Kokkadicholai Thaanthonrichcharar Kovil (also known as Kokkadicholai Thanthonrichcharam) is the most significant

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

Kovil located in Kokkadicholai, 15km southwest

Batticaloa District Batticaloa District ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டம் ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මඩකලපුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''maḍakalapūva distrikkaya'') is one of the 25 dist ...

Eastern Province, Sri Lanka The Eastern Province ( ta, கிழக்கு மாகாணம் ''Kiḻakku Mākāṇam''; si, නැගෙනහිර පළාත ''Næ̆gĕnahira Paḷāta'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative di ...

. It is also one of the oldest and five most important Kovils in Sri Lanka and it is believed to be one of the two Kovils in Sri Lanka to have naturally built Sivalingam. The

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

of the temple is held annually usually in the month of September. One of the main chariots used in the festival was constructed with wooden sculptures in the 18th century.

History

The temple is believed to have been originated in the 4th century BC and built by Ulaga Naachi who belonged to the

Chola Empire The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

. The temple is also well known for its miracles. One of them famously witnessed during the Portuguese era in Sri Lanka. A bull statue which is located inside the temple ate grass and chased the Portuguese soldiers away from the temple who were aiming to destroy the temple at that time.

References

{{Shiva temples Hindu temples in Batticaloa District History of Batticaloa District Religious buildings and structures in Batticaloa Siva temples in Sri Lanka Dravidian architecture Ancient Tamil Nadu Chola architecture