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Manthai
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Manthai
Manthai (Tamil: மாந்தை, romanized: Māntai) is a coastal town and an ancient harbor situated in the Mannar district, of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Manthai functioned as the main port of the Anuradhapura Kingdom throughout its history.
Historically known as Manthottam in Tamil and Manthota or Mahathiththa in Sinhalese, it is an important religious site in the island for the Hindus, due to the Ketheeswaram Kovil, one of the five Ishwarams dedicated to Shiva in the island.
The name Manthai does not occur in any of the early works and it is a recent name use for the ancient port of Mahatittha. In early Sinhalese inscriptions and literature (5th century - 12th century), Mahatittha is referred to as Matota, Mahavoti, Mahaputu, Mahavutu, Mavatutota, and Mahapatana. In the Tamil poems of about the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries and in the Chola inscriptions of the 11th century, the Tamilised form of Matottam has been used. The present name Manthai is an abbreviation of Matottam.
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.
The place was also known as Rajarajapuram when the northern part of Sri Lanka was ruled by Raja Raja Chola I in the 10th century AD as mentioned in an inscription of the Cholas found in Manthai.
During the ancient period, Manthai was a center of international trade with trading contacts to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Far East and Greater India as testified with archeological excavations. Coins of the Pandyan dynasty and Chola dynasty of the Sangam period were discovered in Manthai. With the likes of Arikamedu and Karaikadu of Tamil Nadu, Manthai was a major exporter of beads since the early first millennium AD. The Kuruntokai of Sangam literature mentions the Chera king Kuttuvan of Manthai. 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
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. Under the rule of Raja Raja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola I, was a Shaivite Hindu temple built known as Rajaraja Ishwaram Kovil, named after the king.
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Manthai
Manthai (Tamil: மாந்தை, romanized: Māntai) is a coastal town and an ancient harbor situated in the Mannar district, of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Manthai functioned as the main port of the Anuradhapura Kingdom throughout its history.
Historically known as Manthottam in Tamil and Manthota or Mahathiththa in Sinhalese, it is an important religious site in the island for the Hindus, due to the Ketheeswaram Kovil, one of the five Ishwarams dedicated to Shiva in the island.
The name Manthai does not occur in any of the early works and it is a recent name use for the ancient port of Mahatittha. In early Sinhalese inscriptions and literature (5th century - 12th century), Mahatittha is referred to as Matota, Mahavoti, Mahaputu, Mahavutu, Mavatutota, and Mahapatana. In the Tamil poems of about the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries and in the Chola inscriptions of the 11th century, the Tamilised form of Matottam has been used. The present name Manthai is an abbreviation of Matottam.
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.
The place was also known as Rajarajapuram when the northern part of Sri Lanka was ruled by Raja Raja Chola I in the 10th century AD as mentioned in an inscription of the Cholas found in Manthai.
During the ancient period, Manthai was a center of international trade with trading contacts to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Far East and Greater India as testified with archeological excavations. Coins of the Pandyan dynasty and Chola dynasty of the Sangam period were discovered in Manthai. With the likes of Arikamedu and Karaikadu of Tamil Nadu, Manthai was a major exporter of beads since the early first millennium AD. The Kuruntokai of Sangam literature mentions the Chera king Kuttuvan of Manthai. 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
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. Under the rule of Raja Raja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola I, was a Shaivite Hindu temple built known as Rajaraja Ishwaram Kovil, named after the king.