The Visit to this Kandy Kathirkamam
Murugan temple at Kataragama, Sri Lanka was a part of Sri Lanka’s ( Ezha Nadu ) Paadal Petra sthalangal Visit scheduled between 28th November to 2nd December 2013. Utilizing
this opportunity, we have Visited some, Shiva, Murugan, Amman Temples and Epic
Ramayan associated sites of Sri Lanka. The direction sign board also says that
Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya. The entrance arch the neon light records this temple name as "கதிர்காமம் பெரிய கோவில்".
Of all the celebrated shrines to the
youthful god Skanda-Kumara or Murugan (Tamil: ‘tender one'), none enjoys a
reputation for sanctity and mystery like that of Kataragama (Sinhala;
Kataragama), the jungle shrine in remote southeastern Sri Lanka. To this day,
an inviolable curtain of secrecy surrounds the inscrutable activities of
Kataragama Skanda, whose Esala (July-August) festival is celebrated by Buddhists,
Hindus, Muslims, and indigenous Vedar forest-dwellers alike.
To scholars and devotees alike,
Kataragama occupies a hallowed place among the shrines of the ever-youthful
patron god of war, poetry, love, and mystery. Thanks in part to its isolation
on the margins of Sinhala. Tamil, and Muslim societies, Kataragama preserves an
ensemble of archaic beliefs and ritual practices, much of which date from
remote antiquity. As such, Kataragama is a veritable fountain of information
about timeless mysteries that were once common to all peoples worldwide.
The 15th Century saint Arunagirinathar praises Sri Murugan of Kathirkamam, as....
புரிசைசூழ்
செய்ப்பதிக் குரியசா மர்த்யசற்
புருஷவீ
ரத்துவிக் ரமசூரன்
புரளவேல் தொட்டகைக் குமரமேன் மைத்திருப்
புகழையோ
தற்கெனக் கருள்வோனே
கரியயூ
கத்திரட் பலவின்மீ திற்சுளைக்
கனிகள்பீ
றிப்புசித் தமராடிக்
கதலிசூ தத்தினிற் பயிலுமீ ழத்தினிற்
கதிர்கா மக்கிரிப் பெருமாளே
…. திருப்புகழ்.. அருணகிரிநாதர்
Moolavar : Sri Murugan
It is believed that there is no idol
or Vel, but a Shatakona Yanthra ( which is not shown to Public ) is in side the
sannidhi and we have to worship the screen / curtain cloths printed with the
respective gods. In Murugan temple large size picture of Sri Valli, Devasena
with Murugan on peacock vahana, printed on the screen.
The temple complex consists of Buddha,
Vinayagar and Sri Murugan. On the right
side separate sannadhis for Vishnu, Bhairavar, Devasena and Guru peedam
where we can see the 7 Siddhar jeeva Samadhis. Valli Sannidhi, Bhadrakali
Amman, Sivan sannidhi are opposite to main temple.
ARCHITECTURE
The 'building is a simple structure
of two apartments and with no embellishments or show of grandeur. It has not
undergone any major structural alterations, during this long period of over
2,000 years since its construction.
HISTORY
AND LEGENDS
From
the article by W. Lionel Fernando, first published in Kataragama and its
Festivals 1985
According to legendary history Ruhunu
Kataragama Maha Devalaya (at right) was built by King Dutugemunu around 160
years B.C. in fulfillment of a vow to defeat King Elara in battle. It was
endowed with large extent of land by King Dutugemunu for its maintenance and
subsequent monarchs did likewise.
Rubeiro in his History of
Ceylon says that 'four leagues inland from this spot ( the salterns in
Hambantota ) is a Pagoda held in great reverence by the Grutiles; here are
preserved the offerings which had been made for many ages, consisting of gold,
jewels and precious stones and 500 armed men are always maintained in its
defence”.
This was in 1642 when Rubeiro was one
of the 150 Portuguese and 2,000 Lascarins who made a vain attempt to locate
this Pagoda and plunder its wealth, but “were forced to turn back the way we
had come without effecting anything and without even seeing the Pagoda, which
is called Catergao”.
An
article by - professor, SENARATH PARANAVITHANA
(EPIGRAPHIA
ZEYLANICA, V0L-III. , PAGE 212.)
KATARAGAMA
[1] is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in Ceylon, sacred alike
to the Buddhists as well as to the Hindus. To the former, it is one of the
‘sixteen great places’ at which the Buddha, during his third visit to the
island, set is meditation. To the latter, it is the abode of Skanda, the
youthful and fiery god of war. Kājaragāma, as the place is called in the pāli
writings, was one of the earliest settlement of the Sinhalese in this island.
In the third century B.C., it was already the seat of a kŞatriya clan whose
representatives were among the distinguished personages assembled at
Anurādhapura to pay homage to the branch of the sacred Bo-tree brought to
Ceylon by Sańghamittā, the daughter of the great Indian emperor AŚoka [2]. One of
the eight shoots which sprang up from this Bo-tree was planted at Kataragama;
and thus the place became a centre of the Buddhist faith [3] at very early
date. The foundation of Mahāgāma, about ten miles to the south, by Mahānāga,
brother of Devānampiya Tissa, seems to have eclipsed the fame of Kataragamal ;
for , from that time up to the eleventh century, the place is mentioned but
once in the Mahāvamsa. Dappula I, one of the best known of the rulers of Ruhuṇa,
who had also a brief tenure of authority at Anurādhapura (642 A.D), is said to
have founded a monastery at Kataragama[4] .
In
the first half of the eleventh century, Kataragama was, for a short period, of
some moment in the affairs of the island. It was the last stronghold of the
Sinhalese leaders of the time against the irresistible tide of Coḷa
imperialism; and from there stared that movement which, after varying fortunes,
resulted in the liberation of the island from the Coḷa
yoke. Kataragama was, the scene of several hotly contested battles between the
Sinhalese generals and the invading Coḷas
on the one hand; and one of the other, of Kassapa the Kesadhātunāyaka against
Kitti, the rising young hero who afterwards restored the sovereignty of the
Sinhalese and ascended the throne of Poḷonnaruva
as Vijayabāhu I. During these campaigns, the town was sacked by the invaders;
and owing to this reason, as well as to the extension of Vijayabāhu’s
activities to a wider sphere, the place seems to have sunk into comparative
insignificance for it never again figures in the history of the island [5]
The
shrine of the Kataragama god (see plate 20) which attracts such a large number
of votaries annually from all parts of the island as well as from India, is a
structure of modern origin [6]; and has no pretensions whatever to
architectural beauty. It stands in the center of a spacious enclosure within
which there are also an old Bo-tree supposed to be identical with the one
planted during the reign of Devānampiya Tissa, a Buddhist image house of modern
style and several minor shrines dedicated to the worship of Skanda’s wives and
brother. An inscribed pillar (A.S.I. 490), of which more will be said in the
sequel, stands in front of image house. A number of ancient stones are lying
about the place; but these have all been brought here, a few years ago, from
the grounds of the kirivehera.
The
dāgäba known as Kirivehera (see plate 21) about half a mile to the north of the
devāle, is traditionally said to have been founded by Mahānāga (circa third
century B.C). On some of the bricks fallen down from the dome, there are Brāhmi
letters of about the first century B.C., inscribed as masons marks. And, as
will be seen later, one of the inscriptions at the place records its
enlargement in the first or second century A.D. Therefore, this stūpa may well
be ascribed to a very early date, though we may not accept the tradition in its
entirety. The monument itself is about the size of the Mirisaväṭiya
dāgäba in Anurādhapura and stands on an artificially raised terrace, to which
flights of steps lead on the four cardinal points. The harmmikā and the
chatrāvalῑ have fallen down and the facing of
the dome, too, is incomplete. Restoration work has recently been started and
has now proceeded about half way up the dome. There are two inscriptions near
this stūpa: one (A.S.I. 488) on a slab standing some 50 ft. to the south of the
main entrance, and the other (A.S.I. 489) on a slab lying on the pavement now
broken into four fragments of which one is missing.
