Vaikuntanatha Temple, Therani, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh

Vaikuntanatha Temple, Therani, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh

Vaikuntanatha Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located at Therani village in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Temple is believed to be 500 years old. The temple was constructed during 16^th Century on the banks of river Kushasthali.

History

The temple was built during 16^th Century by Therani Nadadur Sudarsanachary, a Pundit in the royal court of the Karvetinagaram Rulers. On his request, the local rulers got the temple constructed with the permission of the mighty Vijayanagara emperor Sri Krishandevaraya, who was wielding control over these areas. With the passage of time, the temple turned into a ramshackle structure, especially with the migration of the families of hereditary trustees to greener pastures like Chennai, Mumbai and beyond the shores. T.N. Gopalan, a retired Public Works engineer with the Government of Tamil Nadu and having roots in the village, was instrumental in getting the temple renovated and bringing it back to life. It took just 57 days for the entire process of resurrecting the ruined structure and breathing life into the deities through elaborate processes as enshrined in scriptures.

The Temple

Presiding Deity is called as Vaikuntanatha Swamy. The Sanctum houses the deities of Vaikuntanatha Swamy along with Sridevi and Bhoodevi on either side.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 3 Kms from Ekambarakuppam Railway Station, 5 Kms from Nagari Railway Station, 5 Kms from Nagari Bus Stand, 22 Kms from Thiruthani, 49 Kms from Tirupati Airport, 52 Kms from Tirupati, 58 Kms from Chittoor, 110 Kms from Chennai and 107 Kms from Chennai Airport.

Location

Naguleswaram Temple, Keerimalai, Jaffna, Srilanka

Naguleswaram Temple, Keerimalai, Jaffna, Srilanka

Naguleswaram Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Keerimalai Town, in the suburb of Kankesanthurai in Jaffna District in the Northern province of Srilanka. The Temple is also known as Thirutambaleswaram Kovil of Keerimalai. It is one of the oldest shrines of the region, it is the northernmost of the island's Pancha Ishwarams of Lord Siva, venerated by Hindus across the world from classical antiquity. The temple is situated adjacent to the mineral water springs.  Hindus flock in large numbers on Aadi Amaavaasai day which falls during the Tamil month of Aadi, to carry out rituals for their forefathers and bathe in the natural springs. Saint Arunagirinathar of Tamil Nadu had sung his 15^th Century Thirupugazh Hymns on Lord Murugan of this Temple.

Etymology

Keeri in Tamil and Nagula in Sanskrit mean "mongoose". Keeri-Malai in Tamil means "Mongoose-Hill".

Legends

The legendary sage Nagula Muni, shrunk by age and austerity while meditating at a cave in Keerimalai was likened to mongooses that frequented the area. The sage bathed in the springs and was cured of his mongoose face. In gratitude, Nagula Muni constructed a small shrine and worshipped the Lingam enshrined there. This became known as the Thirutambaleswaram Kovil of Keerimalai and also the Naguleswaram Kovil of Keerimalai alluding to the sage.

History

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/04/naguleswaram-temple-keerimalai-history.html

The Temple

The Temple is facing east with an entrance arch and followed by a 9-tiered Rajagopuram. The sanctum houses the presiding deity in the form of huge Shiva Lingam. It is said that the Sivalingam is made out of a very rare material. The Keerimalai natural spring ponds, which is said to have medicinal properties is just a short distance away from the temple. 

Festivals

Maasi Magam and Aadi Amaavaasai festival days, the latter falling during the Tamil month of Aadi (mid July – mid August) brings Hindu pilgrims to the town to carry out rituals for their forefathers and take a divine dip in the natural springs. These rituals are usually carried out by men. Keerimalai is particularly famous for this festival. The new moon or Amaavaasai is a significant day, and according to Tamil astrologers, in the month of Aadi, the moon is in the ascendant in Kataka rasi, which is occupied by the Sun; this concurrence is reminiscent of Siva and Sakthi in Hinduism.

Hence, there is special significance of Aadi Amaavaasai as a day when children remember their departed parents, notably their late fathers. It is customary for them to perform ablutions, offer prayers to the departed souls with the help of a priest (Darpana) and attend a temple of Siva. In Sri Lanka, Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple continues as the foremost shrine for Aadi Amaavaasai.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 300 meters from Keerimalai Bus Stand, 4 Kms from Kankesanthurai, 4 Kms from Kankesanthurai Railway Station, 12 Kms from Palaly Airport, 19 Kms from Jaffna Bus Stand, 20 Kms from Jaffna, 20 Kms from Jaffna Railway Station, 350 Kms from Colombo Airport and 378 Kms from Colombo. The Temple is well connected to Kankesanthurai and Jaffna.

