5/5 Tilak P. 3 months ago on Google • 96 reviews New
Ravana
was
a
Shiva
devotee
Brahmin.
After
killing
him,
Rama,
while
riding
back
in
Ravana's
Puspaka
Vimana
,
realizesd
that
he
was
being
followed
by
a
black
shadow
(Brahmasthi
Dosham).
Arriving
at
a
place
called
Muniswaram
near
the
city
of
Chilwa,
he
felt
a
very
strong
tremor.
When
Ramchandra
got
down
from
the
Vimana,
he
heard
the
prophecy
of
lord
Shiva
.
Ram
had
committed
the
sin
of
killing
a
Bramhin
and
ardent
Shiva
bhakta
,
Ravana.
So
as
a
part
of
atonement
he
had
to
establish
5
Shivlingas
or
Pancha-Iswaram
temples.
As
per
Siva's
order,
Rama
established
the
first
Shiv
Linga
at
Muniswaram.
The
name
Muniswaram
means
the
first
temple
of
Shiva.
He
founded
the
second
temple
near
Jaffna
which
is
called
Keerimalai
Nageshwaram
temple.However
,
our
Buddhist
tour
operator-cum-guide
said,
there
is
another
Shiva
temple
at
Manvari,
a
little
away
from
Muniswaram,
on
the
banks
of
the
Dendura
Wa
river,
which
is
also
believed
to
have
been
built
by
Ramachandra.
From
Muniswaram
we
went
to
Manvari
temple.
Name
of
Manvari
Shiva
Linga
is
"Ramlinga
Sivan".
Ramachandra
also
established
another
Shivalinga
near
the
Gulf
of
Mannar
called
the
Thiru
Ketheswaram
temple.
The
last
temple
in
Lanka
is
the
Thiru
Koneswaram
temple
in
Trinkamalai.
All
these
five
places
are
in
Sri
Lanka.
The
last
Shivalinga
was
established
in
Rameswaram,
India.
So
in
my
count
Ramachandra
established
6
Shiva
lingas.
In
another
opinion
of
some
scholars,
Shivalinga
of
Thiru
Koneswaram
temple
was
brought
by
Ravana
from
Himalaya's
Kailash
parbat.
Each
of
the
5
temple
is
very
ancient
one,
at
least
a
thousand
years
old.
We
have
reached
the
first
Devalaya
or
Muniswaram
temple
established
by
Ramachandra,
located
a
little
away
from
Chilwa
town.
Although
the
year
of
establishment
of
the
temple
is
not
fixed,
at
least
1000
years
old
several
metal
coins
were
discovered
bearing
the
name
of
the
temple
on
it.
The
Moroccan
historian
and
world
traveler
Ibn
Battuta
(1304-1369)
also
mentioned
this
place.
According
to
the
temple
inscriptions,
in
the
13th
century
Sinhalese
Buddhist
king
of
Kotta,
Parakram
Bahu
6,
donated
a
large
amount
of
land
to
the
Shiva
temple
for
it's
maintenance.
Later,
in
the
14th
century,
another
Buddhist
king,
Parakramabahu
IX,
donated
huge
agricultural
properties,
as
mentioned
in
a
copperplate
issued
by
the
king.
I
came
to
know
that
some
local
devotees
believe
that
Sita
Devi
rested
for
a
while
at
a
place
near
the
temple
when
the
pushpaka
biman
stopped,
hence
the
name
of
that
place
is
Sitamadama.
Description
of
the
Temple
:
Built
in
Dravidian
style,
there
are
5
separate
temples
in
the
complex
,
one
of
which
is
a
Buddha
temple
called
Pushparamaya
Vihar.
The
rest
of
the
temples
are
Shiva
temple,
Ganesha
temple
,
Buddhist
Goddess
Aiyanar
and
Mother
Kali
temples
.
Buddhists
and
Tamil
Hindus
have
been
worshiping
at
this
temple
for
ages.
I
heard
the
name
of
Lord
Shiva
here
as
Sri
Munnainathar
and
Parvati
as
Sri
Vativampika
Devi.
On
top
of
the
Kali
temple
I
can
see
the
statue
of
Goddess
Durga
or
Mahishasur
Mardini.
Devotees
are
mainly
Tamil
Hindus
,
Sinhalese
Buddhists
and
Monks
.
My
mind
was
filled
with
indescribable
joy
to
see
my
Buddhist
tour
operator-cum-guide
and
driver
,
worshiping
each
temple
with
such
ardent
devotion.
When
the
guide
was
asked
about
being
a
buddhist
participating
in
the
puja
of
Hindu
goddess
Kali,
he
replied
-
Hindu
deities
like
Kali
and
Skanda
have
altered
the
rational
nature
of
Theravada
Buddhism
towards
the
Bhakti
aspect
of
Hinduism.
Incredible
and
very
wise
comment.
The
Portuguese
destroyed
the
temple
twice,
but
first
with
the
help
of
the
Buddhist
King
Rajasingha
(1581-1593)
and
later
King
Kirti
Sri
Rajasingha
(1747-1782),
local
Hindus
and
Buddhists
rebuilt
the
temple
twice,
in
1578
and
1750.
A
board
of
trustees
was
formed
to
look
after
the
temple
in
British
Ceylon.
The
temple
was
modernized
in
1875
by
the
then
Board
of
Trustees.
Muniswaram
Shiva
temple
is
one
of
the
most
striking
example
of
the
peaceful
coexistence
of
all
religions.
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