Trincomalee City
Trincomalee, der ligger på Sri Lankas nordøstkyst, kan prale af en naturlig dybvandshavn og uberørte strande. Byen er rig på historie og byder på vartegn som det gamle Koneswaram-tempel. Byens mangfoldige marineliv og pulserende kultur gør den til en fascinerende destination for både turister og historikere.
Koneswaram Temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee (Tamil: ?????? ?????????? ??????) or Thirukonamalai Konesar Temple – The Temple of the Thousand Pillars and Dakshina-Then Kailasam is a classical-medieval Hindu temple complex in Trincomalee, a Hindu religious pilgrimage centre in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. The most sacred of the Pancha Ishwarams of Sri Lanka, it was built significantly during the reign of the early Cholas and the Five Dravidians of the Early Pandyan Kingdom on top of Konesar Malai, a promontory overlooking Trincomalee District, Gokarna bay and the Indian Ocean. Its Pallava, Chola, Pandyan and Jaffna design reflect a continual Tamil Saivite influence in the Vannimai region from the classical period. The monument contains its main shrine to Shiva in the form Kona-Eiswara, shortened to Konesar. Connected at the mouth of the Mahavilli Ganga River to the footprint of Shiva at Sivan Oli Padam Malai at the river's source, the temple symbolically crowns the flow of the Ganges River from Shiva's head of Mount Kailash to his feet.
Developed from 205 BC, the original kovil combined key features to form its basic Dravidian temple plan, such as its thousand pillared hall – "Aayiram Kaal Mandapam" – and the Jagati expanded by King Elara Manu Needhi Cholan. Regarded as the greatest building of its age for its architecture, elaborate sculptural bas-relief ornamentation adorned a black granite megalith while its multiple gold plated gopuram towers were expanded in the medieval period. One of three major Hindu shrines on the promontory with a colossal gopuram tower, it stood distinctly on the cape's highest eminence.
The journey for pilgrims in the town begins at the opening of Konesar Road and follows a path through courtyard shrines of the compound to the deities Bhadrakali, Ganesh, Vishnu Thirumal, Surya, Raavana, Ambal-Shakti, Murukan and Shiva who presides at the promontory's height. The annual Koneswaram Temple Ther Thiruvilah festival involves the Bhadrakali temple of Trincomalee, the Pavanasam Theertham at the preserved Papanasuchunai holy well and the proximal Back Bay Sea (Theertham Karatkarai) surrounding Konesar Malai.
The Sinhalese king Gajabahu II who ruled Polonnaruwa from 1131 to 1153 AD is described in the Konesar Kalvettu as a devout worshipper of Lord Shiva and a benefactor of the temple of Konamalai. He spent his last days in the associated Brahmin settlement of Kantalai.
The complex was destroyed in colonial religious attacks between 1622 and 1624 and a fort was built at the site from its debris. A 1632 built temple located away from the city houses some of its original idols. Worldwide interest was renewed following the discovery of its underwater and land ruins, sculptures and Chola bronzes by archaeologists and Arthur C. Clarke. It has been preserved through restorations, most recently in the 1950s. Granted ownership of villages in its floruit to form the Trincomalee District, Trincomalee village is located on the cape isthmus within the compounds. Revenue from the temple provides services and food to local residents.
Koneswaram has
Om Trincomalee-distriktet
Trincomalee er en havneby på Sri Lankas østkyst. Trincomalee-bugtens havn er kendt for sin størrelse og sikkerhed; i modsætning til alle andre havne i Det Indiske Hav er den tilgængelig for alle typer fartøjer i al slags vejr. Strandene bruges til surfing, dykning, fiskeri og hvalsafari. Byen har også det største hollandske fort i Sri Lanka. Den er hjemsted for store srilankanske flådebaser og en srilankansk luftvåbenbase.
De fleste tamiler og singalesere mener, at dette sted er helligt for dem, og de er områdets oprindelige folk. Trincomalee og omegn har både hinduistiske og buddhistiske steder af historisk betydning. Disse steder er hellige for hinduer og buddhister.
Om Østprovinsen
Den østlige provins er en af de 9 provinser i Sri Lanka. Provinserne har eksisteret siden det 19. århundrede, men de havde ingen juridisk status før 1987, da den 13. ændring af Sri Lankas forfatning fra 1978 oprettede provinsråd. Mellem 1988 og 2006 blev provinsen midlertidigt fusioneret med den nordlige provins for at danne den nordøstlige provins. Provinsens hovedstad er Trincomalee. Den østlige provins havde 1.460.939 indbyggere i 2007. Provinsen er den mest mangfoldige i Sri Lanka, både etnisk og religiøst.
Den østlige provins har et areal på 9.996 kvadratkilometer. Provinsen er omgivet af den nordlige provins mod nord, Bengalbugten mod øst, den sydlige provins mod syd og provinserne Uva, Central og North Central mod vest. Provinsens kyst er domineret af laguner, hvoraf de største er Batticaloa-lagunen, Kokkilai-lagunen, Upaar-lagunen og Ullackalie-lagunen.