________________________________________
[1]
The Temple of Kataragama has been often described. For a good account of the
place, giving references to previous writers, see Manual for Uwa Province by
Herbert White, Colombo, 1893, pp.35-53. See also The Worship of Muruka by the
late Sri Ponnambalam Arunachalam in the J.R.A.S., C.B., No-77, p.234 ff.
[2]
Mahāvamsa, ch. xix, v. 54.
[3]
Ibid., v. 62.
[4]see
Mahāvamsa , ch. xiv, v. 45.
[5]
Mahāvamsa, ch. lvii, vv .2, 67, 68, 70, 74, ch.lvii, v. 5.
[6]
According to the tradition, a shrine of Skanda was built at Kataragama by Duṭṭagāmaṇi
in the first century B.C. in fulfillment of a vow made by him to that deity
when he started on his memorable campaign against the Tamil usurper Elāḷa
who was ruling at Anurādhapura. The literature, both Sinhalese and Tamil,
connecting Skanda with Kataragama, is of recent origin; and there are, at the
place, no vestiges whatever of the prevalence of a Hindu cult in early days.
Therefore, this tradition may well be doubted; especially in view of the fact
that there is a tendency among the Sinhalese villages to ascribe every possible
religious foundation to the munificence of that pious monarch. The shrine has
always been, and still is, under the supervision of Sinhalese priests
(Kapurālas) ; and in the annual festival, I was informed by the priest the
ceremonies connected with the Bo-tree and the dāgäba take precedence to those
of the god.
As per the Historians the present
temple was built in 1634 CE by the King Rajasinghe – II.
As per the Historians, the Nayaka
king Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe, who was a Telugu by birth, but can speak Tamil,
transferred the power of the temple from Singhalese Buddhists to Tamils. After
independence from British, once again power of control was transferred to
Buddhists Theravada sect.
LEGENDS
The hunter people are given
importance in this temple since Valli belongs to Veduvar Clan /kulam ( Hunters ).
This is the temple of Lord
Karthikeya Subramaniam at Kataragama. In a legend of Ramayana, Lord Karthikeya
was requested to go to the battlefield by Lord Indra on the last day of war.
This was done to protect Lord Rama from the wrath of Brahma asthram shot by
King Ravana which otherwise would have weakened Lord Rama. Brahmaasthram aimed
at Lord Rama for the second time was rendered useless by the presence of Lord
Karthikeya.
This is a sacred place not only for
Hindus, but also for the Buddhists. The interview with Ortaho, one of the
Buddhists monk says...
Soratha:
According to our Sri Lankan tradition, Lord Buddha visited sixteen
places in Sri Lanka during his lifetime, including Kataragama. On that
occasion, Mahasena (or Mahaghosa), the local ruler of Kataragama, duly welcomed
the Lord and his retinue and found delight in His sublime Teachings.
Many Buddhists believe that the Kataragama
God is a bodhisattva ( Buddha-to-be ) having the power and compassion to
intervene in the lives of those who appeal to him. He is the guardian and
friend of Sri Lankan Buddhists especially, but he will help people of any
religion or nationality.
It makes no difference if one is a
Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, or what. Respect him Long, long ago a local Kataragama
girl, named Valli Amma, took a severe vow that she would not marry or even
touch any man except the Kataragama God himself. By the power of her pure vow,
the god came to her and helped her to fulfill her vow, even though it meant
marrying her.and have firm faith in him, and he can intervene to settle
personal problems that interfere with one's spiritual growth. There are tried
and proven ways to obtain his help.
This god has been living here as
long as we have, maybe even longer. He never harms anyone, except those who aim
to do injustice or harm to others.
We consider god Kataragama to be one
of the Four Guardian Deities of the Sinhala pantheon, perhaps the most powerful
one of them all. If Hindus and others wish to worship him, we Buddhists have no
objection. He is great enough to satisfy everyone, whatever their background or
beliefs are.
Soratha
further told that Lord Buddha did
not reject deva worship. In fact, in the Majjhima Nikaya he advises monks
meditating in the forest to practice devatanusati; that is, to give proper
respect to local divinities in order to make steady progress in samadhi.
