Culture & tradition,  Monday walks,  Sri Lanka

Three shrines, three religions, one country

April 14, 2026 / 28 Comments

On the north coast of Sri Lanka, near Jaffna and not far from the island’s northernmost point, we visited three very different shrines in close proximity to each other. Together, for me, they illustrated the diversity of religious belief in a country that has seen its fair share of internal conflict but, for now at least, has settled its differences.

Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka

There are two major ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, separated by language, religion, and geography. The minority are Tamils, largely Hindu (but with a significant Christian minority). They are concentrated in the north and east of the country. The majority are Buddhist Sinhalese, living in the south and centre. Between 1983 and 2009 these two groups fought a bitter civil war. The Tamil Tigers wanted to create an independent Tamil state in the north-east of the island in response to ongoing discrimination and persecution by the predominantly Sinhalese government of Sri Lanka. There were atrocities committed on both sides, and I don’t intend to go into details of these, nor pretend to fully understand the tensions between the two sides. The war ended in 2009 with the Sinhalese declaring victory.

Since then the focus has been on political solutions and reconciliation. Whereas previously Sinhala was the only official language, today Tamil is also recognised. We saw lots of dual language road signs, for instance. And the Tamil region has been given a degree of autonomy while remaining very much part of the country. I’m sure there are underlying tensions in places and some individuals won’t be happy about the outcome. But it seemed to me that most Sri Lankans are primarily just happy not to be fighting each other anymore.

All this is by way of background to a sign we saw at the northernmost point, Sakkotai Cape, which I shared as one of my Postcards.

Unity in Diversity is the Strength of Sri Lanka
Sign at Sakkotai Cape

I found this all the more striking because we had spent the first part of the morning visiting those three very different shrines. Let me tell you about each of them.

Dambakola Patuna Sangamitta Temple

This peaceful Buddhist dagoba (stupa) beside the sea marks the spot where the sapling that became the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, which we’d seen near Anuradhapura, was first brought ashore from India in the 3rd century BCE. Today the site is managed by the Sri Lankan Navy. The area had been allowed to fall into disrepair over the centuries since Theri Sanhamitta (sister of the monk Mihindu Maha Thero who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka) landed here with the sapling. The navy built the modern stupa (see feature photo) and planted the Bo tree that grows here today.

Bo tree, Dambakolapatuna Sri Sangamiththa Temple

Murals on the walls of the small shrine tell the story, as does a golden sculpture depicting the boat’s arrival.

Dambakolapatuna Sri Sangamiththa Temple

We had the site to ourselves. The contrast with the crowds of pilgrims at Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi couldn’t have been more marked, nor more welcome!

Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine

On the same road by the sea we visited a Christan place of worship, an open-air shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes with golden Stations of the Cross. It took me some time digging around online to find any information about this shrine. Eventually I found something on Facebook, on a page devoted to the history of Sri Lanka. However, do be aware that I’ve not been able to corroborate this information with any other source.

According to the Facebook post, the shrine was the idea of a local woman. She had bought a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes sometime in the early 1930s and had an idea of building a chapel in Our Lady of Lourdes’ name in Mathagal and installing the statue there. Unfortunately she died unexpectedly before achieving this, but the statue remained in the local RC church, St. Thomas.

The parishioners followed up on the idea of a chapel and adapted it to instead build a grotto similar to the one at Lourdes in France. The grotto was constructed using black limestones with an alter in front and completed in late 1938. A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, a replica of the one at in Lourdes, was acquired from Italy and installed. An additional feature was a replica of the Lourdes church built on top of the grotto.

Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, Mathagal

The Facebook article goes on to say:

Mathagal was affected badly during the civil strife and the Grotto had to be abandoned from 1992 till 1997. The entire population of the village had to flee elsewhere. Although many churches, temples and residential homes were badly affected due to bombings and shelling the Grotto had remained safe and sound.

Stations of the Cross

Keerimalai Sacred Water Springs

A little further down the road and we were at a bathing pool sacred to Hindus, Keerimalai Sacred Water Springs. The water here is said to have curative properties, since it flows through the fissures of carbonated rocks. A bathing tank has been built around the spring. Its use is restricted to men only, but we were told a separate facility exists for women.

At Keerimalai Sacred Water Springs

No one had a problem with me taking a photo of the tank. Afterwards we had a bit of a chat with the guy in the yellow shirt who was watching his sons bathe. He was curious to find out where we were from and whether we were enjoying our visit to Sri Lanka (we were!)

According to legend an Indian sage by the name of Nagula Swami had been shrunk though old age and austerity while meditating at a cave in Keerimalai. As a result he was often likened to the mongooses that frequented the area. He bathed in these spring waters, after which his mongoose-like head turned into a human one. The name Keerimalai is derived from this legend; in Tamil keeri = mongoose and malai = mound.

Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple

This temple lies just inland from the sacred springs. When we visited it was very busy. Groups of young women were dancing in front of it. They formed circles, holding hands, while one of their number skipped around them and wound twine around the circle several times, before reversing direction to unwind the twine. I have no idea of the significance of the dance, and our guides couldn’t tell us.

At Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple
At Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple

The temple is dedicated to Shiva and was founded by Nagula Swami in gratitude for the cure of the sacred springs. It has suffered significant damage in the past (destruction by Jesuit missionaries, restored in 1894, bombed by the Sri Lankan Air Force in 1993). But it was restored again and reopened in 2012.

A man was climbing up the front of the gopura and our guide suggested that he was probably undertaking some repairs. I don’t think climbing to such a height without any safety precautions would be allowed here in the UK!

Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple

I confess there was minimal walking involved in exploring these shrines, as we drove between each of them. Nevertheless I hope Jo will accept the short walks around each of them as adding up to a Monday Walk?

I visited Jaffna in February 2026

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