View source for Dondra

{{Infobox settlement
| name                            = Dondra
| official_name                   =
| native_name                     = {{Plainlist|<br>
* දෙවිනුවර
* දෙවුන්දර
* தேவேந்திரமுனை
}}
| settlement_type                 = [[City]]
| image_skyline                   = Dondra Head Lighthouse - ATennakoon.jpg
| imagesize                       =
| image_caption                   = Dondra Head Lighthouse
| image_flag                      =
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| image_seal                      =
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| nickname                        = Devi Nuwara (God's Town), Thevanthurai (Lord's Port), Tenthurai (Southern Port)
| motto                           =
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| image_map1                      =
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| pushpin_map                     = Sri Lanka
| pushpin_mapsize                 =
| pushpin_map_caption             = Location in Sri Lanka
| pushpin_label_position          =
| coordinates                     = {{coord|5|55|24.2|N|80|35|22.9|E|region:LK_type:city|display=title}}
| subdivision_type                = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name                = Sri Lanka
| subdivision_type1               = [[Provinces of Sri Lanka|Province]]
| subdivision_type2               = [[Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka|Division]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[Southern Province, Sri Lanka|Southern Province]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Devinuwara Divisional Secretariat|Devinuwara]]
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| government_type                 = [[Municipal Council]]
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| unit_pref                       = [[Metric system|Metric]]
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| population_total                = 48,253
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| population_blank2_title         = Ethnic groups
| population_blank2               = [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]], [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamils]], and [[Sri Lankan Moors|Muslims]]
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| timezone                        = [[Time zone#UTC + 6, F|Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone]]
| utc_offset                      = +5:30
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}}
'''Dondra''' ({{Langx|si|දෙවිනුවර / දෙවුන්දර |translit=Devinuvara / Devundara}}, {{Langx|ta|தேவேந்திரமுனை/தேவந்துறை|translit=Tēvēntiramuṉai/Tevanturai}}) is a settlement on the [[Extreme points of Sri Lanka|extreme southernmost tip]] of [[Sri Lanka]], in the [[Indian Ocean]] near [[Matara, Sri Lanka|Matara]], [[Southern Province, Sri Lanka]]. The [[Dondra Head Lighthouse]], ruins of several Hindu shrines of [[Tenavaram temple|Tenavaram]] and a [[Vihara]] (Buddhist temple) are located in the vicinity.
== Etymology ==
King Nissankamalla's (1187-1196 A.D.) [[Dambulla cave temple|Dambulla Vihara]] rock inscription is considered the oldest document that mentions the name Devi-nuwara which means the "City of Gods".<ref name=Parana/><ref>{{Cite book| last = Wickremasinghe| first = D.M.D.Z. |title=Epigraphia Zeylanica|date=1912|publisher=Archaeological Survey of Ceylon|pages=132|language=en}}</ref> The [[Pali]] form of the name, Deva-nagara appears for the first time in the [[Mahāvaṃsa|Mahavamsa]] with reference to the reign of King Vijayabahu I (1058-1114 A.D.).<ref name=Parana>{{Cite book| last = Paranavitana| first = Senarath |title=The shrine of Upulvan at Devundara: Memoirs of the Archaeoloical Survey of Ceylon: Volume VI|date=1953|publisher=Archaeological Department, Colombo|pages=1|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Holt">[https://books.google.com/books?id=HYUqsYbLP6QC The Buddhist Vishnu: Religious Transformation, Politics, and Culture], By John C. Holt, pp. 5, 67-87, 97-100, 113, 257, 343, 413 (Columbia University Press) {{ISBN|978-0231133234}}</ref> The name Dondra is the anglicized form of the [[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]] name Devi-nuwara or Devundara.<ref name=Parana/>