Lord Buddha himself met and accepted
the salutations of major deities like Brahma, Indra and others. He never denied
the existence of devas. He was a great friend to humans and non-humans alike.
Some
of the legends associated with Kataragama deviyo are not known in India about
Skanda; and the prevailing belief among the Sinhalese is that he is one of the
four guardian deities of Ceylon and is destined to become a Buddha in the
future. Therefore, we may be justified in concluding that Kataragama deviyo was
originally one of the local deities or Bodhisattvas of the Sinhalese Buddhist;
and in process of time was identified with the Purāṇic
deity Skanda, some centuries ago.
Hence Buddhists believe that the
bricks of Kiri Vihera stupa are over 2200 years old. It is built on the site
where Lord Gautama Buddha is said to have addressed King Maha Sena 2500 years ago. Buddhists believe that god
Kataragama is the same powerful bodhisattva or “awakening being” who ruled then
as Kinga Mahasena ‘who has a great army’, also a title of war god Skanda.
POOJAS
AND CELEBRATIONS
Once in a year Lord Murugan will
come out and marry Valli near Valli Sannadhi. That time also Yantha will not
visible, since it will be completely covered with flowers.
Worship
at Kataragama
The
foremost feature of worship of the Kataragama deity is that it is aniconic,
i.e. without icons, idols, or images. To His Tamil devotees, the deity is
regarded as the Supreme Identity (Tamil: kantazhi), which is
explained as ‘reality transcending all categories, without attachment, without
form, standing alone as the Self (naccinārkkiniyar). As such, only
abstract symbols of His mystery (Skt: rahasya) are worshipped, such as the vel
and the sadkona yantra (hexagram).
For
uncounted centuries, the custodians of the Kataragama shrine have conducted
non-agamic, aniconic modes of worship including archaic rites which, the
tradition maintains, have come down from the original inhabitants of
prehistoric Lanka, the Veddas (Tamil: vedar). At Least until,
recently, the Sinhalese kapuralas (priests, who explicitly trace their lineage
back to the Veddas) still exercised their prerogative to hunt for deer in Deviyange
Kaele (Sinhala: 'God's Own Forest') and to make an offering of the
venison to the god on Saturdays. To this day, the Vedda or
Wanniyal-aeto people / Hunters of Lanka regard Kande
Yaka, ‘the Spirit of the Mountain', as their god of the hunt who still extends
guidance and protection to those who invoke Him. As a reminder to all that the
shrine and its traditions were originally theirs, Veddas still attend the
annual festival where they ritually ambush the god's procession and extract
tribute from the Sinhalese custodians of the shrine.
Local
tradition maintains that King Duttugemunu (2nd Cent. B.C.E.) established (or,
more likely, formalized and endowed an existing system of) rajakariya or
‘service to the king' whereby the prehistoric mystery rites were perpetuated in
505 hereditary roles incorporated into the annual fortnight-long festival in
the month of Esala (July-August). For centuries, the Esala festival has
attracted thousands of pilgrims who come from as far as Jaffna in the north or
even from India including, notably Saint Arunagirinathar (13th-14th Cent. C.E.,
no it is 15th Century CE), who composed at least fourteen
Thiruppugazh songs about Kataragama and one about Tirukonamalai (Trincomalee) which is en route.
Until the nineteenth century, the pilgrimage used to attract large numbers of
Muslim faqirs from India as well, but today it consists mainly of Tamil Hindu
villagers from the East Coast.
TEMPLE
TIMINGS
The temple believed to be open
around 4.30 to 05.00 hrs and closes around. 20.00 hrs.
CONTACT
DETAILS
The land line number +94 47 2235122
may be contacted for further details.
Website and reference :
HOW
TO REACH
The temple at Katragama is 44 KM
from Buttala, 141 KM from Nuwara Eliya, 151 KM from Galle, 211 KM from Kandy,
260 KM from Colombo.
Maha Vishnu Temple converted as a Buddhist Temple Bo-Tree
Valli SannidhiShiva Temple
Mahasena
Some of the Photos are taken from Web site.. Thanks to the Unknown photographers and the temple web site for details and old photographs
--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---
