Manavari Temple

Manavari temple is one of the important Hindu Temple located in Chilaw, Puttalam District of North Western province.

Historical Background of Manavari Hindu Temple

At present this lingam at Manavari temple is named as Ramalingam as this lingam was erected by Rama. The epic of Ramayana depicts that Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu and a Lingam is a representation of Shiva. Ramalingam is considered as an extraordinary object -of worship of -Hinduism. There are only two lingams in the whole world named after Lord – Rama while one is the Ramalingam at Manavari Temple and other one is in Rameswaram in India, the most sacred place in Tamil Nadu.

Legends

There is a direct link between this Manavari Temple and the Ramayana Yatra Sri Lanka. According to the Ramayana story Sri Lanka proofs, Manavari is the first place where the lord Rama installed and prayed the Shiva lingam after the end of the war with king Ravana to liberate Sita. It is said to be the only lingam which has named after him other than the one in Rameshwaram, India. Considering these facts, Manavari Temple chilaw is one of the significant hindu temple which linked to the Ramayana Sri Lanka Yatra and lot of local & Indian tourists visit this temple annually.

About Puttalam District

Puttalam is a town in Puttalam District,Sri Lanka. Situated at the apex of the Coconut triangle, Puttalam is the second largest Coconut producer of the country. And Tabbowa, a fertile land for agriculture records highest paddy production per acre.Puttalam is the main salt producer of the country. Holland fort at Kalpitiya, St. Anne's Church in Thalawila Munneshwaram Kovil in Chilaw and Mohideen Jumma Mosque (known as Grand Mosque) in Puttalam underline the historical importance of this region.

About Western Province

North Western Province is a province of Sri Lanka. The districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam formulate North Western or Wayamba. Its capital is Kurunegala, which has a population of 28,571. The province is known mainly for its numerous coconut plantations. Other main towns in this province are Chilaw (24,712) and Puttalam (45,661), which are both small fishing towns. The majority of the population of Wayamba province is of Sinhalese ethnicity. There is also a substantial Sri Lankan Moor minority around Puttalam and Sri Lankan Tamils in Udappu and Munneswaram. Fishing, prawn farming and rubber tree plantations are other prominent industries of the region. The province has an area of 7,888 km² and a population of 2,184,136 (2005 calculation).

Wayamba is the third largest paddy producing area in Sri Lanka .Wayamba has a highly developed agricultural economy, growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, flowering plants, spices, oil-seeds in addition to the traditional plantation crops such as Coconut, Rubber and Rice. Rich soils and varied climate give Wayamba a potential for growing of virtually any crop.

In Wayamba or North western province, home for ancient Buddhist rock temples, magnificent citadels Panduwasnuwara, Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa and Kurunegala. Impressive remains of those citadels, palaces, Buddhist temples and monasteries provide exciting sight seeing to the visitors.