Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Ancient · Hindu · Sri Lanka

Thambiluvil Kannaki Amman Temple

Thambiluvil, Ampara District, Eastern Province · 7.1261°, 81.8478°

Kannaki AmmanKotte and Kandyan kingsNon-Agamic, with four halls (karuvarai, mun, nadu and maha mandapam)
Sacred since
113 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
traditionally 2nd c. CE; royal patronage from the 14th c.
Kotte and Kandyan kings

History & significance

A temple to Kannaki, the heroine of the Tamil epic Silappatikaram, in Ampara District in eastern Sri Lanka, traditionally traced to the arrival of the Pattini cult under Gajabahu I. Kandyan and Kotte kings patronised it from the 14th century onward, and an inscription of Vijayabahu VII of Kotte (1507-1521) was found in its grounds.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

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.

A golden pigeon is said to have revealed the goddess's image at Urakkai, a paddy field west of the village.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Kotte and Kandyan kings