The recently consecrated Thiruketheeswaram temple in Mannar in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province has come to symbolise close ties between Tamil Nadu and the island nation, thanks to the involvement of the Government College of Architecture and Sculpture, Mamallapuram, in the temple’s restoration.
Regarded as one of the five important abodes of Lord Shiva in Sri Lanka, the temple, said to have been worshipped by Saivite saint Thirugnanasambandar, was damaged during the protracted civil war that ended in May 2009. It had a fresh lease of life following the Indian government’s decision to fund the renovation project and lend its technical expertise. The ‘mahamandapam’ was renovated with the support of the Mamallapuram college and materials, including granites, were procured from Tamil Nadu. While the Indian government provided a grant of LKR 320 million for the restoration, which eventually cost LKR 900 million, the Archaeological Survey of India supervised its execution.
Beyond Thirukeetheswaram, the relationship between the two territories can be traced to the proto-historic times. Marks, similar to graffiti inscribed potsherds discovered during early excavations at Adichanallur, Korkai and many other sites of the Early Historic period, were recovered from places such as Tissamaharama, Kantarodai, Manthai and Ridiyagama in Sri Lanka, according to a 2019 publication of the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology on Keeladi. Historians also refer to continuous trade links between the two regions, citing the discoveries in Tamil Nadu of Sinhala Prakrit inscriptions on pottery.
