After a lovely 90 minute road trip on Sri Lanka’s palm-fringed highway, we arrived at a replica of the Murugan Temple, and as we headed from Colombo we couldn’t help but notice its vibrant architecture Jaffner. This resounding Hindu Tamil temple Punchi Kataragama was built by local Todi traders and landowners in Madampe, Chilaw, near Madampe LDR prawn farm and main route A3. In January 2012, a replica of the Kataragama Temple dedicated to Lord Murugan was inaugurated.
This Murugan temple has contemporary Dravidian-style architecture that adds a sense of grandeur to Madampe, a small village in Puttalam district. As Madampe is located in the main coconut growing area of Sri Lanka, the road to this magnificent temple is lined with coconut palms. We decided to stop at this Hindu Kovil as the huge statue gazing at us from behind the huge gate caught our attention. I found out that this temple is called Punchi Kataragama Temple, also known as a copy of Kataragama Temple. Kataragama is the name of the Sri Lankan South Indian god Murugan.
The mural at the main entrance is a goddess with more than ten hands, which is very similar to the mural in Ravana, which makes me very happy. It’s at the top of the gate. Two other goddesses, which I believe are incarnations of the same goddess as the central goddess in the picture, support it beside it. There is a small temple under a tree at the entrance of this stunning temple where devotees can make offerings. As you go through the main gate, the huge statue is in front of you, and a second smaller temple with maroon tiles is on your left.
On the day and time I visited, the temple was being prepared for the daily puja, and one of the offerings was a banana leaf-style tray with 15 ghee Diyas filled with clarified hard butter and Diya Batti. The plate was piled with coconuts, a dozen bananas, a watermelon and two betel leaves for extra offerings.
Vishnu and his two wives Sridevi and Bhudevi are depicted on the roof of the temple in an arched pattern. On both sides of this arch, there are two beautiful peacock statues. Sridevi is the goddess of immaterial wealth, Bhu-Devi is the goddess of material wealth, Saraswati and Lakshmi, the former is moksha-Patni, or provides intellectual pleasure, and the latter is Bhoga-Patni, or provides material pleasure, the respective deities in some temples.
The gigantic Murugan statue is the focal point of the temple’s main statues, which also include a huge pale blue Shiva statue, a bright green Hanuman statue, and a multi-headed Ganesha statue. In this Kovil, peacock statues are everywhere, mostly in the upper part of the smaller temples. The side design is reminiscent of Tamil Cowell, with several statues clinging to the pyramid shape. You are welcome to visit the temple and take part in the daily puja, but photography is not allowed inside the main temple. You can only enter with a desire for faith and admiration for architectural marvels.
This Kovil is a famous attraction on the Ramayana trail because although it is a replica of the Murugan temple, devotees visit it with the same beliefs as the original temple. Also, the architecture is stunning. A historic Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple and a Roman Catholic church honoring St. Sebastian are also located in Madampe. Corea House is the historic private residence of the Corea and Seneviratne families, who have represented the kings of Kandy as the estate owners since the mid-18th century, and is a well-known historic landmark in the town.