Location | Photos

Naguleswaram Temple, Keerimalai – History

Naguleswaram Temple, Keerimalai – History

Construction:

Naguleswaram temple of Kankesanthurai was restored during the reign of Prince Vijaya of Vanga (543-505 BCE). One of the oldest shrines of the region, it is the northernmost shrine on the island of the Pancha Ishwarams of Lord Siva, venerated by Hindus across the world from classical antiquity. Its adjacent water tank, the Keerimalai Springs attribution to curative properties has been related in irrigation scientific studies to its high mineral content, sourced from underground.

Pandyan-Cholan princess Maruthapura Veeravalli built the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple two miles from Naguleswaram in 785 CE after she was cured of her facial disfigurement at the Keerimalai springs, and later married the King Ukkira Singhan, a scion of Vijaya's dynasty, at the temple's springs. Eliandurvan, one of the four brothers of the Mukkuvar king Vedi Arasan ruled at Keerimalai.

Literary Mention:

Dakshina Kailasa Puranam, a Sanskrit treatise on another Pancha Ishwarams, Koneswaram of Trincomalee, recalls events in the Naguleswaram shrine. The Suta Samhita of the Skanda Puranam written during 6^th Century CE mentions Naguleswaram as among ancient sites of pilgrimage. Saint Arunagirinathar of Tamil Nadu had sung his 15^th Century Thirupugazh Hymns on Lord Murugan of this Temple. Arab navigators spread the wonders of the temple's springs to the West, and James Emerson Tennent, citing Lane's Arabian Nights elaborates on Keerimalai as the site of the shipwreck of Sinbad the Sailor during his sixth voyage, where he collected pearls, hyacinth and ambergris. Arjuna of the Mahabharata fell in love with the Nagakanya (daughter of the Naga king) Ulupi, who bore them a son, Iravan.

Destruction by the Portuguese:

The temple was largely destroyed by Jesuit missionaries following the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom. Following destruction by the Portuguese in 1621, Naguleswaram's Brahmin priests hid the main icons in a well before fleeing, which were since recovered.

Reconstruction:

After a gap of almost 400 years in 1894 ACE, local Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu people of under the urging of Hindu reformer Arumuga Navalar came together and built the present temple. However, the temple was destroyed by fire in 1918 and had to be rebuilt.

Occupation and Bombing by Sri Lankan Army:

In 1983, the temple was occupied by the Sri Lankan army and devotees and priests were unable to visit the premises without special permits. At 16:00 on 16 October 1990, the Sri Lankan Air Force dropped three bombs at Naguleswaram. The first fell on the front of the temple destroying two temple chariots and other buildings, the second bomb fell on the southern courtyard of the temple destroying the premises of the priest. Two days later, on 18 October at 14:30, the Sri Lankan Air Force returned and bombed the temple during the Kedara Gowri fast when thousands of devotees were present, killing 180 Tamil civilians, including 5 infants.

Temple buildings, its ancient gopuram, the library housing palm leaf manuscripts and statues incurred substantial damage. The bombing was carried out despite the presence of temple identification flags at four corners of the temple, as instructed by the International Committee of the Red Cross. No access to the area was granted to devotees until 1997, when the Chief Priest was allowed to visit with an Additional GA of the Sri Lankan government. The temple was found to be ruins with the sacred icons vandalized or missing. The temple was not restored.

Mahakumbhabhishekam in 2012:

On Monday 6 February 2012, a major reconstruction of the temple was completed under the authority of the chief priest, Sivasri Naguleswara Kurukkal, and Naguleswaram's Mahakumbhabhishekam took place. It was a monumental event with thousands of devotees who came to pray and receive blessings.

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Kandy, Srilanka

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Kandy, Srilanka

Kataragama Murugan Temple is a Hindu Temple Complex dedicated to Lord Murugan, located in Kataragama Town near Kandy City in Monaragala District in Uva province of Srilanka. The Temple Complex is dedicated to Hindu War God Murugan and Buddhist guardian deity Kataragama Deviyo. It is one of the few religious sites in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult to access; today it is accessible by an all-weather road. The shrines and the nearby Kiri Vehera are managed by Buddhists, the shrines dedicated to Deivanai and Shiva are managed by Hindus and the mosque by Muslims.

