The Hindu shrine called Naguleshvaram or or Naguleswaram or Nagulesvara or Nagilesa Kovil belongs to the small town of Keerimalai, also spelt Keerimale or Kirimalai. To many foreign tourists the sanctuary is therefore known as the "temple of Keerimalai". Historically, the temple is also known as Thirutambaleswaram Kovil.
Apart from Nallur Kandaswamy, this is the most venerated Hindu place of worship on the Jaffna peninsula. It's located at its northern shores, 17 km north of Jaffna city and 21 km west of Point Pedro.
PANCHA ISHVARAM TEMPLES
Naguleshvaram Kovil is one of the five Ishvaram temples on Indian ocean islands and the only which is situated one on the Jaffna Peninsula. Ishvaram, also transcribed Isvara, is the Lord or the World. Most Tamil Hindus identify him as Shiva. Thus, the Naguleshvaram is one of the most respected Shiva temples in the Tamil culture. There are many more Kovils dedicated to Shiva all over Sri Lanka. However, only few of them are called "Ishvarams". Besides Naguleshvaram, the Ishvarams of Sri Lanka are Muneshvaram near Chilaw in the west, Koneshvaram in Trincomalee in the northeast and Ketheeshvaram near Mannar in the northwest of the island. That's altogether four. But which one is the fifth? Some Sri Lankan Shiva temples in the Northern and Eastern Provinces claim to be the fifth Ishvaram.
Many people say, the fifth Ishvaram was the Hindu temple at Dondra Head, the southernmost point of the island. That Shiva shrine was, after the Portuguese invaders had destroyed it out of religious fanatism, never reconstructed. However, usually Sri Lanka's four Ishvarams are counted together with one Indian temple as "Five Ishvarams". This Indian Ishvaram on Indian territory is nevertheless not situated on the mainland. It's the Rameshvaram Kovil on the small island of the same name. Indeed, Rameshvaram is the most venerated Shiva shrine of southern India at all. So it's not fair to call it "fifth Ishvaram". It's definitely number 1. However, Rameshvaram plus four said shrines on the island of Sri Lanka are usually counted as the "Five Ishvaram" ("Pancha Ishvarams"). Naguleshvaram Kovil is the northernmost of them.
KEERIMALAI SPRINGS
Keerimalai is not only the name of the location of Naguleshvaram Kovil. It's also the name of the temple's pond for ritual bathes. Particularly in February and on fullmoon days, the ponds are venues of cleansing rites. The larger of the ponds is reserved for men and the smaller one, a little bit hidden further west, is for women only. The Keerimalai springs are famous for their freshwater. Locals believe there in an underground tunnel connecting the pond with the Nilawarai well, which is the richest freshwater spring of Jaffna Peninsula, believed to be bottomless. Furthermore, the water of the Keerimalai ponds is reputed for curative properties, healing rheumatic deseases in particular. Irrigation studies attested a high mineral content, besides sources of groundwater similar to those at Nilawarai near Puttur. Actually, large quantities of freshwater just at a sandy beach and in only a few meters distance from the ocean are a kind of miracle of nature. Not surprisingly, the Keerimalai freshwater plays a crucial role in the Naguleshvaram temple's myths of origin.
LEGENDS OF ORIGIN OF NAGULESHVARAM
In Tamil, "Keeri-malai" means "mongoose-hill". The Sanskrit term for this animal is "Nagul", thus both names "Keerimalai" and "Naguleshvaram" refer to the same legend.
A legendary sage was living as a reclusive ascestic in a cave in this area. Since his old face resembled that of mongooses living in the same area, he was called "Mongoose face", which translates to "Nagula Muni" in Sanskrit. But when bathing in the freshwater springs near the ocean, his face became immaculate and sound again. Out of gratitude, the old sage constructed a small shrine close to the miraculous ponds in order to worship Lord Shiva's icon, the Lingam. So the temple later on got the sage's and the god's combined names: "Mongoose - Lord Ishvaram", this is "Nagul-eshvaram"
The Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Kovil in only three kilometers distance also owes its existence to the healing powers of the Keerimalai springs, too. Princess Marutha Piravika Valli from mainland India is said to have been cured from a horse-shaped face, when she, on the advice of a sage, was bathing in the freshwater ponds. In commemoration, she built the nearby Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Kovil, the name of which translates to "city of the face-horse disappearance". The very same Tamil princess later married the King Ukkira Singhan, who had arrived from Kalinga in northern India and led a rebellion against the Sinhalese King Mahinda II and, according to the Tamil chronicles, was no less than the legendary founder of the Jaffna Kingdom. This wedding ceremony of utmost importance for founding a dynasty of the Tamil kingdom is said to have taken place at the thaumaturgic springs of Keerimalai.
