Thiruketheecharam and India

 Thiruketheecharam was in shambles.

Thiruketheecharam was destroyed beyond recognition. 

Remnants were buried under rubbles, sand dunes and overgrown shrubs.

300 years after its unholy destruction came the alert.

No one else other than the beacon of Saiva renaissance rang the bell.

Aarumuka Naavalar identified the temple for those who forgot its glorious past.

His sacrosanct writings directed the pious Hindus to rediscover the site.

That was the match stick. That was the spark of fire.

Saivaites became fire brands.

Hurdles after hurdles were surmounted before a firm hold on the site and its holy environs were entrusted to devote Saivaites.

Those devoted Saivites were none other than the Nagarathaar community of Tamil Nadu who were engaged in trading in Sri Lanka.

They were relay runners. They continued with the historical Tamil Nadu connection in the renovation upkeep and maintenance of the temple complex. History is repetitive of this holy connection. 

Mythology attributes the swirling of a Himalayan mount into the Indian ocean. This landed in Sri Lanka to become the hillock. It became the abode of Shiva. His architect savant Wiswakarma designed his abode. His son Mayan constructed the temple. Sage Kethu worshipped Shiva at the temple. Hence it is Ketheecharam. 

Sage Akathiyar was on Shiva's assignment in the south. His first camp was at  Thiruketheecharam. His formulations on Tamil grammar took shape at Thiruketheecharam. He completed his assignment at Pothigai hills in Tamil Nadu.

Temple builder Mayan had a beautiful daughter Vandothari. Vandothari grew in the holy environment at Thiruketheecharam. She was Ravanan's first love.

Raman came to Sri Lanka to rescue his wife Seetha. He had to kill so many lives in the process. Raman came to Thiruketheecharam to worship Shiva to redeem him from the sins of mass killings. 

Guardian of Sivanolipathamalai, now Adams peak, King Maniyakkan was ruling from Kelani in the south. He worshipped at Thiruketheecharam before reaching Jaffna to resolve a palace coup.

Kalinga prince Vijayan was washed ashore off the coast in Sri Lanka. He managed his way to the Iyakka throne at Anurathapura by marrying the Tamil Iyakka clan princess Kuveni. Subsequently King Vijayan sought to marry another Tamil princess from the Pandya Kingdom. She came with a retinue. Thiruketheecharam was renovated by sculptors from Pandya Kingdom for the solemnization of the Anurathapura - Pandyan alliance.

Kings from Chera country came to Manthai for trade. They contributed to the upkeep of Thiruketheecharam through the Jaffna Kings.

Poothan Thevanar, the Tamil Sangam poet of fame from Sri Lanka, was a regular worshipper at Thiruketheecharam.

Few centuries of Jain and Buddhist influences in southern India was overturned in favour of Saivaism and Vaishnavism by Naayanmaar and Aalwaar respectively.

Pioneer Saint Thirugnanasambandar followed by Saint Suntharar of the Saiva renaissance era sung to praise Shiva at Thiruketheecharam.

Successive Pallava Kings from Kanchipuram contributed to the upkeep and maintenance of Thiruketheecharam through Jaffna Kings.

Chola's contribution to the renovation has been inscribed in granite to be seen even today.

Arya Chakravarthis of Nallur regularly brought sculptors from Tamil Nadu to renovate and maintain the infrastructure.

Nayakka kings of Tanjore and Madurai along with Raja of Ramnad channeled their resources through the Jaffna Kings towards upkeep and maintenance of Thiruketheecharam

You had a glimpse of the Indian connection to Thiruketheecharam. It has been continuous since the dawn of history. 

The sand dune, covered shrub laden site has been excavated by renowned archeologists from Sri Lanka, India, China, USA, Canada and UK. They have confirmed what mythology and literature recorded. You heard of mythology. You heard of literary evidence. You heard of archaeological evidence.

Such was the glorious past of Thiruketheecharam. Attempts to destroy the temple complex by aliens have been foiled. Sri Lankan and Malaysian Saivaites were in the forefront to contribute to the restoration of the nearly forgotten temple.

It was Ganapathy Sthapathy and his father from Tamil Nadu who drew the architectural plan for the restoration. They come from the family of Viswakarma, the progenitor, precursor, and the hallowed predecessor who designed the temple originally for Shiva. Their ancestors were the architects for the Rajaraja Cholan's Great temple of Thanjaavoor.

Sri Lankan Tamils were fortunate that Shiva inducted Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan, a foreign service bureaucrat, a confidant of the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, then a Minister to serve Him as President of Thiruketheecharam Temple Restoration Society for a prolonged period. He renounced his worldly needs to dedicate himself up to his last days to renovate Thiruketheecharam. 

From the Himalayan connection to the latest Nagarathaar contribution, India played its role in the renovation, upkeep and maintenance of the temple in association with the devotees of Thiruketheecharam.

Conscious of the historical past, the Government of India has now contributed its might in the reconstruction of this massive temple complex. Four hundred million Indian rupees, never allocated before for any cultural complex in Sri Lanka has been allocated by the Government of India. This amount was for the infrastructure. For the granite sculptured in India to be erected at Thiruketheecharam by Indian sculptors. Complementing the immense contribution through many decades by Sri Lankan and Malaysian Saivaites, India's share is a valuable addition reminding of the Pandya, Chera Pallava Chola Nayakka and Nagarthaar contributions of the historical past.

Global Saivaite community, for whom the Nayanmaar's praise is the forerunner, salutes the holy efforts of the Indian Government for its timely contribution to the Thiruketheecharam restoration process.