Up until the 1940s a majority of the pilgrims were Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India who undertook an arduous padayatra or "pilgrimage on foot". Since then most pilgrims tend to be Sinhala Buddhists and the cult of Kataragama deviyo has become the most popular amongst the Sinhalese people. With the change in devotees, the mode of worship and festivals has changed from that of Hindu orientation to one that accommodates Buddhist rituals and theology.

It is difficult to reconstruct the factual history of the place and the reason for its popularity amongst Sri Lankans and Indians based on legends and available archeological and literary evidence alone, although the place seems to have a venerable history. The lack of clear historic records and resultant legends and myths fuel the conflict between Buddhists and Hindus as to the ownership and the mode of worship at Kataragama. The priests of the temple are known as Kapuralas and are believed to be descended from Vedda people. Veddas, too, have a claim on the temple, a nearby mountain peak and locality through a number of legends.

There is a mosque and a few tombs of Muslim pious men buried nearby. The temple complex is also connected to other similar temples in Eastern Province dedicated to Murugan which are along the path of pilgrimage from Jaffna in the north to Kataragama in the south of the island; Arunagirinathar traversed this pilgrimage route in the 15th century. The vicinity of the temple complex is used for secretive practices of sorcery and cursing peculiar to Sri Lanka. The entire temple complex was declared a holy place by the government of Sri Lanka in the 1950s; since then political leaders have contributed for its maintenance and upkeep.

Legends

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/04/kataragama-murugan-temple-srilanka-legends.html

History

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/04/kataragama-murugan-temple-srilanka-history.html

The Temple

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/04/kataragama-murugan-temple-srilanka-temple.html

Festivals

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/04/kataragama-murugan-temple-srilanka-festivals.html

Religious Significance

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/04/kataragama-murugan-temple-srilanka-religious-significance.html

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 500 meters from Maligawa Bus Stop, 750 meters from Torrington Bus Station, 1 Km from Kandy, 1 Km from Kandy Railway Station, 1 Km from Kandy-Colombo Intercity Bus Station, 5 Kms from Kandy Airport, 81 Kms from Nuwara Eliya, 103 Kms from Colombo Airport and 116 Kms from Colombo. Kandy is well connected to Colombo and other parts of Srilanka by all means of Transport.

Location

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – Religious Significance

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – Religious Significance

Buddhism doesn’t encourage beliefs in gods or their veneration and yet Buddhists in Sri Lanka make an annual pilgrimage to Kataragama. The deity has attained the position of national god amongst the Sinhalese. This reflects the similar position held by Murugan amongst Tamils.

Murugan Cult:

Murugan is known from Sangam Tamil literature. The earliest reference to Murugan was as a god who was propitiated to help in good hunting. He was the primary god of hunter-gatherer people from the mountainous region of southern Tamil Nadu very much like the Veddas of Sri Lanka. With the advancement of settled agriculture, Murugan became identified with the tribal chieftains as a god of war, becoming popular among all segments of the society. He was worshiped symbolically as lance and trees such as the Kadamba (Neolamarckia cadamba) were considered to be sacred to him. Birds such as the peafowl or rooster were also identified with the deity.

Velans were a special class of priests identified with his worship. With advent of North Indian traditions arriving with the Pallava and Kadamba dynasties, Murugan was infused with the aspects of Kartikeya or Skanda, a god of war from North India. All legends that were attributed to Kartikeya were also attributed to Murugan. The syncretic deity has six major temples in Tamil Nadu and countless many other smaller temples. Legends developed that bound the worship of syncretic Skanda-Murugan to Tamil Nadu as a god of the Tamils. It included his marriage of Valli from Thondainadu.

Katargamadevio Cult:

Legends in Sri Lanka claimed that Valli was a daughter of a Vedda chief from Kataragama in the south of the island. The town of Kalutara, known in some sources as Velapura, became associated with Murugan worship as well. The cult of Murugan was grafted onto the worship of Skanda-Kumara that was prevalent in Sri Lanka. Amongst the Sinhalese he became known as the god of Kataragama village, thus Katargamadevio shrines of Katargamadevio are found in almost all Sinhala Buddhist villages and towns. He is recognized as one of the guardian deities.

