Dondra

History

Historically known as Devinuwara temple port town or Devinuwara temple town, Dondra was until the late 16th century a historic temple port town complex. A multi-religious site, its primary deity was the Buddhist god Upulvan and at its zenith was one of the most celebrated religious sites of the island, containing a thousand statues of the various sects of Hinduism and Buddhism. Patronized by various Sinhalese and Tamil royal dynasties and pilgrims, Tenavaram temple became one of the most important places of worship. Built to the Chera style of classical Dravidian architecture, it covered a vast area housing shrines to many Hindu deities including Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. Its rediscovered statue images and ruins from the 5th-7th century CE reflect the high points of Pallava art. The central gopuram tower of the Vimana and the other gopura towers that dominated the town were covered with plates of gilded brass, gold and copper on their roofs, and the many shrines of the town were bordered with elaborate arches and gates, giving the entire temple complex an appearance of a city to sailors who visited the port to trade and relied on its light reflecting gopura roofs for navigational purposes. Chroniclers, travellers and benefactors of the temples describe the entire town as the property of the temple and inhabited solely by merchants during the medieval period. The temple complex was visited by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century and Zheng He in the 15th century. The temple was destroyed in February 1587 by the Portuguese colonial De Sousa d'Arronches, who devastated the entire southern coast. Its ruins of granite pillars that formed the shrines' mandapa can be found in the town spread over a considerable area. Much of the temple's stonework was thrown off the cliff into…