Uthpalavarna Sri Vishnu Temple:

Divine blessings for Sri Lanka

By Thulasi MUTTHULINGAM

On the main road leading from Colombo to Kelaniya, there is a small newly paved turnoff, just past the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha. It leads to a very unpretentious little temple, which has a very tranquil, rural mystique about it. It houses the guardian deity of Sri Lanka, Vishnu, and has a history much more amazing than its current appearance.would suggest. Plans are afoot however to further expand it. It is a replica of the deity of the largest temple in the world, Sri Rangam in India.

Minister of Public Relations and Public Affairs Mervyn Silva worshipping the deity of Vibishana

To appreciate this story one needs to trace its origin - way back to the Ramayana. At that time too Sri Lanka had been engulfed in a horrendous war and when it ended, Vibishana, the brother of Ravana was crowned king. Believing his brother to be in the wrong, he had chosen to support Sri Rama, the prince from Ayodhya in the war.

Precious gift

When Ram went back to Ayodhya from Sri Lanka for his coronation, Vibishana accompanied him. When the ceremony was over, he was presented a very precious gift by Ram as a token of his esteem and affection; the statue of the guardian deity of Ram's lineage, which had been handed down and worshipped in his family for generations.

"Henceforth, he will act as the Guardian Deity of Sri Lanka. Take the statue with you back to Sri Lanka but make sure you don't drop it on your way as it will cleave to the ground and you will not be able to lift it again" were Ram's instructions to Vibishana.

Vibishana faithfully carried the statue over the hills and streams but whilst passing the Kaveri river in South India, he decided to have a dip. Looking around, he spotted a young boy standing nearby and asked him to hold the statue. The boy said that he would hold the statue until it got too heavy for him in which case he would call Vibishana thrice. The king agreed and dived into the water where he didn't hear the immediate three calls of the boy. The boy was in fact the elephant headed God Ganesh, who wanted to trick Vibishana into leaving the Sri Ranganathar statue back in India. When Vibishana surfaced he saw to his outrage that the statue had been placed down and the boy was running away. He chased the boy all the way up a hillock and into a temple where he dealt a blow on his head. Thereupon, the boy changed to his true form of Ganesh and Vibishana, though realising he had been tricked promptly apologized. This is the famous Utchi Pillayar (Ganesh on a hillock top) temple in Sri Rangam, Tamil Nadu, where the presiding deity sports a dent on his forehead - evidence of Vibishana's blow.

Though he had been told that the statue once dropped could not be lifted again, Vibishana nevertheless tries to do so with all his strength - to no avail. As he sits back in despair with his head in his hands, a voice from the Heavens spoke: "Vibishana, leave me here. I am now facing South where my gaze is directed towards Sri Lanka. I will act as your Guardian Deity all the way from here."

Fresh hope

A disheartened Vibishana, given fresh hope, left the deity and went his way. There, in Sri Rangam in Trichy, South India, the deity remained with his gaze directed towards Sri Lanka. In course of time, Maharajahs of various dynasties, the Cholas, Pallavas, Pandhyas and Nayaks, all contributed towards building and expanding a temple for him. Sri Rangam is now a mini city and according to established sources the largest functioning temple in the world.

Kings over the ages kept expanding the temple and built 20 gopurams (towers) - all in the North, East and Western directions.

The South where the deity's head lay was kept free of towers as the temple folklore maintained that Vishnu's gaze on Sri Lanka should not be obstructed.

Nevertheless, there are recorded instances of some Kings attempting to build a Gopuram in the South. Reportedly, either the structures kept crumbling or the King had a dream in which the presiding deity appeared and asked that his gaze on Sri Lanka not be blocked. In 1977 a South Indian religious luminary, the 44th Jeeyar Swami of the Ahobila Matt undertook the task abandoned by kings, of building a southern tower for Sri Ranganathar.

He was supported by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.G. Ramachandran and within 10 years, the tallest temple structure in the world - sthe 236 feet high Raja gopuram (king of towers) - was built.

The swami at this time was 99 years and had a huge amount of support but there was a big hue and cry against the building of the gopuram as well.

