Old Kathiresan Temple, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Old Kathiresan Temple is a massive century old Hindu cultural site hidden amongst the busy business centre of Colombo City. It is located in Colombo 4 (Bambalapitiya) a little further on from the twin Hindu Temples opposite the Bambalapitiya Apartment Complex, and is adjoining Vajira Road.

Kathiresan (Light Rayed Lord) is another name for Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of Light, Love and War. Wen the temple was initially built, Lord Murugan was considered the main deity of the temple and enshrined in the central shrine. As such it gained the name Kathiresan Temple. With the building of another Murugan Temple nearby (the one directly opposite the apartments mentioned before), which was named New Kathiresan Temple,, this one began to be called Old Kathiresan temple to differentiate it. In addition, with time the temple,s Ganesha shrine became highly popular and earned the place the name Vajira Road Pillaiyar (Ganesha) Kovil, or ‘Vijira Pilaiyar Kovil,..

While the Old Kathiresan Temple is quite old and has a long history, it remains a quiet place of peace and solace. One of the reasons for this is that it is still not as popular as the nearby temples, as the temple only opened back up recently after a very long stint of renovations. For the youth of Colombo, this temple is pretty much unknown place as it has remained under construction for over a decade.

However, now that it has opened its doors to devotees once again, the work done on the temple has been found to be amazing. A beautiful green lawn and a tall colorful temple tower welcome The new coats of paint add a touch of color to the temple,s original structure. Many new additions have been made with an impeccable eye to detail. The deities in the shrines are beautifully carved and in some shrines, where they were initially too small or crudely made, replaced with black granite statues from India done by master stone carvers.