Of the five hallowed Siva temples (pancha ishwarams) in Srilanka Naguleswaram once stood supreme in the Jaffna peninsula. Hindu shrines attain a unique status when blessed with three special attributes moorthy (deity), thalam (temple and its precincts) and theertham (source of water). Endowed with all three, Naguleswaram has been regarded from ancient times a pre-eminent place of worship.
Curative properties of Keerimalai
Popularly called Keerimalai (nagulam – keeri – mongoose), the place has its name wonderfully preserved in numerous legends. Previously it had been called Tiruthambaleswaram. The curative value of its waters is the theme around which many legends have emanated. Ancient texts refer to the confluence of fresh water from the springs on the coast, with brackish water from the sea, ganga samudra sangamam, as the union of the powers of Siva and Sakthi. The sage Nagulamuni found a cave nearby a haven for meditating and “faced the rising and setting suns with equal facility and had the summer and winter solstices directly overhead, when they occurred” (Dr.R.Vigneswaran in Naguleswaram, 2003). In his treatise, Tamil Culture in Ceylon (1950), MD Raghavan refers to the “sacred spring of Keerimalai –its very name signifies the hill of Nagula muni, the sage who was shrunken with austerities, that was likened to the Kiri (mongoose)”. Maruthapuraveehavalli, a Pandiyan princess, cured of her equine facial features by the waters, built Maviddapuram Kandaswamy temple nearby.
The late Dr.Arumugam, an Irrigation engineer by background and Hindu scholar, in his book More Hindu Temples in Srilanka, quotes scientific evidence relating to the mineral content of the waters of Keerimalai and that being the likely reason for the curative properties.
There are numerous puranic references to the historic temple, notably in Dhakshina Kailaya puranam. Suta Samhita, a Sanskrit work on Saivaism and part of Skanda Purana, refers to Naguleswaram among ancient sites of pilgrimage, an indication of the antiquity of Saivaism in Jaffna.
(A Short History of Hinduism in Ceylon, CS Navaratnam 1964). There are also stories from the epics Mahabaratha and Ramayana which relate to this ancient temple.
How to Get there
The temple is 7.6 kms West of Jaffna International Airport
Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uA35Xh36ATP2qtav6
Read More
https://www.naguleswaram.org/
