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.
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.
