Nainatheevu Naka Kovil

Colourful Kopuram

 As I mentioned earlier, Nainatheevu island has two major iconic religious shrines. Nainatheevu Naka Kovil is one of the ancient shrines in Jaffna Peninsula. Naka worshipping is considered as very ancient, traditional and popular among the Tamil culture. Naka means cobra (snake). In some years ago, there was clan called as ‘Naka’ and they used Cobra(snake) as the symbol of their clan. In that time Naka-worship was so popular through-out the Sri Lanka. But now it is restricted in few parts of the country only.

The Naka kovil  has really a clourful appearance. The colours that has been used for to paint Kopuram gives a pleasant view to see. The inside of the kovil was astonished. Thought the present condition of the kovil is really impressive, archaeologists assume that the Kovil might have been destroyed by the Portuguese in their ruling period. In 1788 Ramalimngar Ramachandirar re constructed the Kovil using his own wealth from then, the kovil was kept and maintained very well.

There are some interesting rituals to follow in a kovil. A god statue is paced in the kovil and devotees worship that statue. A priest keeps chanting manthras continuously to bless you.  After finishing chanting manthras, he offers ‘theerthum’ a kind of holy milk. Then there are three types of powder to paste on forehead in different colours. Just like the temple, the kovil also has a bell in a big size. Devotees ring the bell twice or thrice, according to their preference. Finally, it is time to say goodbye to the Nainatheevu island and sail back to the sea toward Jaffna. 

The entrance