SLA vacates Thiruketheeswaram temple

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 June 2003, 11:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) which have been occupying the buildings of the Thiruketheeswaram temple in Mannar have vacated the premises last week, according to local reports.

There have been steps taken recently by the SLA to vacate public buildings and temples in other areas of Mannar district. Mannar district Government Agent V. Visvalingam accompanied mine clearing groups to survey the areas vacated by the SLA to initiate clearing operations to facilitate resettlement of displaced people.

Devotees of Thiruketheeswaram had to undergo severe hardships to be able to attend the yearly festivals which were conducted with strict SLA supervison during the past several years.

Thiruketheeswaram and Muneeswaram in the West, Thondeswaram in the South (in Dhondra now in ruins), Koneswaram in the east and Naguleswaram in the North, temples dedicated to Hindu God Ishwaran in all four sides of ancient Ceylon, were believed by Hindus to safeguard the little island from oceanic bed upheavals, convulsions and other natural disasters that prevailed in the region during the prehistoric eras.

Thiruketheeswaram temple, associated with the names of the Saiva Saints Gnana Sambandar, Sundarar and Appar, who have sung its praise, has an exalted and unique place in the religious life of the Hindus. Thousands gather on Sivarathri night for veneration of Lord Shiva.

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