The udapu season has come to an end. Following the Punakari (Punarin) trip where sawan flowers bloomed, we decided to go to see manjal poo this time. My previous visits to Jaffna took me down the Mannar road, past the Sangu piti bridge to see Uda Poo( purple flowers)
It was decided to take the KKS road from Jaffna town to Sanguvili and view Manjal poo on the way to Sri Lanka’s crown.
Pall…. Pall..
(The sound of the bell)
Oh God
That is the milk boy who rides his bicycle early in the morning from Nallur temple road.
We are still asleep
If we don’t leave before the sun rises, we’ll have to bake in the hot sun to take a photo graph…
That is my partner
Whatever it is, my mind has become stubborn, and after working hard six days a week, to spend the Sunday just loitering somewhere.
(Kovil bell noice)
That is Marathanamadam kovil’s morning ritual
We continue forward, passing kokuvil, Inuvil, and villages in between, until we reach Marathanamadam Sri Aijeinagar kovil. The front is adorned with a majestic Hanuman statue.
Hanuma is considered as the son of god vayu . Now so many doubts come across, how come god of wind’s son become a monkey?
These are problems.
Hanuma was thought to have incredible powers since his childhood. When he saw the sun rise one morning, he mistook it for a yellow ball. He leapt to his feet to play with this yellow ball. But the sun is the chief of kings, Indra, and he became enraged by Hanuma’s actions, and to stop him, he throws his weapon wajra (Thunder), and Hanuma get thrown to the earth and get injured.
Witnessing this Wayu, Hanumas’ father, launch a strike until the person who harmed his son is punished.
How were the strikes during that time period?
Consider what would happen if the earth had no air.
There will be no gentle breeze as the sun sets. No ability to control rain clouds?
There is no air for animals or humans to breathe.
Because of Wayu’s strike action, life on Earth has become difficult.
The gods, realising the difficulty, decided to forgive Wayu. They lavishly bless the child. No weapon can harm Hanuman in any way, he can change his appearance whenever he wants, and he can travel anywhere at any time. Because of Indra’s blessings, his physique became very strong, and the ocean god shielded him from water.
Marathanamadam temple is located While travelling along the K.K.S. road, on the left side of the road before Chunnakkam town.
Chunnakam, as we all know, is the second largest town on the Jaffna peninsula. Maylani is said to be the original name of this large commercial town. For centuries, the town of Chunnakam was dominated by Sri Lankan Tamils, with only a few Sinhalese remaining until the 1980s. My research revealed that small ethnic groups such as Indian Tamils, Moors, Malayali, and other non-Indian communities had lived.
I had previously travelled along the 768 road from Chunnakam to the Kandarodai viharaya. Kandarodai contained a wealth of information about Sri Lanka’s first human habitat.
This journey, however, came to an end near the manjal pu plain. Beautifully laid out garden with manjal pu cultivation next to palms. Because they are yellow, these flowers are known as manjal pu. I’m not sure what the name of this tree is. These are grown near cultivating land to capture a high rate of Nitragen and are later cut and used to make compost. Ladies fingers, brinjals, and other residual cultivars are examples.
Vino akka suggested visiting Naguleshwaram kovil after Manjal Pu decided to go to Kiramale’Took the turnoff towards KKS road
This road is completely infrtile on both sides. The reason for this is that the KKS cement factory is nearby. This area was once used to excavate limestone for the cement factory. The soil is now barren, and no construction can take place.
Naguleshwarm kovil has a long and interesting history. This is one of the four main kovils occupied by Sri Nagulambiga devi and Naguleshwarm Swami. This kovil is said to have been renovated after King Vijaya’s arrival. The well-known kiramale pond is nearby. This is known as lakandagi thirthatila in Tamil.
This is meant to be an herbal pond.
The kings Rama, Rawana, Archunan, and Osukisida bathed in this pond and venerated the kovil to ward off bad luck and other calamities.
But there is another side to the story.
Due to god Shiva’s curse, one of his disciples had turned into a mongoose, and after learning about this kiramale pond, he travelled to Sri Lanka, took a dip in the water, venerated the kovil, and reverted to his former self.
There is an ambalama on the way to the pond known as sirappar madam. Small in size, among a few in the Jaffna peninsula. Many people are unaware of the history of this. Constructed for Nakuleshwaram kovil and keeramalae devotees.
In comparison to modern ruins, the walls were made of koral stone, and the kitchen, store room, and rooms can still be identified today. Pandal arcs are adorned with Hindu deity statues and artefacts.
On the way to Keeramale, I was able to consume a C-vitamin-rich fruit similar to Veralu.
Joruney returned to KKs to see the old ship. The lighthouse can be seen in the distance, and the kks railway station can be seen on the right side.
Shermila akka, a compere, writer, and environmentalist from Jaffna’s leading media house, was my companion this time. She is well-versed in every nook and cranny of Jafana. Thanks Sharmila Vinothini Thirunavukarasu Akka,
Let’s take a stroll through Jaffna.
