BatticaloaBatticaloa (மட்டக்களப்பு, Maṭṭakkaḷappu; මඩකලපුව, Maḍakalapuwa) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial centre. It is on the east coast, south of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island. Pasikudah is a popular tourist destination situated northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons.
TrincomaleeTrincomalee (ˌtrɪŋkoʊməˈliː; திருகோணமலை; ත්රිකුණාමළය), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, north-east of Colombo, south-east of Jaffna and miles north of Batticaloa, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil language speaking culture on the island for over two millennia.
Dravidian architectureDravidian architecture, or the South Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It is seen in Hindu temples, and the most distinctive difference from north Indian styles is the use of a shorter and more pyramidal tower over the garbhagriha or sanctuary called a vimana, where the north has taller towers, usually bending inwards as they rise, called shikharas.
Shakti PithaThe Shakti Pithas or the Shakti Peethas (शक्ति पीठ, , seat of Shakti) are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of Adi Shakti. Various Puranas such as Srimad Devi Bhagavatam state the existence of varying number of 51, 52, 64 and 108 Shakti Pithas of which 18 are named as Astadasha Maha (major) in medieval Hindu texts. Various legends explain how the Shakti Pithas came into existence.
Brihadisvara TempleBrihadishvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram (Lord of Rajaraja) by its builder, and known locally as Thanjai Periya Kovil (Thanjavur Big Temple) and Peruvudaiyar Kovil, is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on the south bank of the Cauvery river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the largest Hindu temples and an exemplar of Tamil architecture. It is also called Dakshina Meru (Meru of the South).
Jaffna KingdomThe Jaffna Kingdom (யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula and was traditionally thought to have been established after the invasion of Kalinga Magha from Kalinga in India.
SimhavishnuSimhavishnu (IAST: Siṃhaviṣṇu) also known as Avanisimha son of Simhavarman III and one of the Pallava kings of India, was responsible for the revival of the Pallavan dynasty. He was the first Pallava monarch whose domain extended beyond Kanchipuram (Kanchi) in the South. He was portrayed as a great conqueror in Mattavilasa Prahasana (drunken revelry), a drama written by his son Mahendravarman I. Sailendra Nath Sen 575-600 AD. T.V. Mahalingam 575–615 CE. KAN Sastri 555–590 CE.
Anuradhapura KingdomAnuradhapura Kingdom (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුර රාජධානිය, translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil: அனுராதபுர இராச்சியம்), named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 437 BC, the kingdom's authority extended throughout the country, although several independent areas emerged from time to time which expanded towards the end of the kingdom. Nonetheless, the king of Anuradhapura was seen as the supreme ruler of the entire island throughout the Anuradhapura period.
KoilKoil or Koyil or Kovil, (meaning: residence of God) is the Tamil term for a distinct style of Hindu temple with Dravidian architecture. Both the terms koyil (கோயில், kōyil) and kovil (கோவில், kōvil) are used interchangeably. In Tamil, kōvil (wikt:ta:கோவில்) is the word derived, according to the rules of Tamil grammar. In contemporary Tamil, the term 'kōvil' is also used to refer to "Place of Worship". In modern formal speech, kōvil is also referred to as aalayam, dheva sthaanam by many Hindus.
ChandrabhanuChandrabhanu (died 1262) or Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the King of Tambralinga Kingdom in present-day Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra and the Jaffna Kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. A Javaka, he was known to have ruled from during the period of 1230 until 1262. He was also known for building a well-known Buddhist stupa in southern Thailand. He spent more than 30 years in his attempt to conquer Sri Lanka. He was eventually defeated by the forces of the Pandyan Dynasty from Tamil Nadu (in present-day South India) in 1262 and was killed by the brother of the south Indian Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan.