Morning came bright and windy as we set off on our way to
Nagadeepa the next day. As we travelled towards the Jaffna Pannai Bridge, which
joins the mainland and the island of Kayts, the road took us through some of
the cities that make up the peninsula. Some of the now abandoned buildings and
houses in these towns still bear the scars of war, a few have even been reduced
to nothing but blackened shells, that stand as testament to the suffering and
loss the people of Jaffna have overcome. Thin strips of road with the ocean on
either side; connect each island with the other. From Kayts we travelled along
the Valukkairaru-Punkudutivu-Kurikadduwan road to the island of Kurikadduwan. A
series of boats ferry passengers between Kurikadduwan and Nagadeepa.
Gazing at the island from the boat, the Naga Deepa Raja Ma ha
Vihara and the Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Kovil stand side by side, greeting
visitors, whatever their religion, together in perfect harmony. It’s a bit of a
walk from the boat dock along the paved path to the Maha Vihara, and on a warm
sunny day the distance can feel twice as long, but once you reach the welcoming
shade of the vihara’s Bo tree you will find that a little sweat was worth it as
you find yourself greeted by a large vivid statue of the Buddha and Mucilanda, the giant seven-headed
cobra.
The Naga Deepa Raja Maha Vihara is one of the sixteen sacred
Buddhists sites in Sri Lanka and according to legend was visited by Gautama
Buddha following his enlightenment. Despite the site being one of the Solosmasthana, we found ourselves to be
the only group to visit the vihara at that time. According to legend the
Buddha’s visit brought peace between two warring Naga kings, Chulodara and
Mahodara who in turn built the Rajayathana Stupa that stands to this day in all
its silvery glory. Famously reconstructed and re-developed by great kings like
Devanampiya Tissa and Dutugemunu, the stupa once housed the gem-studded throne
upon which the Buddha once sat and preached to the Nagas. The location of the
legendary throne is lost to time, but the experience of standing on a site that
has been a pilgrim and tourist destination for thousands of years is a treasure
in its own way.
Behind the stupa stands the shrine room built in the
traditional style. Perhaps most people would have found the enormous statues of
the Buddha to be the main attractions of the room, however, I found myself more
fascinated by the vibrant paintings that adorned every inch of the walls.
Depicting scenes from history and legend, the frescoes have been painted in a
more recent version of the customary Sinhalese style that has persevered
through the ages.
Seven hundred meters from the Buddhist Solosmasthana is one of the Shakti
Peethas of the Hindu religion. Barely 10 minutes away, the Nainativu
Nagapooshani Amman Kovil dominates the landscape of the northern half of the
island with its brilliantly colored gopurams
(gateway towers) rising skywards. The tallest of these, the Raja Raja Gopuram
reaches an impressive height of 108 feet, made up of statues of the many
deities of Hinduism.
According to legend the temple was built by Lord Indra and
is one of the 64 sites (shakti peethas)
where parts of the dismembered body of Sati fell from Lord Shiva’s arms. From
times unknown devotees have visited this sacred site, dedicated to the divine
couple - Parvati and Shiva. The Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer,
geographer, astrologer and poet, Ptolemy described the temple, its location and
the surrounding islands in his ‘Nagadibois’
in the 1st century CE, whilst a 12th century inscription
from the reign of King Parakramabahu refers to the temple and the pilgrims from
South India. In 1620 the original temple was looted and destroyed by the
Portuguese, the current structure was rebuilt and re-established between
1720-1790. The Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple is one of the most famous
testaments of the ornate vibrancy of the Dravidian architectural style in Sri
Lanka. It is said that an estimate of 10,000 sculptures adorn the kovil from
the inside out.
Despite not being a Hindu, I could not help but feel a sense
of awe as I stood before the kovil’s entrance and gazed up at the hundreds of
faces looking down at me. Something about this place has been drawing visitors
for centuries, be they Hindu or otherwise. Myth, legend, faith and history meet
here at this site. It is sacred not merely because of its religious
significance, but because it is proof that the rich, diverse and breath-taking
culture of Sri Lanka has lasted longer than any of the great empires.
Next on the list was the famed Jaffna Fort. A place over
which many an army has clashed since its construction four centuries ago in
1618. Built by the Portuguese, the original fort was built in the shape of a
pentagon, but was later expanded by the Dutch and the British. Looking at
pictures taken from above, I noticed that the fort takes the form of a flower
carved into the landscape. A four-hundred-year old stone blossom. Surrounded by
a moat and guarded by tall stone walls that have stood the ultimate test of
time, the fort retains certain parts of its Portuguese DNA like the entrance,
which was later renovated by the Dutch in 1680.
