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.
