Realizing the centuries of dream

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Realizing the centuries of dream Renovation & Restoration of two

1 Shiva Shiva Shiva Thondar naal thorum thuthi seya arul sei Ketheechcharam athu thane! Realizing the centuries of dream Renovation & Restoration of two Main Vimanams and 24 surrounding Sannithies carved in Granite Stones Thiruketheeswaram Temple, Manthai, Mannar, Sri Lanka

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE Pre-Historic Sacred Temple The Thiruketheeswaram Temple, famous through ages and dedicated to the Supreme God Shiva is one of the most venerated temples of the Hindus of

2 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE Pre-Historic Sacred Temple The Thiruketheeswaram Temple, famous through ages and dedicated to the Supreme God Shiva is one of the most venerated temples of the Hindus of this country. The Temple and the holy waters of the Palavi tank are venerated in the sacred hymns of the two foremost Saiva Saints, Thirugnana Sambantha Nayanar and Suntharamoorthy Nayanar. The history of this Sacred Temple records that Kethu Bhagawan had worshipped Lord Shiva and got His blessings. Hence the name Thiruketheeswaram (Thiru+Kethu+Eeswaram) meaning Holy Shrine of Eeswaram (Shiva) worshipped by Kethu. Thane Ponthu (Njd; nghe;j) Sri La Sri Arumuga Navalar s call to our ancestors It was 350 years after destruction of the Temple by foreign invaders left to Sri La Sri Arumuga Navalar to bring to light the lyrics sung by Saint Sambanthar in the 7 th century and Saint Sundarar in the 9 th century in which the glories of the Lord of Thiruketheeswaram, the greatness of the Port of Mathottai and Palavi tank and the richness of this part of Jaffna kingdom were eulogized in no uncertain terms. In his publication on State of Religion in Jaffna Sri Arumuga Navalar reminded our ancestors by saying that there was a Honey Beehive ( Thane Ponthu ) in Thiruketheeswaram with a medicine hidden inside and appealed to Saivaites to donate even in small amounts which would ultimately add to a huge amount. He told our ancestors: If you do not forget this noble duty and complete the restoration of the Temple, Lord Shiva who is the Ocean of Grace ( Arul ) will bless you all. Our ancestors responded to the call of Navalar Peruman purchased the land at a govt. auction and rebuilt the Temple. The present Thiruketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society was formed in Colombo on October 19, 1948, and

under its auspices, the temple as it stood was repaired and the Kumbabishekam Ceremony was performed in August 1952.

3 under its auspices, the temple as it stood was repaired and the Kumbabishekam Ceremony was performed in August Further renovations were done due to untiring efforts of our ancestors and devotees all over the world and there were Kumbabishekams on 31 st October 1960 and 4 th July Due to the unrest prevailed in the area since August 1990 the Temple had to be closed and there were no poojahs and religious activities till June Last Maha Kumbabishekam in 2003 Maha Kumbabishekam was held on 6 th July 2003 and the poojahs started again. Lot of work had to be done in repairing and restoring the roads and other infrastructure facilities. PROPOSED RENOVATION & RESTORATION OF THE TEMPLE Stage 1 Restoration Maha mandapam by the Government of India Responding to the appeal made by the Temple Restoration Society actively supported by the Govt. of Sri Lanka, the Indian Government came forward and spent more than Rs. 360 Million and implemented stage 1 of the Temple Restoration work by constructing the Inner MahaMandapam with granite stones as an initial step to restore the Temple to its pristine glory. Stage 2 Restoration - Vimanams and 24 Sannithies The stage 1 which is almost nearing completion led to the members of the Thiruketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society in deciding to initiate the stage 2 - the process of constructing the Vimanams of the Main Shiva and Gowri Ambal Temples and the surrounding 24 shrines carved in granite to bring uniformity in architecture and design and to match the Maha Mandapam which is in finishing stage. The sincere wishes of the members of the society and other devotees too promoted us to embark on this gigantic noble task. If the stage 2 is completed we will be blessed for restoring this Sacred Kovil to its original glory. By the Divine Grace, the work has commenced and several Shilpis from South India have arrived for this purpose. The phase 2 of the construction is expected to be completed by April 2019 with generous support from all the devotees who would be really blessed and fortunate to take part in this meritorious religious service. For this stage 2 the total costs are estimated to be around Rs. 350 Million. We wish to recall that our ancestors believed as stated in the following hymnmeaning that those built Kovil with stones will reach and always remain at the Sacred feet of His Almighty Shiva at Kailash. Gy;ypdhy; Ie;J Nfhb GJ kz;zhy; gj;jf; Nfhb nrhy;ykh Qhyk; jd;dpy; nrq;fy;yhy; E}W Nfhb my;yp my;ypaq;nfhij Nfsha; mwdiw Myaj;ij fy;ypdhy; nra;tpj;njhu;fs; fapiytpl;l mfyhu; md;nw Stage 3 ThiruGopurams We have identified the construction of the Raja Gopuram in front and the symmetrical Gopuram behind Amman Sannithanam in the North to be considered in stage 3 of the project in our proposed plan. Appeal Due to prudent investments using donations from late Mr. Visvappa, TTRS now having a substantial asset base, our Board of Trustees have (in consultation with our Finance Sub

