Manthai

Etymology and Name

Manthai the present day name given by the locals for the town, is possibly a derivation from the ancient Tamil name Manthottam/Manthoddam which may translate into Garden of the Deers. The term Manthottam is mentioned in many ancient Tamil epics. Sinhalese epics refer to both the town as well as the town of Mannar by the term Mahathittha.

Ancient history

During the ancient period, Manthoddam was a center of international trade, with Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Arabs, Ethiopians, Persians, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese and others vying with each other to monopolize the trade of North Ceylon with Sri Lankan traders.

It is believed that Vijaya, the first Sinhalese in the island, landed at Manthai during the 5th Century BC.

According to Dr. Paul E. Peiris, an erudite scholar and historian, Thiruketheeswaram in Manthai was one of the five recognized Eeswarams of Siva in Lanka very long before the arrival of Vijaya in 600 B.C

Rule of the Cholas

During the reign of the Cholas, between the 10th and 11th Centuries C.E., the town had developed into a major port, with many highways and served as an important link between the island and the mainland Chola kingdom.

Somewhere around 1070, Manthai, which was a thriving Chola seaport town came under attack from Vijayabahu, a Sinhalese monarch leading a military campaign to expel the Cholas from the island. The Cholas, who by then had lost control of most of the island, withdrew from Manthoddam, thus ending their century-long rule in the island.

Buried city

Mathoddam is currently viewed as the only port on the island that could be called a "buried city," with much of the ancient ruins under sand today. The existence of the Thiruketheeswaram temple attests to the antiquity of the port. Manthoddam finds mention as "one of the greatest ports" on the seaboard between the island and Tamilakam in the Tamil Sangam literature of the classical period (600 BCE - 300 CE).

Thiruketheeswaram temple

The Ketheeswaram temple situated at Manthai, is one of the five major Saiva temples in the island and among the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams of Lord Shiva in the continent. The temple remains as a significant religious center for the Hindus in the country.

The shrine's initial installment is credited to the indigenous Karaiyar Naga tribe, The Karaiyars claimed to be related to several classical period public figures hailing from the international port town, including the creator of the oldest extant Tamil literature by an Eelam Tamil, the Sangam poet Eelattu Poothanthevanar. Though there has been no substantial confirmations regarding the temple's original date of construction, the shrine is believed to have existed for possibly more than 2400 years together, with inspirational and literary evidence of the postclassical era ( 600BC - 1500AD) attesting to the shrine's classical antiquity.

The temple along with other major Hindu and Buddhist shrines of worship, was destroyed by the Portuguese conquests of the late 16th century and its very stones were used to build the Mannar fort, a Catholic church and the Hammershield Fort at Kayts.

The local Tamils under the urging of the famous Hindu reformer Arumuka Navalar rebuilt the present-day temple at its original site. Since outbreak of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the town and the temple has come under the occupation of the Sri Lankan military.

Palavi Tank

The Palavi Theertham is a tank situated near the Thiruketheeswaram temple.

The Palavi tank is prospered by the river Palavi, which had been the outlet of Matale waters via Malwattu Oya and other natural waterways of the extensive basin. The sacred Palavi Theertham which was described in ancient Tamil hymns as sacred as the river Ganges, is used by the Hindus to offer rites and rituals for their ancestors.

An effigy of Lord Ketheeswarar is immersed in the scared tank as a part of the ritual bath, during the annual temple festival.

Transportation

The town is situated on the A32 Highway that runs between Mannar and Jaffna. The town of Adampan is located 5 km east of Manthai. Other towns in close proximity are Vankalai, Uyilankulam, Achchankulam, Andankulam etc.