During the Portuguese era, it was said that a large number of miracles
took place, which were attributed to a statue of the Virgin Mary that lay
within the fort’s church. This led to the fort being called Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres de Jafanapatão meaning the Fortress
of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatão. All that remains of any kind of church
are the large white stones that have been meticulously gathered in the court
yard and lie in wait to be restored to their original form. What became of the
mysterious and miraculous statue is unknown, it was probably lost during one of
the many sieges or perhaps the Portuguese took it with them when the fort was
taken over by the Dutch. Many of the structures that stood within the ramparts
of the fort are in ruins today, no thanks to the LTTE who destroyed many key
features to prevent the Sri Lankan Army from gaining possession of the
strategic bastion. However, the mighty walls of the structure still stand true
and strong, and standing on the ramparts one is subject to an absolutely
splendid view of the Jaffna town on one side and the unending ocean on the
other. The Jaffna Fort is an epitome of steadfast faith and a national
testament of the unbreakable spirit of the people of the country, especially
those of the peninsula in which it is situated.
An Aerial View of the Jaffna Fort (Source: Lakpura LLC)
No trip
to Jaffna is ever complete without a trip to the bustling Jaffna market, where
it smells of either ripe mangoes or mouthwatering sweet meats. The prices are
cheap if you know which shop to visit of course, and fortunately for us our
guides knew exactly where to go.
In Jaffna
town is the famous Sri Naga Vihara. Recently renovated by the Sri Lankan Army
after the conclusion of the Civil War, the vihara itself is over two thousand
years old, having been built during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa. When
Theri Sangamitta arrived at Dambakolapatuna
with the sapling of the sacred Bo tree, some of the Naga tribesmen who lived in
Jaffna at the time, asked the king to allow the sapling to be kept amongst
their tribe for a week before it was taken to Anuradhapura. The king graciously
granted his permission and the site where the revered infant tree rested became
the Sri Naga Vihara. Today, the vihara and its premises are surrounded by the
hustle and bustle of the Jaffna town, and yet upon entering one is greeted by a
clean, white and peaceful environment, as if to this day the sanctification the
site gained all those centuries ago still lingers in its atmosphere.
As the afternoon wore on we headed to Nallur, the old
capital of the kings of Jaffna. No visit to the city is complete without a
visit to the famed Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil. Much like the Temple of Jerusalem,
the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil has been built, destroyed and rebuilt ever since
the very first structure of that name was built during the 13th
Century by Buwanika Bahu, a minister of the king of Kotte. The site is now the
location of St James’ Church. The third Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil was built by
Prince Sapumal (Sapumal Kumaraya),
who ruled Jaffna at the time on behalf of his father, Parakramabahu VI. Fancy
that, a Buddhist prince constructing a place of worship for Hindus. As we all
know Prince Sapumal went on to rule Sri Lanka as Bhuvanaikabahu VI (1470-1478).
However, the third kovil was destroyed in 1624 by Filipe de
Oliveira, a Portuguese colonial. The Dutch proved more co-operative, and in
1734 the fourth and present kovil was constructed by Don Juan Ragunatha
Maapaana Mudaliyar, whose descendants continued to serve as its custodians. The
Mudaliyar family is responsible for most of the additions and renovations that
the kovil has undergone over the past centuries. Today, decked in red and gold,
the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple is the largest Hindu place of worship in the
country. With four gopurams, six bell
towers and fortified walls, the kovil appears more as a citadel. The kovil was
one of the sites of tragedy during the Civil War, when the LTTE committed the
dastardly and sacrilegious deed of opening fire at soldiers of the Sri Lanka
Army from within the sacred walls of the temple itself. Though the blood of
brave men once stained its premises, the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is once more a
place of holiness and tranquility visited by people of many faiths and
cultures.
The Entrance of the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil (Source: Wikipedia)
Also, in
Nallur is the Archeological Museum of Jaffna, which houses a rare collection of
ancient Buddhist and Hindu artifacts as well as a number of relics left behind
by the colonists. One of these is an enormous portrait of Queen Victoria that
was recovered from the Jaffna Fort. However, vivid images of animal sacrifice
served to ruin that experience for me. Even now as I write, the images of
brutality linger in the forefront of my mind, thus I will not go into any more
detail, than to say that though the museum is on a majority of the lists of must-see
places in Jaffna, one could most certainly do without the experience.
After
getting a bit lost, we finally found ourselves in Gurunagar, the home of the
seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna - St. Mary's Cathedral. The
cathedral is a large building lacking the grandeur and decoration that one
usually expects of a structure of its rank, but otherwise stands solid and
firm, the embodiment of the faith of the people of its diocese. It is said that
the cathedral is in fact built over the remains of a martyr, the son of Cankili
I, King of Jaffna. As the story goes, the king was furious when he learned that
the prince had converted to Catholicism and ordered his execution. The ashes of
the prince were buried at the spot of his execution and a small chapel (or
rather a small thatched house of worship) was built over his grave. This chapel
later became a part of the foundation of the present cathedral, which was built
between 1789 – 1794. However, the growing number of Catholics in the region
made it necessary to construct a new, much larger cathedral, which took place
between 1939 - 1975.
St. Mary's Cathedral (Source: Inspirock)