There are more legends attributed to Keerimalai, narrating events from much earlier periods. A brother of the legendary pirate and king Vedi Arasan, who resided on the island of Delft (Neduntivu), is said to have ruled at Keerimalai. And even earlier - even before our present world age, the Kali Yuga - Arjuna, main character of the Indian Mahabharata epic, must have been in Keerimalai. It's claimed that it was at this pond where he fell in love with Nagakanni, daughter of a king of the Nagas.
HISTORY OF KEERIMALAI NAGULESHVARAM TEMPLE
In records of historical periods, Keeramalai or the Naguleshvaram temple are recalled too. The Dakshina Kailasha Purana, a Sanskrit treatise on the Koneshvaram Kovil of Trincomalee, includes a subplot at the Naguleshvaram Kovil. The Skanda Purana, one of the 18 main Puranas of Hinduism, composed roughly in the 7th century, mentions Naguleswaram as an ancient site of pilgrimage.
Freshwater springs close to the ocean also attracted seafarers from countries much farer away than India, namely from the Middle East. The Irishman James Emerson Tennent, appointed British Colonial secretary of Ceylon in 1845, is the composer of the most-read Ceylon travel reports of the 19th century. Tennent suggests, Keerimalai must have been the beach where Sindbad the Sailor shipwrecked during his sixth voyage.
Just as all other important temples close to the coastline, Naguleshvaram Kovil was destroyed by Portuguese colonial rulers on behalf of fanatic Jesuit missionaries. Locals believe, that the priests of Naguleshvaram Kovil managed to hid the Shiva Lingam and other icons in a well before fleeing.
It was no less than Arumuka Navalar, the famous Tamil revivalist and reformer of Hinduism, who in 1894 initiated the reconstruction of the legendary sanctuary, which was permitted by the British. The restored temple fell in decay again. After bein destroyed by fire in 1918, it had to be rebuilt a second time.
The temple again suffered decay during the decades of the Sri Lankan civil war. It was bombed by the Sri Lankan Air Force in 1990. 180 pilgrims are said to have been killed and the temple was in ruins again. In 2012, the completion of the new buildings was celebrated in a Kumbhabhishekam ceremony. This is a typical ceremony of Tamil Hinduism. "Kumbha" means the crown of the temple building and "abheshikam" is a bathing rite. Water from the roof drops into the sanctum santorum, where the main idol is placed. Thousands of Hindus came to join this festival, which was a kind of reopening ceremony.
AADI AMAVASI FESTIVAL AT NAGULESHVARAM AND SIRAPPAR MADAM
Ever since, the Naguleshvaram Kovil and the Keerimalai ponds are frequented by Hindu devotees in large numbers annually to celebrate the auspicious new moon day in the Tamil month of Aadi (July/August). The Aadi Amavasai bathing ceremonies at Keerimalai are usually carried out by men only.
There is a proof, that Naguleshvaram Kovil attracted large crowds of pilgrims in previous times. Sri Lanka's largest pilgrims rest was built in the vicinity of this temple. Today's visitors cross the ruins of this complex called Sirappar Madam in Tamil, since it is situated just in between the main car park and the Keerimalai springs. "Madam" is the Tamil word for the same kind of resthouse which is called "Ambalama" in Sinhala. Therefore, this ruined building is also known as Sirappar Ambalama. It once had a kitchen and separated sleeping chambers and a big hall in the centre. The pilgrims rest was partly made of coral stones. Parts of the Ambalama ruins are picturesquely overgrown by trees.
