Ketheeswaram temple

Ketheeswaram temple (திருக்கேதீசுவரம் Thirukketheeswaram) is an ancient Hindu temple in Mannar, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest temple in Sri Lanka with at least 1400 years of evidence. Overlooking the ancient Tamil port towns of Manthai and Kudiramalai, the temple has lain in ruins, been restored, renovated and enlarged by various royals and devotees throughout its history. Thirukketheeswaram is one of the Pancha Ishwarams dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva and is venerated by Shaivas throughout the continent. Throughout its history, the temple has been administered and frequented by Sri Lankan Hindu Tamils. Its famous tank, the Palavi tank, is of ancient antiquity and was restored from the ruins. Thirukketheeswaram is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams of Shiva glorified in the poems of the Tevaram. Literary and inscriptional evidence of the post classical period (300BC-1500AD) attests to the upkeep of the temple during the ancient period by kings of the Pallava, Pandyan Dynasty and Chola dynasties who contributed to its development up to the late 16th century. In 1575, Thirukketheeswaram was largely destroyed by Portuguese colonials, with Pujas terminating at the shrine in 1589. Following an appeal by Arumuka Navalar in 1872, the temple was rebuilt at its original site in 1903. The exact date of the Ketheeswaram temple's birth is not universally agreed upon. According to historian Paul Peiris, Thirukketheswaram was one of the five recognized Eeswarams of Siva in Lanka long before the arrival of Vijaya in 600 B.C. The shrine is known to have existed for at least 2400 years, with inspirational and literary evidence of the postclassical era ( 600BC – 1500AD) attesting to the shrine's classical antiquity. The buried ancient Tamil trading port of Manthottam (Mantotai/Manthai) in the Mannar District — where Ketheeswaram is located — has provided historians extant remains of the culture of the area during the ancient period. This includes the vestiges of its ancient temple tank (the Palavi tank), and the ruins of a former Hindu city built of brick, described by J.