Nallur Kandaswamy temple

Nallur Kandaswamy Temple
Entrance to the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Location in Sri Lanka
Name
Proper name	Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil
Geography
Coordinates	9°40′28.82″N 80°1′46.61″E / 9.6746722°N 80.0296139°E / 9.6746722; 80.0296139Coordinates: 9°40′28.82″N 80°1′46.61″E / 9.6746722°N 80.0296139°E / 9.6746722; 80.0296139
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Northern
District	Jaffna District
Culture
Primary deity	Lord Murugan
Architecture
Architectural styles	Tamil architecture
History and governance
Date built	Founded in 948 ad reconstructed in 1734.
Creator	'Don Juan' Ragunatha Maapaana Mudaliyar
Website	http://www.nalluran.com

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil (Tamil: நல்லூர் கந்தசுவாமி கோவில் Sinhalese: නල්ලුරුව ස්කන්ධ කුමාර කෝවිල) is one of the most significant Hindu temples in the Jaffna District of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It stands in the town of Nallur. The presiding deity is Lord Murugan or Katharagama Deviyo in the form of the holy 'Vel' in the Sanctum, the primary shrine, and in other forms, namely, Shanmugar, Muthukumaraswami, Valli Kaanthar with consorts Valli and Deivayanai, and Thendayuthapani, sans consorts in secondary shrines in the temple.

The original, Kandaswamy Temple was founded in 948 ad. According to the Yalpana Vaipava Malai, the temple was developed at the site in the 13th century by Buwanika Bahu, a minister to the King of Kotte. Sapumal Kumaraya (also known as Chempaha Perumal in Tamil), who ruled the Jaffna kingdom on behalf of the Kotte kingdom is credited with building the third Nallur Kandaswamy temple. Nallur served as the capital of the Jaffna kings, with the royal palace situated very close to the temple. Nallur was built with four entrances with gates. There were two main roadways and four temples at the four gateways.

The present rebuilt temple that exist now do not match their original locations which instead are occupied by churches erected by the Portuguese. The center of the city was Muthirai Santhai (market place) and was surrounded by a square fortification around it. There were courtly buildings for the kings, Brahmin priests, soldiers and other service providers. The old Kandaswamy temple functioned as a defensive fort with high walls. In general, the city was laid out like the traditional temple town according to Hindu traditions.Cankilian Thoppu, the facade of the palace of King Cankili II, can still be found in Nallur. The third temple was destroyed by the Portuguese Catholic colonial Filipe de Oliveira in 1624 AD. The original kovil was located where St. James' Church, Nallur is located today. Part of the original Shivalingam of the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple was located in the Vicarage till 1995 when it was destroyed during the recapture of Jaffna by Sri Lanka armed forces and the platform where the shivalingam was mounted on can still be seen in the hallway of the vicarage.