Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple, historically known also as the Thirutambaleswaram Kovil of Keerimalai, is a famous Hindu temple in Keerimalai, located north of Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka in the suburb of Kankesanthurai. One of the oldest shrines of the region, it is the northernmost of the island's Pancha Ishwarams of Siva, venerated by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus around the world from classical antiquity. Hindus believe its adjacent water tank, the Keerimalai Springs, to have curative properties, which irrigation studies attribute to high mineral content sourced from underground.
The ancient gopuram of the Keerimalai Naguleswaram Kovil
Keerimalai springs, Kankesanthurai
Image: Ganesh And Statues
Image: Overgrown Statues
Kankesanthurai, colloquially known as KKS, is a port suburb, fishing division and resort hub of the Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Formerly an electoral district, Kankesanthurai is home to the Kankesanthurai beach, Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple and the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple. The port's harbour has served as an arrival and departure point for pilgrims since classical antiquity and is named after the Sri Lankan Tamil god Murukan. Kankesanthurai suburb has many fishing villages and Grama Niladhari and is a northern part of Valikamam, one of the three regions of ancient habitation on the Jaffna peninsula, located on the peninsula's northern coast, 12 miles from Jaffna city, 85 miles from Mannar and 155 miles from Trincomalee.
The ancient main gopuram of the Keerimalai Naguleswaram Kovil, Kankesanthurai
Keerimalai springs, Kankesanthurai
Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple, whose eighth century Murukan statue gave the port district its name