Hinduism in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Hindus

Hindu temple festival in Colombo in 1900s.
Total population
2,561,299 (2012)[1] 12.6% of its total population
Religions
Hinduism Shaivism (majority) Vaishnavism and Shaktism (minority)
Scriptures
Ramayana and Vedas
Languages
Old Tamil and Sanskrit (sacred) Tamil (majority) and Sinhala (minority)

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Hinduism is one of Sri Lanka's oldest religions, with temples dating back over 2,000 years.^[2] As of 2011^[update], Hindus made up 12.6% of the Sri Lankan population.^[3] They are almost exclusively Tamils, except for small immigrant communities from India and Pakistan (including the Sindhis, Telugus and Malayalis).

According to the 1915 census, Hindus made up about 25% of the Sri Lankan population (including indentured labourers brought by the British).^[4] Hinduism predominates in the Northern and Eastern Provinces (where Tamils remain the largest demographic), the central regions and Colombo, the capital. According to the 2011 census, there are 2,554,606 Hindus in Sri Lanka (12.6% of the country's population). During the Sri Lankan Civil War, many Tamils emigrated; Hindu temples, built by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, maintain their religion, tradition, and culture.^[5][6]

Most Sri Lankan Hindus follow the Shaiva Siddhanta school of Shaivism, and some follow Shaktism. Sri Lanka is home to the five abodes of Shiva: Pancha Ishwarams, holy places believed to have been built by King Ravana. Murugan is one of the country's most popular Hindu deities, venerated by Hindu Tamils. The Buddhist Sinhalese and Aboriginal Veddas venerate the local rendition of the deity, Katharagama deviyo.^[7][8]

Yogaswami of Jaffna is a significant modern Hindu religious figure in Sri Lankan history. A 20th-century mystic, he was the Satguru and counselling sage of the country's Tamil Hindu population. The Ramakrishna Mission is active in the Amparai and Batticaloa districts, and the Shaiva Siddhanta school is prevalent in the north.^[9] Yogaswami was the 161st head of the Nandinatha Sampradaya, and was succeeded by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.^[10]

The first major Hindu reference to Sri Lanka is found in the epic Ramayana.^[11] Lanka, identified with Sri Lanka, was ruled by the yaksha King Kubera. The throne of Lanka was usurped by Kubera's half-brother Ravana, the epic's chief antagonist, who was killed by Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu. Ravana’s brother Vibhishana was crowned as the new king by Rama before his return to Ayodhya.^[12] The Ramayana also mentions Rama's Bridge, between India and Sri Lanka, which was built with rocks by Rama with the aid of Hanuman, Nala, Nila, and other vanaras. Many believers see the chain of sandbar, connecting Sri Lanka to India in satellite images, as remnants of the bridge. Archaeological evidence supports the worship of Shiva in parts of Sri Lanka since prehistoric times, before the arrival of the legendary Prince Vijaya. Ravana is stated to have been a devotee of Shiva.^[13]

The Nagas are claimed to have practised an early form of Hinduism, worshipping Shiva and serpents. This animistic Shaivism is also common in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India.^[14] The Nagas who inhabited the Jaffna Peninsula were probably the ancestors of Sri Lankan Tamils. There are also strong claims that they spoke Tamil as their native language but only small proof is found. The 5 ancient Shiva temples of Sri Lanka is also said to have been built by the Nagas before 6th century BCE. The Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple in Nainativu is believed to be one of the Shakta pithas.^[15]

Buddhism was introduced by Mahinda, the eldest son of Ashoka, during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura.^[16] His father Mutasiva and brother Mahasiva had names associated with Shiva suggesting prior Hindu beliefs.^[17] This is supported by the common occurrence of the personal name Shiva in the earliest Prakrit inscriptions.^[18][19][20] The Sinhalese embraced Buddhism, and the Tamils remained Hindus.^[21] Activity from across the Palk Strait in Tamil Nadu set the stage for Hinduism's survival in Sri Lanka. Shaivism (worship of Shiva) was dominant among the Tamils, and most of Sri Lanka's Hindu temple architecture and philosophy of Sri Lanka drew from that tradition. Sambandar noted a number of Sri Lankan Hindu temples in his works.^[22]

In common with South India, local rituals include Kavadi Attam and firewalking.^[23] These rituals have also influenced the Sinhalese on southern cost of the island; For an Instance, the inhabitants of Tangalle, Kudawella and the surrounding area perform Kavadi.^[24]

Religious teachers include Kaddai Swami, his shishya Chellappaswami, and Chellappaswami's shishya Yogaswami.^[25]

• 
  Ravananugraha at Koneswaram Temple
• 
  Front entrance of Nallur Kandaswamy temple
• 
  Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple
• 
  Thirukkovil Sithira Velayutha Swami Temple, in Ampara.

Most of the Hindu temple in Sri Lanka have Tamil architecture, most of which are ancient with a gopuram and a ratha in them.^[26] Alike many Hindu temples, which are dedicated to Hindu deities, many temples in Sri Lanka are also for their village deities which is mainly among the Tamil community.^[27]

The Pancha Ishwarams are:

• Naguleswaram temple in the North.
• Ketheeswaram temple in the Northwest.
• Koneswaram Temple in the East.
• Munneswaram temple in the West.
• Tondeswaram in the South.

According to the 1981 census, there were 2,297,800 Hindus in Sri Lanka; the 2012 census reported 2,554,606 Hindus in the country. Twenty thousand people died during the 2004 tsunami in LTTE-held areas alone.^[28][29][30]

Hinduism in Sri Lanka by decades^[32][33][34]

Year	Percent	Increase
1881	21.51%	-
1891	20.48%	-1.03%
1901	23.2%	+2.72%
1911	22.85%	-0.35%
1921	21.83%	-1.02%
1931	22%	+0.17%
1946	19.83%	-2.17%
1953	19.9%	0.07%
1963	18.51%	-1.39%
1971	17.64%	-0.87%
1981	15.48%	-2.16%
1991	14.32%	-1.16%
2001	13.8%	-0.52%
2012	12.58%	-1.22%

The Hindu percentage has declined from 21.51% in 1881 to 12.58% in 2012.^[35] Mainly because of the indentured labourers brought by the British returning to India and immigration of Tamil Hindus caused by the Sri Lankan Civil War between 23 Jul 1983 – 18 May 2009. Around 1.5 lakh were killed and 1 million Tamils left Sri Lanka during that turmoil period.^[36]

S. No.	District	Total pop.	Hindus pop.	Hindus (%)
1.	Colombo	2,324,349	274,087		11.79%
2.	Gampaha	2,304,833	112,746		4.89%
3.	Kalutara	1,221,948	114,556		9.37%
4.	Kandy	1,375,382	197,076		14.32%
5.	Matale	484,531	45,682		9.42%
Total		20,359,439	2,561,299		12.6%
Source: 2012 Census, p. 1

• Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1998). Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0423-4.
• McEvilley, Thomas (2012). The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. Constable & Robinson. ISBN 978-1-58115-933-2.
• "Census of Population and Housing, Sri Lanka (2012)" (PDF). Government of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Demographics department. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
• Henry, Justin W.; Padma, Sree (4 July 2019). "Lankapura: The Legacy of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 726–731. doi:10.1080/00856401.2019.1626127. ISSN 0085-6401.

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• Department of Hindu Religious and Cultural Affairs