Maviddapuram

Etymology

The name Maviddapuram is derived , vidda (removed) .

History

According to legend Maviddapuram has had a Hindu shrine for 5,000 years. According to another legend, an 8th-century Chola princess Mathurapuraveeravalli, daughter of Tissai Ughra Cholan, the King of Madurai, was inflicted with a persistent intestinal disorder as well as facial disfigurement which made her face look like a horse. She was advised by a priest/sage to bathe in the freshwater spring at Keerimalai. After bathing in the spring Mathurapuraveeravalli's illness and disfigurement vanished. In gratitude, she renovated a Hindu shrine, located in Kovil Kadavai about two kilometers south east of the spring, into a full temple honouring the Hindu god Murugan (Skanda). The King of Madurai sent sculptors, artists, building material, granite, statues, gold, silver etc. to assist with the renovation. The temple's statue of Kankesan (Murugan) was brought via the port of Gayathurai which was later renamed Kankesanthurai.

Agriculture and Industries

Before 1990, Maviddapuram had a cement factory which was one of the major producers of cement in Sri Lanka.

Transport

• Maviddapuram railway station

Notes

References

References

1. "Historical Images - The Royal Family of Jaffna".
2. (17 August 2008). "Festival of devotional splendour". [[Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)]].
3. (30 November 2011). "Temple carvings in Jaffna". [[Daily News (Sri Lanka)]].
4. "The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka". [[Rough Guides]].
5. (17 August 2008). "Festival of devotional splendour". [[Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)]].
6. (28 November 2010). "The rich colours of Hinduism". [[The Nation (Sri Lanka)]].
7. (1977). "The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia". [[De Gruyter Mouton]].
8. (1 September 2013). "Surge of devotion reverberates the North". [[Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)]].
9. "Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Kovil". [[Time Out (magazine).