Shankari devi is one of the most
important peethas among the 18 Maha Shakti peethas. It is believed that the
Groin of Sati Devi has fallen here when Lord Vishnu has cut her corpse with
Sudarshana chakra. Here Devi Sati is worshipped as Shankari Devi and Lord Shiva
as Trikoneshwara. This temple is located in Trimkomali, or Trincomalee on the
eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Shankari Devi temple is located on a hill top.
Trikoneshwara temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. “Ravana
Veddu” is the other name for the hill on which Lord Trikoneshwara temple is
situated.
The deity was worshipped more than
2500 years ago, even before Prince Vijay one of the first Kings who is said to
have landed in Sri Lanka during 300 BC. The Trikoneshwara temple at its height
of glory was one of the richest temples in the South. The ancient Shiva temple
was a large structure on the rock. According to Archaeological and literary
evidence, there were at least three temples on the hill top. The Gopurams of
the temples were taller than one another and the tallest gopuram overseeing the
Indian Ocean, had the main deity. The main temple itself was a huge structure
with nearly 1000 pillars supporting the huge hall and many small mandaps.
Temple History
Pallava, Chola and Pandya rulers
have made significant contributions for the upkeep of the Shankari and
Trikoneshwara temples. The Portuguese invaded Sri Lanka in 15th Century. The
Portuguese Catholic Colonists destroyed several places of worship including
that of (Muslims and Buddhists) in and around the island of Sri Lanka after
1505 AD. The Portuguese cannon balled the top of the temple from their ship. In
place of the temple is a lone pillar. The temple was destroyed and its
materials were used in the construction of the Fort Frederick nearby. The
deities of Shankari Devi and Trikoneshwara were hidden in a silted well to save
them from the onslaught of Portuguese invasion. The idols were recovered from a
well in Trinco after independence of Sri Lanka in 1948.
Some of the artefacts of the
destroyed temple are kept in the Lisbon Museum. There is also a stone
inscription by Kulakottan with a dual fish emblem, with a prophecy that the
land, after 1500 AD will be ruled by people with a different eye colour for 500
years and then the earlier rulers will get to rule the land- Vadugus.
Tricomalee was subsequently ruled by the Dutch for 500 years and then by
Vadugus and by the French, till the British captured Sri Lanka in 1795. In
1689, a small temple was built nearby to keep the idols which were preserved.
No worship was allowed for the deities. Later, a temple in 1952 was built for
Trikoneshwara.
The present Trikoneshwara temple is
located adjacent to small Shankari Devi temple built in 1952 by some local
Tamil Hindu people, after a gap of 450 years. There is also the sacred
Bilva tree at the edge of the cliff perched on top of the Indian Ocean. The
view from the hill top is exhilarating and splendid. Trikoneshwara temple is
built by Sage Agasthya from the instructions of Lord Shiva, who was impressed
by Ravana’s devotion. This temple is unique, as the temple is built by the Lord
for his bhaktha. (devotee). Other deities surrounding the main deity- Trikoneshwara
include, Lord Ganesha, Lord Subramanya and other deities. Goddess Shankari is
worshipped in the form of Mathumai Ambal.
Other Legends:
According to one Puranic reference,
Parvati Devi requested Lord Shiva to build a palace for her. But Shiva, used to
living in Mount Kailash did not heed to her request. After several
requests from Parvati, Lord Shiva finally relented and asked Vishwakarma to
build a palace. Vishwakarma built a beautiful palace in Lanka Dweep for Parvati
Devi. Lord Shiva and Parvati came to Lanka to perform the Griha Pravesh of
their palace.
Ravana was doing a rigorous penance to get the blessings of Lord
Shiva. Lord Shiva and Parvati Devi were pleased with the penance of Ravana and
Lord Shiva blessed Ravana with boons. Ravana, a Brahmin by birth and master of
all the four Vedas was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Pleased by his penance,
Parvati Devi asked Ravana to perform the rituals associated with the Griha
Pravesh of their palace. Parvati Devi was impressed with Ravana who did the
Griha Pravesh rituals and wanted to bless him with a boon. She asked Ravana to
ask for a boon, and he asked for the Lanka palace. Parvati Devi, though
saddened initially by the wish of Ravana granted the boon and gave away the
palace as Dakshina. However, Ravana requested Parvati Devi to stay at the
palace. Parvati Devi agreed to stay at the palace as Shankari Devi with the
condition that she would stay at the palace, as long as Ravana pays heed to her
words. After some time, when Ravana brought Sita Devi from Ayodhya,
Parvati asked Ravana to return her to Lord Rama. When Ravana refused to return
Sita Devi, Shankari Devi left the Lanka Palace for Kailash.
Another reference is that Lord Rama
also visited Trikoneshwara temple to get rid of the Brahma hatya Dosham.
Another reference is when Vayu, the
Wind God and Adishesha, the serpent on which Lord Vishnu rests, had a bitter
fight about their individual strengths. Vayu sneered at Adishesha’s strength as
he could be easily caught by Garuda, the bird. Adishesha then coiled himself
around Mount Kailash and challenged Vayu to attack Mount Kailash. Vayu turned
into a hurricane and attacked Mount Kailash. All the gods and goddesses prayed
to Lord Shiva to save them. Lord Shiva asked Brahma to create another Kailash
in the South and came to reside at Lanka, also known as Dakshina Kashi.
Adishesha lifted his three hoods out of 1000 hoods to listen to Lord Shiva,
during which time, Vayu blew over three peaks of Mount Kailash. These three
pieces fell in Thondai Naadu (Thiru kalahasti), Chozha Naadu, (Thiruchirupalli)
and in Eezha Naadu, Trinkomalee, also Thirukonnamalai in Sri Lanka. The third
hill is known as Thirukkonamalai and it lies along the same longitude as
Kailash.
Another Puranic reference is that
the asura, Kethu swallowed nectar during the Samudra Manthan or churning of the
ocean in a fight between the asuras and devas. He attained immortality as he
swallowed the nectar. Lord Vishnu who came to know about this beheaded Kethu
and he was wandering headless, till such time Lord Brahma took pity on him and
made Kethu a Lunar Node along with “Rahu”. Kethu came to Ketheeswaram, prayed
to Lord Shiva and obtained Moksha. Thus the place is known as Tiru Kethu
esswaram
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