Worshipers take an arduous pilgrimage on foot through jungles to fulfill their vows to the deity. The pilgrimage included both Tamils from India and Sri Lanka as well as Sinhalese. Number of temples mostly in the east coast of Sri Lanka became identified with Kataragama temple and synchronized their festivals based on the arrival of pilgrims all the way from the north of the island. These include temples in Verugal, Mandur, Tirukovil and Okanda. In the interior of the island temples such as Embekke were built in the 15^th to 17^th century CE to propitiate the Murugan aspect of Kataragamdevio by the Sinhalese elite.

Since the 1950s the cult of Kataragama has taken a nationalistic tone amongst the Sinhalese people. People visit the shrine year long, and during the annual festival it looks like a carnival. People get into trance and indulge in ecstatic rituals formerly associated with Hindus such as fire walking, Kavadi and even body piercing or hook swinging. These ecstatic rituals have carried through the island and are widely practiced. Prominent Sinhalese politicians such as Dudley Senanayake and Ranasinghe Premadasa have associated with the temple upkeep by building, renovation and cleaning projects.

Hindu and Buddhist Conflicts:

Sri Lanka has had a history of conflict between its minority Hindu Tamils and majority Buddhists since its political independence from Great Britain in 1948. Paul Wirz in the 1930s wrote about tensions between Hindus and Buddhists regarding the ownership and mode of ritual practice in Kataragama. For the past millennia the majority of the pilgrims were Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India who undertook an arduous pilgrimage on foot. By the 1940 roads were constructed and more and more Sinhala Buddhists began to take the pilgrimage. This increased the tensions between the local Hindus and Buddhists about the ownership and type of rituals to be used. 

The government interceded on behalf of the Buddhists and enabled the complete takeover of the temple complex and in effect the shrines have become an adjunct to the Buddhist Kiri Vehera. Protests occurred upon this development in the 1940s, particularly when restrictions were placed on Tamil worship at the shrine. Typical Tamil Hindu rituals at Kataragama such as fire walking, Kavadi dance and body piercing have been taken over by the Buddhists and have been spread to the rest of the island. The Buddhist takeover of the temple and its rituals has profoundly affected the rationale nature of austere Theravada Buddhism practiced in Sri Lanka to that of the personal Bhakti veneration of deities found amongst the Hindus of Sri Lanka and South India.

The loss of Hindu influence within the temple complex has negatively affected the Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu society. According to Paul Younger, the Buddhist takeover was precipitated by the overwhelming participation of Buddhists in what are essentially Hindu rituals that worried the Buddhist establishment. There is a strong political and religious pressure to further modify the temple rituals to conform within an orthodox Theravada Buddhist world view.

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – Festivals

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – Festivals

The festivals and daily rituals do not adhere to standard Hindu Agamic or Buddhist rituals. It follows ancient Vedda traditions of worship. Although since the medieval period Hindus, Buddhists and even Muslims have tried to co-opt the temple, deity and its worship as their own, the rituals maintained by the native priests are still intact. The main festival known in Sinhalese as Esela Perehera. It is celebrated during the months of July and August.

About 45 days before the festival begins, the priests go into the forest and find two forked branches of a sacred tree. The branches are then immersed in the local river and kept at the shrines dedicated to Kataragama deviyo and Vali. When the main festival begins, the Yantra representing the deity is retrieved from its storage location, paraded through a street on top of an elephant, and carried to the Valli shrine. After two hours, it is returned.

On the last day of the festival the Yantra is left overnight at the Valli shrine and brought back to the main shrine. The priests conduct the rituals in silence, covering their mouths with white cloth. Associated with the main festival is fire walking arranged by a master of the ritual. Hundreds of devotees participate in fire walking, yet others participate in ecstatic dance forms called Kavadi and body piercing. Many of the pilgrims exhibit signs of being possessed.

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – History

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – History

Origin Theories:

There are number of theories as to the origin of the shrine. According to Heinz Bechert and Paul Younger, the mode of veneration and rituals connected with Kataragama deviyo is a survival of indigenous Vedda mode of veneration that preceded the arrival of Buddhist and Indo-Aryan cultural influences from North India in Sri Lanka in the last centuries BCE, although Hindus, Buddhists and even Muslims have tried to co-opt the deity, rituals and the shrine. But according to S. Pathmanathan, the original Kataragama shrine was established as an adjunct guardian deity shrine to Skanda-Kumara within a Buddhist temple complex.