According to some, the name Dondra is a form of ''Theivanthurai'' (''God's Port'') of [[Tamil language|Tamil]] origin.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ul9kAAAAMAAJ|title=Proceedings|date=1968|publisher=International Association of Tamil Research, Department of Indian Studies, University of Malaya|pages=481|language=en|quote=In this context, it may be of interest to cite a few place-names in other parts of the Island, with a Tamil origin; in the Western Coast such as Puttalam, Ciläpam (Chilaw), Nirkolumbo (Nikumpalai, Negombo), Kalattarai (Kalutara), Pãnanturai (Pãnadura), Mätarai (Matara), Teivanturai (Dondra)...}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name=Holt/> Dating from the period of [[Dappula I of Anuradhapura|Dappula I]], it was maintained primarily by Sinhalese kings and merchant guilds at the port town during its time as a popular pilgrimage destination and famed [[Marketplace|emporium]], having extensive contacts with Asia, Africa, Europe and the [[Malabar Coast]]. The temple was built on vaulted arches on the promontory overlooking the Indian ocean.<ref name="jetceylon">{{cite book | last = Tennent| first = James Emerson | title = Ceylon; an account of the island physical, historical and topographical, with notices of its natural history, antiquities, and productions|chapter=The Northern Forests| publisher = Longman, Green; Longman, Roberts | year = 1859 | location = London | oclc=2975965 |page=20}}</ref><ref>Horatio John Suckling. ''Ceylon: A General Description of the Island, Historical, Physical, Statistical'' (1994). pp.262</ref> Patronized by various [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] and Tamil royal dynasties{{cn|date=August 2021}} and pilgrims, [[Tenavaram temple]] became one of the most important places of worship. Built to the [[Chera]] style of [[Dravidian architecture|classical Dravidian architecture]], it covered a vast area housing shrines to many Hindu deities including Lord [[Shiva]] and Lord [[Vishnu]].{{cn|date=August 2021}} Its rediscovered statue images and ruins from the 5th-7th century CE reflect the high points of [[Pallava|Pallava art]].{{cn|date=August 2021}}
The central [[gopuram]] tower of the [[Vimana (shrine)|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.<ref>[[Henry William Cave]]. (1996). ''Golden Tips''. pp. 466</ref> 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.<ref>Battuta Ibn. ''Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354''. p. 260.</ref><ref>Robert D. Kaplan. (2010) ''Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power''</ref>
The temple was destroyed in February 1587 by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] colonial De [[House of Sousa|Sousa]] d'Arronches, who devastated the entire southern coast.<ref name=Holt/><ref>[http://infolanka.com/org/srilanka/people/81.htm 112th death anniversary of C. H. de Soysa – philanthropist unequalled], Dr. K. N. M. D. Cooray [[Daily News (Sri Lanka)]] Retrieved 15 October 2015</ref> 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 the sea. The temple's ancient [[Lingam]] statue and sculpture of [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]], excavated in 1998 provide early examples of Pallava Hindu contributions to the island.{{cn|date=August 2021}}
The rebuilt temple to [[Vishnu]] and the [[Vihara]] still attracts pilgrims today and in the month of Esala (July–August) the ''Dondra Fair'' and ''[[Perahara]]'' is held for eight days.
Dondra was once the capital of the Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite Nuttall|title=Dondra Head}}</ref>
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Modern_Vishnu_Shrine,_Dondra_0675.jpg| <small> Modern Vishnu shrine, Dondra </small>
File:Modern_Buddha_Statue_at_Dondra,_Sri_Lanka_0673.jpg| <small> Modern Buddha Statue, Dondra </small>
File:Ancient_Torana,_Dondra_0676.jpg| <small> Ancient temple arch, Dondra </small>
File:Devinuwara Sri Vishnu Maha Devalaya in Sri Lanka.jpg|Devinuwara Sri Vishnu Maha Devalaya
</gallery>
{{Commons category|Dondra}}
==See also==
*[[Dondra Head Lighthouse]]
*[[Tondeswaram]]
*[[Extreme points of Sri Lanka]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.devinuwara.org/ Devinuwara Official web site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430113417/http://devinuwara.org/ |date=2009-04-30 }}
{{Geography of Sri Lanka}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Headlands of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Landforms of Matara District]]
[[Category:Former national capitals]]
[[Category:Suburbs of Matara, Sri Lanka]]