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கோணேசுவரம் கோயில்
Swami Rock, Trincomalee, Eastern Province · 8.5811°, 81.2453°
On a cliff over one of the world's great natural harbours stood the 'Temple of a Thousand Pillars', jewel of Lanka's five ancient Ishwarams — until Portuguese soldiers toppled it into the sea in 1622. Divers (among them Arthur C. Clarke in 1956) recovered idols and ruins from the seabed; the rebuilt shrine on Swami Rock resumed a worship older than written record.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Ravana, mighty devotee, sought to wrench the rock apart when his mother's worship was interrupted — Shiva pressed it back with a toe, leaving the cleft still shown; 'Lover's Leap' above recalls a Dutch girl said to have flung herself watching a faithless lover sail away.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chola/Jaffna legacy
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…