Festival of devotional splendour

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

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Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Kovil which is distinctive to any Hindu devotee of god Skanda, is situated in the Northern most seaside city Kankesanthurai.

The annual high festival of this temple commence on the fifth day after the new moon of the Hindu month of Ani corresponding to June 15 to July 15 and extending up to the new moon of Adi, that falls from July 15 to August 15. It is believed that god Shanmuga performs a secret dance on the fifth day of the Annual festival and thousands of people gather to witness this unusual and appealing sight.

The climax of this festival which falls on the last day, the 25th day, is the water cutting ceremony or the well-known Adi Amavasai Theertham at Keerimalai in the waters of the Palk Strait, ever famous for its curative purposes.

Among all the festivals of this Kovil this is its ultimate ceremony, Chief High Priest of Maviddapuram Temple Maharajasri Shanmuganathan Kurukkal told us while elaborating the glorious history of the temple. On this day devotees walk barefoot all the way to the Keerimalai for the water cutting ceremony chanting ‘haro hara’.

An unchanged story retold by generation to generation, says a Chola princess came on a pilgrimage to Keerimalai in her tireless worships to god Skanda as a cure to her persistent intestinal disorder on the instructions of highly respected noble priest of India. She is believed to be Mathurapuraveeravalli, daughter of the King of Madurai of India.

The princess found that her disorder vanished no sooner she had a bath in the oozing fresh water of the springs in keerimalai and her facial abnormality, that was like a horse head, disappeared and recovered a beautiful face. Hence, she decides to renovate the respective shrine in full fledge according to traditions and believes.

The name Mavaddapuram itself means the place where the horse face changed. On her request King of Madurai sent sculptors and artists along with building material, granite, statues, gold, silver and other metals and precious gems. Gayathurai was the port near Keeramalai and since the statue of Kankeyan (god Skanda) and his devotees the port came to know as Kankeyanthurai, now known as Kankesanthurai.

The last day procession for the water cutting ceremony of the annual festival joins with the procession from the Naguleswaram temple, which is located more close to the Keerimalai. Naguleswaram temple, as the history relates is one of the Shiva temples built by King Vijaya, Chief High Priest Naguleswaran Kurukkal told us. After marrying the Sri Lankan queen Kuweni, King Vijaya has built five Hindu temples in the four corners of Sri Lanka to protect the country from ill effects.

These were Thiruketheswaram and Thirukonneswaram of the East, Munneswaram in the West, Naguleswaram in the North and Tondeswaram in the South.

According to Hindu puranas, or religious texts consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction and many more important believes, Naguleswaram was a pilgrimage centre for South Indian Hindus. This time over 7800 people have arrived to participate in this highly religious festival.

The Sri Lanka Army deployed in Jaffna have given their fullest support throughout the festival in addition to safeguarding the devotees and giving them a peace of mind. Devotion of the People will continue in these holy places as these temples are the sources of inspiration for the Jaffna people.