Kataragama temple (original) (raw)

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Kataragama temple (Sinhala: රුහුණු කතරගම දේවාලය, lit. 'Ruhuṇu Kataragama Dēvālaya', Tamil: கதிர்காமம் முருகன் கோயில், lit. 'Katirkāmam Murugan Kōvil') in Kataragama, Sri Lanka, is a temple complex dedicated to Buddhist guardian deity Kataragama deviyo and Hindu War God Murugan. It is one of the few religious sites in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult to access; today it is accessible by an all-weather road. The shrines and the nearby Kiri Vehera are managed by Buddhists, the shrines dedicated to Teyvāṉai and Shiva are managed by Hindus and the mosque by Muslims. The shrine has for centuries attracted Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India who undertook an arduous pilgrimage on foot. Since the latter half of the 20th century, the site has risen dramatically among Sinhalese Buddhists who today constitute majority of the visitors. The cult of Kataragama deviyo has become the most popular amongst the Sinhalese people. A number of legends and myths are associated with the deity and the location, differing by religion, ethnic affiliation and time. These legends are changing with the deity's burgeoning popularity with Buddhists, as the Buddhist ritual specialists and clergy try to accommodate the deity within Buddhist ideals of nontheism. With the change in devotees, the mode of worship and festivals has changed from that of Hindu orientation to one that accommodates Buddhist rituals and theology. It is difficult to reconstruct the factual history of the place and the reason for its popularity amongst Sri Lankans and Indians based on legends and available archeological and literary evidence alone, although the place seems to have a venerable history. The lack of clear historic records and resultant legends and myths fuel the conflict between Buddhists and Hindus as to the ownership and the mode of worship at Kataragama. The priests of the temple are known as Kapuralas and are believed to be descended from Vedda people. Veddas, too, have a claim on the temple, a nearby mountain peak and locality through a number of legends. There is a mosque and a few tombs of Muslim pious men buried nearby. The temple complex is also connected to other similar temples in Eastern Province dedicated to Murugan which are along the path of pilgrimage from Jaffna in the north to Kataragama in the south of the island; Arunagirinathar traversed this pilgrimage route in the 15th century. The vicinity of the temple complex is used for secretive practices of sorcery and cursing peculiar to Sri Lanka (Source or reference to sorcery is missing). The entire temple complex was declared a holy place by the government of Sri Lanka in the 1950s; since then political leaders have contributed for its maintenance and upkeep. (en)
カタラガマ神殿 (Kataragama Temple) はスリランカのウバ州カタラガマにある神殿。都市名にもなっているカタラガマとはヒンドゥー教の軍神スカンダのことである。市内のやモスクなど多くの宗教施設が集まる宗教公園内にあり、本殿付近には考古学博物館や菩提樹がある。 (ja)

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wiki-commons:Special:FilePath/Kataragama_Maha_Devale.jpg?width=300

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29021195 (xsd:integer)

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37917 (xsd:nonNegativeInteger)

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right (en)

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Maha Devale/murugan Kovil (en)

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dbr:Sri_Lanka

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dbr:Lord_Murugan
Nayakan (en)

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Left:Mahasena on a coin of Huvishka 140–180 BCE. Right:Karttikeya with vel and rooster, coin of the Yaudheyas, 200 BCE. (en)

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MahasenaHuvishka.jpg (en)
Karttikeya With Spear And Cock in a coin of Yaudheyas.jpg (en)

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dbr:Kataragama_(town)

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Location in Sri Lanka (en)

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Sri Lanka (en)

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Kataragama temple (en)

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Kathirgamam Murugan Kovil in Tamil (en)
Ruhunu Maha Kataragama devalaya in Sinhala (en)
கதிர்காமம் (en)
කතරගම (en)

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dbr:Uva_Province,_Sri_Lanka

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"The Katragam dewale consists of two apartments, of which the outer one only is accessible. Its walls are ornamented with figures of different gods, and with historical paintings executed in the usual style. Its ceiling is a mystically painted cloth, and the door of the inner apartment is hid by a similar cloth. On the left of the door there is a small foot-bath and basin, in which the officiating priest washes his feet and hands before he enters the sanctum. Though the idol was still in the jungle where it had been removed during the rebellion, the inner room appropriated to it was as jealously guarded as before" (en)

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Account of the Interior of Ceylon. Davy, John (en)

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John Davy's account of Kataragama 1821 (en)

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180 (xsd:integer)

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c. 1100 – 15th century (en)

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6.416666666666667 81.33333333333333

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カタラガマ神殿 (Kataragama Temple) はスリランカのウバ州カタラガマにある神殿。都市名にもなっているカタラガマとはヒンドゥー教の軍神スカンダのことである。市内のやモスクなど多くの宗教施設が集まる宗教公園内にあり、本殿付近には考古学博物館や菩提樹がある。 (ja)
Kataragama temple (Sinhala: රුහුණු කතරගම දේවාලය, lit. 'Ruhuṇu Kataragama Dēvālaya', Tamil: கதிர்காமம் முருகன் கோயில், lit. 'Katirkāmam Murugan Kōvil') in Kataragama, Sri Lanka, is a temple complex dedicated to Buddhist guardian deity Kataragama deviyo and Hindu War God Murugan. It is one of the few religious sites in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult to access; today it is accessible by an all-weather road. The shrines and the nearby Kiri Vehera are managed by Buddhists, the shrines dedicated to Teyvāṉai and Shiva are managed by Hindus and the mosque by Muslims. (en)

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