Key reason

The rock edicts and history of the temple were evoked, citing danger to Sri Lanka if its guardian deity's gaze on it should be blocked. Many Hindus in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka believe that the building of the gopuram was one of the key reasons for the eruption of the prolonged conflict in Sri Lanka. So did many Buddhists.

Apparently President Premadasa was told by his astrologers that the only way to negate the problem was to build a similar temple in Sri Lanka and instal Vishnu as the Guardian Deity in Sri Lanka itself. He had tried but could make no headway before his sudden demise.

The next in power to try very hard to accomplish this feat was President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. She donated 20 acres of land in Muthurajawela as well and had the statue commissioned to be made in India. However, for various reasons the project could not be completed while she was in power and the statue though completed, remains in storage in India to this day. The Uthpalavarna Sri Vishnu Temple, was consecrated on January 21, 2010 and the conflict ended in May 2009. The deity who brought to Sri Lanka in 2008. Minister Mervyn Silva the patron of the temple in whose constituency it is built, said he hoped to expand the temple and welcomes public donations. I am available at any time to anyone who wishes to make any kind of contribution to this temple," he said.

The Minister who says he fasts on Wednesdays to invoke Vishnu's blessings (Wednesdays and Saturdays being sacred days for Vishnu), said that at the time of the Kumbhabishekham of the temple on January 21, six eagles flew overhead. The eagle is the vehicle of Vishnu, which he is regularly said to use as his messenger or errand runner. According to the priests of the temple, an eagle appears regularly around noon every day. This was borne out on the day we visited when an eagle appeared at exactly twelve noon and circled the temple, for a full 10 minutes. The eagle as the Vehicle of Vishnu enjoys pride of place in the temple by being placed directly opposite him. In the temple here, that position has been given to Vibishana.

"The place is given to the vehicle of Vishnu," explains Guruji Gopal Sharma, one of the priests instrumental in overseeing the building of the temple. "In this case, the person who tried so hard to accomplish this feat of carrying Vishnu to Sri Lanka was Vibishana and so, we have given the place to him." Guruji Gopal Sharma and Guruji Somaskanda Sharma of Munneshwaram, who is the chief priest of the Uthpalavarna Sri Vishnu temple had been appointed by Minister Mervyn Silva to oversee the construction of the deity and temple. According to them, they went to Kerala to consult highly experienced astrologers for advice on how such a temple could be constructed, to bring peace to Sri Lanka.

The astrologers gave several guidelines on how the temple should be built. Among them were:

- the temple should be situated within 25 kms of the capital.

- It should be constructed on virgin land (never used by humans for habitation, cultivation or any other purpose)

- The land should be surrounded by a water body

- The land should somehow be connected with Vibishana.

According to Somaskanda Swamy, they found it difficult to find a place which fulfilled all the requirements. Of primary difficulty was finding virgin unused land within 25 km of the capital. "We looked in various places without being able to satisfy all the conditions. Then one day, when we were near this area, we saw an eagle swooping low on the ground across a field. In what seemed to be unusual behaviour, it kept on circling the ground until we thought it might be an omen and came to investigate.

Granite Statue

The dashed coconut water on the ground, where Vishnu’s statue is currently placed.

"We found that the surrounding areas were used for paddy cultivation but the area which the eagle circled was pitted and unsuitable for such a purpose. So it had been left alone as virgin land and it was indeed surrounded by a water body - the canal that watered the neighbouring fields. And this is Kelaniya, said to be the city from which King Vibishana ruled. We had thus found a land that fulfilled all the requirements. I believe that it has waited all this time, just for Him."

A granite statue, a replica of the Sri Ranganathar statue in Sri Rangam was commissioned from Mahabalipuram in India. The statue arrived in good time and when the temple was ready to have it installed, a coconut was dashed on the ground as it was auspicious. "The coconut water formed the shape of Sri Lanka with India above it" says Somaskanda Swamy. "We took this to be an auspicious omen, proof of Vishnu's blessings and even sent the photograph taken to the President."

The temple will celebrate its first major festival Vaikuntaekadasi in December when Vishnu's gates to Heaven are said to be open to all devotees. The festival will start on December 1 and conclude on December 17. On December 18, the guardian deity brought expressly to bring peace to the country will enjoy his first chariot ride on an elephant.