God Skanda’s Kataragama:

Land of unity and divinity

Kataragama in the deep South is a holy land, renowned as the abode of God Skanda. Both Buddhists and Hindu flock to venerate the various places of worship in the holy city, mainly the Kiri Vehera and the Kataragama Devalaya. It is also one of the solosmasthana – sixteen sacred sites in the island blessed by the presence of the Buddha himself that every Buddhist should aspire to visit in his or her lifetime.

Kataragama is also the host city of one of the most elegant historical cultural pageants in Sri Lanka, the annual Kataragama Esala festival which is considered second only to the Sri Dalada Perehera in Kandy.

The perahera procession with the Basnayake Nilame, temple officials, elephants, drummers and dancers wends its way to the temples within the complex and then to the Valli Amma temple, before returning to the Maha Devalaya. “Walking on fire” is another highlight of the Kataragama Esala festival.

Flocked

A large number of devotees from all areas of the country including the North and East have already flocked to Kataragama ahead of the Esala Full Moon Poya day which falls on Tuesday. Devotees from the North and the East reach Kataragama through a Pada Yatra (foot pilgrimage) ritual.

Kanda Surindu, as the Kataragama deity is known in somewhat formal Sinhala, is epitomized by the Sinhala verse ‘Muhunu sayaki – ath dolasaki – Mayura pita vāhane’ which essentially describes him as having six faces and twelve hands, mounted atop his vehicle – the peacock.

He is regarded by the Buddhists as one of the four guardian deities of this land. The entire south is in fact known as ‘Deiyange Rata’ (God’s Country). The Hindus know him by many names - as Skanda - the God of War, Lord Murugan, Kadirkamam, Subramanya, or Kandasamy.

The Kataragama Esala festival draws in large crowds of people year after year to pay homage to God Skanda. Even during the height of the conflict, this was a sea of harmony that saw the intermingling of all communities and faiths. Perhaps only Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak) can surpass Kataragama in this regard.

How God Skanda left the sacred mountain of Kailasa in the Himalayas to make his home in the forests of Lanka for the love of a beautiful maiden named Valli-amma who had been raised by the Veddahs is a story we have all heard. Legend has it that in the quest for an all-defining victory in the battle against King Elara and the Chola troops, King Dutugemunu was believed to have had an encounter with Lord Kataragama (Skanda Murugan).

King Dutugemunu asked for strength to overpower his enemies. With his wish granted, the Kataragama Devalaya was subsequently built in fulfillment of the vow. (Hence the practice of vows at Kataragama). The King had asked what should be done as a means of fulfilling the vow and Lord Kataragama replied by striking an arrow in the direction of Wedahitikanda from Kiri Vehera, and requested a temple be made at the point where the arrow had struck.

Kataragama was also considered the home of the warrior clan, the Kshatriyas who were invited to Anuradhapura by King Devanampiyatissa (3rd Century BC) for the planting of the sacred sapling Bo tree under which the Buddha reached Enlightenment. In turn, King Devanampiyatissa decreed that one of the first eight saplings (Ashtaphala Bodhi) of the sacred Bo tree in Anuradhapura be planted in Kataragama.

In the days gone by, even for those did not take part in the Pada Yatra, the trip to Kataragama was a tedious one. Today, it is still a long journey but a less tedious one. With an expressway and railway track coming up, Kataragama will be much closer to the rest of the country. But devotees who flock Kataragama do not seek comfort – they come here to be blessed by the Kataragama Deviyo.

Most people go to Kataragama first when they buy a new vehicle to seek His blessings. There are numerous other occasions which warrant a visit to the domain of God Skanda.

Quadrangular

Menik Ganga separates the area of the ‘devale’ from the rest of Kataragama. The Maha Devale, a quadrangular building is set in the middle of the large complex where peacocks and elephants are a recurring motif adorning the outer walls. Pilgrims follow the age-old tradition of having a bath in the river and cleansing before proceeding to the ‘devale’. They also wear clean clothes, mostly white. Most pilgrims buy a basket of fruits and a garland of flowers for the ‘deviyo’. Crowds converge at the shrine room hours ahead of the ‘pooja’.

A curtain covers the area where the rituals are done by the ‘kapurala’ after accepting the pilgrims’ offerings. (Next to the main shrine are the shrines dedicated to God Vishnu and God Ganesha). After a while the fruit baskets are returned with part of the offerings which are consumed by the pilgrims. This is a scene of intense devotion, with the pilgrims standing together as one enthralled by the majestic aura of God Skanda.