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Pancha Ishwarams

The Pancha Ishwarams are five coastal ancient kovils (temples) built in dedication to the Hindu supreme being Ishvara in the form of the god Shiva, located along the circumference of Sri Lanka.

Popular culture
The temples have hosted several music, dance and dramatic performances, including a well received performance from the celebrated Carnatic vocalist Nageswari Brahmananda at Thiru Ketheeswaram. The Bharathanatyam dance drama musical "Pancha Ishwarams of Lanka" was debuted at Logan Hall, University of London in October 1999 as the second of a two-part concert. The production brought narratives of all five temples to the stage, as researched at the time by the historian S. Arumugam and professor K. Kailasanatha Kurukkal who presented the concert. Commissioned by the Shruthi Laya Shangam after the unearthing of the stone Nandi and lingam of the Tenavaram complex, its music and lyrics were composed by the Carnatic violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman, written by Jayaraman and Professor Va Ve Subramaniam, and choreographed by Vijayalakshmi Krishnaswamy. The production was performed by Jayaraman on the violin alongside his disciples Dr. Lakshmi Jayan, S. P. Ramh singing, Pavithra Mahesh on veena as well as Jagdeesan on mridangam, and dancers of the Kalakshetra school, Chennai and London. It was critically acclaimed and a huge audience favourite. Jayaraman interacted with the audience following the production, most of whom were expatriate Sri Lankan Tamils of the diaspora. ==Related temples==
Related temples
Two other shore Shiva temples of ancient Sri Lanka rank in high sanctity alongside the Pancha Ishwarams. The Rameswaram Ramanathaswamy Kovil of Ramanathapuram district, linked to Koneswaram and Tenavaram, connected to Kalinga Magha and expanded by Jaffna kings Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan and Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan is now part of Tamil Nadu, India but formerly under Jaffna sovereignty. The Taantondreswaram temple of Kokkadichcholai, Batticaloa district was consecrated by Kalinga Magha and is also mentioned in the Mattakallappu Manmiyam. ==See also==
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