumbabhisekam was held on the 4th July 1976.

Praiseworthy contribution

Even though, several devotees and philanthropists had done tremendous service for the renovation and restoration of this ancient and historical temple, the dedication, devotion and commitment rendered by Sir Kandiah Vaithiyanathan should be written in golden letters. He was the President of the All Ceylon Hindu Congress and President of Thiruketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society for more than ten years and performed numerous restoration works.

Dynamism

Blessed with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy, enthusiasm, inspiration and quickness of thoughts he accomplished several construction and restoration works.

Further, no field of endeavour was left untouched by the swaying amplitude of his imagination, the encompassing sweep of his thought, the penetrating yet lucid felicity of his words and the indefatigable zeal of his actions. No words he left an indelible impression on most of what he touched with rare dynamism and exemplary zeal.

Possessed of a sparkling versatile genuine he illumined any and every task which he undertook with extra sense of devotion, dedication, commitment combined with a unique organizing ability and with a dedicated harmonizing touch. During his period a tar road, electricity, post office, bell tower were constructed for the sake of devotees.

Even the great Tamil and Saiva scholar S. Sivapathasundarampillai who was born in Puloly, Point Pedro on 17.01.1878 rendered immense service to the Thiruketheeswaram Temple in various ways with the help and co-operation of eminent sculptor “Chellakanna” and building constructor Narasimman.

Talents

Further, E. Namasivayam who was the secretary and president of this temple restoration society for several years was a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional personality who took all possible and positive steps for the betterment and improvement of this temple.

The President of the All Ceylon Hindu Congress and President of Thiruketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society Mr. Kailasapillai and General Secretary of the All Ceylon Hindu Congress Mr. Kandiah Neelakandan should be highly commended for the tremendous service they are rendering to this temple now. Recently, the chariot festival and water-cutting ceremony of this temple were very successful since devotees from all parts of Sri Lanka participated in large numbers due to the peaceful atmosphere which prevails in the country today.

Hence, let us pray to God Shiva at Thiruketheeswaran and receive his divine blessings