This particular shrine then became idealized as the very spot where Valli met Murugan amongst local Tamils and Sinhalese, and Kataragama deviyo subsumed the identity of Skanda-Kumara and became a deity on his own right with rituals and pilgrimage. According to Pathmanathan, it happened after the 13^th century CE when Murugan became popular amongst Tamils and before the 15^th century CE when the poet Arunagirinathar identified the very location as a sacred spot.

Literary Evidence:

The first literary mention of Kataragama in a context of a sacred place to Kandha-Murugan is in its Tamil form Kathirkamam in the 15^th century devotional poems of Arunagirinathar. Tradition claims that he visited the forest shrine when he composed the poems. According to his poems, the deity dwelt on top of a mountain. The first mention of Kataragama deviyo in the form Khattugama, as a guardian deity of Sri Lanka and its Buddhist relics, was in the Pali chronicle of Jinakalamali written during the 16^th century in what is today Thailand. (see Jatukham Rammathep, a popular Thai amulet, based on Khattugama, a deity from Sri Lanka).

Kataragama village is first mentioned in the historical annals known as Mahavamsa written down in the 5^th century CE. It mentions a town named Kajjaragama from which important dignitaries came to receive the sacred Bo sapling sent from Ashoka’s Mauryan Empire on 288 BCE. (According to Ponnambalam Arunachalam Kajjaragama is derived from Kârttikeya Grâma ("City of Kartikeya"), shortened to Kajara-gama).

Archeological Evidence:

The vicinity of the temple has number of ancient ruins and inscriptions. Based on dated inscriptions found, the nearby Kiri Vehera is believed to have been built or renovated around the 1^st century BCE. There is an inscription, a votive offering to the Mangala Mahacetiya, apparently the former name of Kiri Vehera on the orders of one Mahadathika Mahanaga, a son of king Tiritara who ruled in 447 CE. There is also an inscription of Dapula I dated to the 7^th century CE who built a sanctuary for Buddhist monks, but the inscription does not mention Kataragama by name. Nearby Tissamaharama was a trading town of antiquity by the 2^nd century BCE, as indicated by Prakrit and Tamil Brahmi legends in coins and potsherds unearthed on the site. The region was part of the ancient kingdom of Ruhuna which played an important role in the political history of the island.

Role of Kalyanagiri Swamy:

The medieval phase of the history of the shrine began with the arrival of Kalyanagiri Swamy from North India sometimes during the 16^th or 17^th century. He identified the very spot of the shrines and their mythic associations with characters and events as expounded in Kanda Puranam. Following his re-establishment of the forest shrine, it again became a place of pilgrimage for Indian and Sri Lankan Hindus. The shrine also attracted local Sinhala Buddhist devotees. 

The caretakers of the shrines were people of the forest who were of indigenous Vedda or mixed Vedda and Sinhalese lineages. The shrines popularity increased with the veneration of the place by the kings of the Kingdom of Kandy, the last indigenous kingdom before colonial occupation of the island. When Indian indentured workers were brought in after the British occupation in 1815, they too began to participate in the pilgrimage in droves, thus the popularity of the shrine increased amongst all sections of the people.

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – Legends

Kataragama Murugan Temple, Srilanka – Legends

Hindu Legends:

According to Hindus and some Buddhist texts, the main shrine is dedicated to Kartikeya, known as Murugan in Tamil sources. Kartikeya, also known as Kumara, Skanda, Saravanabhava, Visakha or Mahasena, is a god of war. The Kushan Empires and the Yaudheyas had his likeness minted in coins that they issued in the last centuries BCE. The deity's popularity has waned in North India but has survived in South India. In South India, he became known as Subrahmanya and was eventually fused with another local god of war known as Murugan among Tamils. Murugan is known independently from Sangam literature dated from the 2^nd century BCE to the 6^th century CE. 

Along the way, a number of legends were woven about the deity’s birth, accomplishments, and marriages, including one to a tribal princess known amongst Tamil and Sinhalese sources as Valli. The Skanda Purana, written in Sanskrit in the 7^th or 8^th century, is the primary corpus of all literature about him. A Tamil rendition of the Skanda Purana known as the Kandha Puranam written in the 14^th century also expands on legends of Valli meeting Murugan. The Kandha Puranam plays a greater role for Sri Lankan Tamils than Tamils from India, who hardly know it.

