Aathi Koneswaram Temple, Thampalakamam, Trincomalee – History

Aathi Koneswaram Temple, Thampalakamam, Trincomalee – History

Ati Konanayakar temple is situated in the village of Thampalakamam that was part of the medieval semi-independent feudal division called Thampalakamam Pattu. Prior to the arrival of Portuguese in 1622 and then Dutch colonial overloads in 1656, leaders of the Thampalakamam Pattu and others around it were independent rulers sometimes subject to Jaffna kingdom or Kandyan kingdom. Thampalakamam is surrounded by lush paddy fields and was a prosperous settlement.

According to Tirukonasala Puranam a Tamil chronicle written during the period of Kandyan kingdom's ascendance in the general area of Tampalakamam Pattu, the temple was built with the help of Kandyan King Rajasingha II (1630–1689) after the loss of Koneswaram temple in the Trincomalee town. The idols that were saved from the destroyed temple were moved from place to place and eventually located in a secure territory under the Kandyan jurisdiction.

According to the chronicle Vara rasasinkam identified with Rajasinghe II by historians such as S. Pathmanathan, also provided for the upkeep of the temple by allocating land to the temple in perpetuity and revenue distribution from local taxes. Another Tamil text of interest is Konesar Kalvettu. It is written from a point of view legitimizing the claims of the new temple, that is Ati Konanayakar, to the traditions, revenue and services rendered to the destroyed Koneswaram temple. Authorship of the text is attributed to one Kavirasa Varotayan and it was written after the new temple was established.

According to the Tirukonasal Puranam, Rajasingha II directed the local feudal lords to maintain the temple and its administration. These traditions were maintained by the local Vanniar chiefs of the Tampalakamam Pattu division during the ensuing period. The prevalence of this tradition as a successor temple to the original temple destroyed by the Portuguese was recorded by the Dutch colonial governor of Trincomalee, Van Senden in 1786. He recorded the physical status of the idols that were from the original Koneswaram temple.

Residents of Tampalakamam Pattu made requests to the Dutch colonials to follow the traditions of allocating a portion of the revenue generated from paddy cultivation of rice to the maintenance of the temple. A similar request was also made to the British colonial governor Alexander Johnston by the Vanniyar lords of the Tampalakamam Pattu, after the British had captured the island in 1815.

As a substitute temple to the original Koneswaram temple that was destroyed, tradition has endowed Ati Konanayakar with all privileges that was enjoyed by the previous temple. This includes the association of Hindus from various parts of Trincomalee district its festival organization to the assimilation of all local non-Saiva cults within the temple premises. During the Kandyan and later Dutch colonial period the Tamapalakamam temple also enjoyed revenue from the land that was given to it via royal endowments.

During the British colonial period the temple came under the control of private ownership. The temple’s private trustees were removed and in 1945 it became the responsibility of locally elected board. Of the original temple, only the main sanctum sanctorum remains, all other buildings are of newer construction. The Gopuram or main entrance tower was added in 1953 and it is one of the tallest in the region.

As part of the Sri Lankan civil war, the Tampalakamam village was severely affected leading to the abandonment of the village and the temple. During the 1990s the village was depopulated and the population was residing in refugee camps. The temple was used as a refugee camp as well. During the ensuing period demographic change had taken place in the surrounding area. By 2003 the village and the region was resettled with returning refugees.