4 Committee) taken a wise decision to preserve a part thereof to meet the future commitments in the Temple like maintenance etc. Moreover this move also provides a golden opportunity for all devotees of shri Gowri Ambal Sametha Thiruketheechara Peruman to involve and to be a part of this noble task by making their contributions and thereby receive his blessings. Be blessed with this God given, once a life time opportunity of taking part in the restoration of this old historic temple by generously contributing in whatever way possible and to assist the society to finish the project on time. The names of all donors who contribute to the value of Rupees one million and over will be displayed in an acknowledgement board kept in a conspicuous place close to the front Thirugopuram. Their names will be also published in the Kumbabhisheka Malar to go on record. The donations and contributions may be made in the form of cash, cheque, direct remittances and by donation of building materials under advice to us. Kindly ensure to obtain the receipt from the temple administration for all your contributions. (The bank account details are given below.) President Kandiah Neelakandan Deputy President S. U. Chandrakumaran Vice Presidents Dr. Aruthirumurugan S. Dhanabalaa S. Gnanasundaram Dr. M. Kathirgamanathan S. Nadarajah M. Pavalakanthan K. V. Kamaleshwaran (Miss) M. Sivakumari I. Thayanantharajah Joint Secretaries S. Raghavan Pulavar A. Thirunavukkarasu J.P Joint Treasurers (Mrs) A. Kailasapillai S. S. Ramakrishnan V. Kandasamy Asst. Secretaries S. Kugathasan S. Thirulingetheeswaran Asst. Treasurers T. Sanakan S.Kandasamy Board of Trustees Chairman M. Thavayogarajah Kandiah Neelakandan President - TTRS M. Thavayogarajah Chairman Board of Trustees of TTRS Vice Chairman S.Brindhavananathan Secretary S. Raghavan Joint Secretary (Ex-Officio) Name: Thiruketheeswaram Temple Restoration Society Bank Name: Hatton National Bank Bank Account Number: SWIFT CODE: HBLILKLX When you make remittances directly to our Bank please notify us Other Members President (Ex-Officio) Deputy President (Ex-Officio) Pulavar A. Thirunavukkarasu J.P Joint Secretary (Ex-Officio) Joint Treasurers (Ex-Officio) S. Subramaniam Chettiar Rep. New Kathiresan Temple S. Rajendran Rep. Old Kathiresan Temple S. Thiyagarajah (S.T.R) E.Annalingam S.T.S. Arulanantham S. Viswalingam

5 Sri Thiruketheeswaranathar Vimanam Estimated Costs LKR 38.0 Mn Sri Gowri Ambal Vimanam Estimated Costs LKR 22.0 Mn Ganapathy, Subramaniyar, Estimated Costs for each LKR 11.5 Mn Palliyarai Sannathy Estimated Costs LKR 11.4 Mn Thirumalaipathi Mandapam, Thirumathil Estimated Costs LKR 61.7 Mn Nadarajar Estimated Costs LKR 14.6 Mn

6 Nalvar Estimated Costs LKR 7.0 Mn Somaskandhar, Estimated Costs LKR 16.0 Mn Mahavishnu, Panchalingam, Mahalakshimi, Somaskandhar (Chola Period), Sri Arumugaswamy Estimated Costs for each LKR 16.1 Mn Sarabeswarar, Saneeswaran, Sambanthar, Kethu, Santhanakuravar, Chekizhar, Sundarar, Bhairavar Estimated Costs for each LKR 5.2 Mn Chanthiran, Sooriyan Estimated Costs for each LKR 4.2 Mn Yagasalai Estimated Costs LKR 6.5 Mn Vasantha Mandapam Estimated Costs LKR 6.4 Mn

8 The details of the estimated costs for the construction of the two main vimanams and 24 surrounding sannithies are given below: MAIN VIMANAMS Sivan Vimanam Sri Gowri Ambal Vimanam PARIVARA SANNITHIES Ganapathy Panchalingam Somaskanthar ( Chola Period) Somaskanthar Arumugaswamy Maha Vishnu Maha Lakshimi Nadarajar Murugan Sarabeswarar Bhairavar Saneeswaran Chanthiran Sooriyan Kethu Sambandhar Santhanakuravar Chekizhar Naalvar Sundarar Nambiandarnambi & Rajarajacholan Yagasalai Vasanthamandapam Palliyarai Thirumaligaipathi Amount (SLR) 38 Million 22 Million 11.5 Million 16.0 Million 14.6 Million 11.5 Million 4.2 Million 4.2 Million 7.0 Million 5.2 million 6.5 Million 6.4 Million 11.4 Million 61.7 Million Contact details: Mr. Kandiah Neelakandan President - TTRS neela@mnlaw.lk Phone : Mr. M. Thavayogarajah Chairman Board of Trustees of TTRS mthavam@gmail.com Phone : Mr. S.U. Chandrakumaran Deputy President TTRS suchandrakumaran@gmail.com Phone : Joint Secretaries Mr. Pulavar A Thirunavukkarasu Phone : Mr. S. Raghavan s-raghavan@hotmail.com Phone : Joint Treasurers (Ms.) A. Kailasapillai hariomak@gmail.com Phone : Mr. S.S. Ramakrishnan ssram42@yahoo.com Phone : Mr. V.Kandasamy vkandasami@gmail.com Phone : Thiruketheeswaram Temple, Manthai, Mannar Phone : or info@thiruketheeswaramtemple.org Website :

HINDU TEMPLE & CULTURAL CENTER

HINDU TEMPLE & CULTURAL CENTER OF WISCONSIN A M E R I C A N H I N D U A S S O C I A T I O N A Shiva Vishnu (Balaji) Temple 2138 South Fish Hatchery Road Fitchburg, WI 53575 American Hindu Association The