In Sri Lanka the Sinhala Buddhists also worshiped Kartikeya as Kumaradevio or Skanda-Kumara since at least the 4^th century, if not earlier. Skanda-Kumara was known as one of the guardian deities until the 14^th century, invoked to protect the island; they are accommodated within the non-theistic Buddhist religion. During the 11^th and 12^th century CE, the worship of Skanda-Kumara was documented even among the royal family. At some point in the past Skanda-Kumara was identified with the deity in Kataragama shrine, also known as Kataragama deviyo and Kataragama deviyo, became one of the guardian deities of Sri Lanka. Numerous legends have sprung about Kataragama deviyo, some of which try to find an independent origin for Katargamadevio from the Hindu roots of Skanda-Kumara.

Buddhist Legends:

One of the Sinhala legends tells that when Skanda-Kumara moved to Sri Lanka, he asked for refuge from Tamils. The Tamils refused, and he came to live with the Sinhalese in Kataragama. As a penance for their refusal, the deity forced Tamils to indulge in body piercing and fire walking in his annual festival. This legend tries to explain the location of the shrine as well as the traditional patterns of worship by Tamils. Another Sinhala legends attests that Kataragama deviyo was the deity worshiped by Dutugamunu in the 1^st century BCE, before his war with Ellalan, and that Dutugamunu had the shrine erected to Skanda-Kumara at Kataragama after his victory. This legend has no corroboration in the Mahavamsa, the historic annals about Dutugamunu.

Another Sinhala legend makes Kataragama deviyo a deification of a Tamil spy sent by Elara to live amongst the Sinhalese or a Tamil juggler who made the locals deify him after his death. Yet another legend says that Kataragama deviyo is a deification of the legendary king Mahasena, who is born as a bodhisattva or Buddha in waiting. Anthropologists Richard Gombrich and Gananath Obeyesekere were able to identify new strands of these legends and the originators of these legends since the 1970s, with the burgeoning popularity of the shrine and its deity amongst the Sinhala Buddhists.

According to the practice of cursing and sorcery peculiar to Sinhala Buddhists, Kataragama deviyo has his dark side represented by Getabaru and Kadavara. The current Getabaru shrine is located in an isolated place near Morawaka. The shrine for Kadavara is in the town of Kataragama. His power to curse is carried out in secret outside the Main Kataragama deviyo shrine at a place at the Menik Ganga, where he receives animal sacrifices. Katagama devio is also directly invoked in sorcery practices.

Muslim Legends:

Muslim or Islamic legends about Kataragama are relatively newer. According to Muslims Kataragama is referred to as al-Khidr or land of Khidr. A number of Muslim pious and holy men seems to have migrated from India and settled down in the vicinity. The earliest known one is one Hayathu, whose simple residence became the mosque. Another one called Karima Nabi is supposed to have discovered a source of water that when drunk provides immortality. Historic figures such as Jabbar Ali Sha (died 1872) and Meer Syed Mohhamed Alisha Bawa (died 1945) also have mausoleums built over their tombs.

Vedda Legends:

The Veddas who have kept out of the mainstream culture of Sri Lanka do not subscribe to Kataragama deviyo as their deity. Unassimilated Veddas consider Kande Yakka or Gale Yakka (Lord of the Rock) as their primarily deity to be propitiated before hunts. They propitiate the deity by building a shrine made out of thatched leaves with a lance or arrow planted in the middle of the structure. They dance around the shrine with the shaman becoming possessed with the spirits of the dead ancestors who guide the hunting party in techniques and places to go hunt.

Anthropologist Charles Gabriel Seligman felt that the Kataragama deviyo cult has taken on some aspects of the Kande Yakka rituals and traditions. A clan of Veddas who lived near to the shrine was known as Kovil Vanam (Temple precincts). As a clan they are extinct but were to be found in the eastern province during the 19^th century. Local Veddas believed that the nearby mountain peak of Vaedihitti Kande (The Mountain of Veddas) was the abode of the deity. The deity after coming over the shore married a local Vedda woman named Valli, a daughter of a Vedda chief and resided in the mountain. Eventually he was coaxed into settling down at the current location.