Exploring Nuwara Eliya and Sita Amman Kovil

Sept 3, 2024 – Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

The whole reason to choose Sri Lanka as a destination this year was to visit Nuwara Eliya … this is the place where Ravana kept Maa Sita as a prisoner. This is the Ashok Vatika from Ramayana. I hesitated as I wrote the word prisoner for Maa Sita. She is the life force of the universe and no one can make her a prisoner, but Bhagwan Ram and Maa Sita were following all the norms of being a human being during Treta Yug and hence faced all the trials and tribulations.

The Train Journey

Our train from Peredeniya station was at 9.03. We reached the station well in time. It was raining, so Rohan took out two umbrellas for Krishnan and I. When I asked him if he had an umbrella for himself, he said he was water-proof :). We had been forewarned that trains were usually late, so we just stood around. One train going towards Badulla came around 9.30 am. As we got into the train, the ticket checker asked Krishnan to show him our ticket.

Immediately he asked us to get off as our train was coming next. While getting off the train, I slipped and luckily held on to the handlebars. Note : The gap between the platform and the step to get into the train is very wide. So, one has to be careful while getting into and getting off a train. There is every possibility to miss the platform.

Finally around 10 am our train came by and we got in. Rohan had told us to get off at the Nanu Oya Station.

The scenery on the way was beautiful … it kept raining except for a few minutes in between. The entire journey from Peredeniya to Nanu Oya by train is about 3.5 hours.

Rohan had driven down to the Nanu Oya station and we got into the car for the short ride to Nuwara Eliya. We were not sure if the Sita Amman temple was open at 2 am so we got a quick tour of the town of Nuwara Eliya.

Postcards from Nuwara Eliya

It was raining continuously, so we didnt get out of the car. Just rolled down the window and clicked these pics.

If you feel like you are looking at pictures of a village in England, you aren’t far off the mark. Nuwara Eliya has almost the English weather… it was cold. We weren’t prepared for the cold air and the rains just made it colder. The temperature was around 18 deg C. It was certainly a welcome change from the humid weather in Negombo :).

Before going to the Sita Amman Kovil, we stopped at a market place to eat something. Well, Rohan had just introduced us to Hela Bojun and for the rest of our trip we only ate at these eateries.

Hela Bojun Hala

The Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka has setup these eateries all over Sri Lanka. The kiosks are given to women from economically weaker sections of the society and they prepare fresh vegetarian food. These eateries are a way of uplifting and empowering these women.

The food is outstanding. All my favourites were sold here – String hoppers, Appams, Pittu, Lunamiris chutney etc.

The Sita Amman Kovil was to open around 3.30 so after a short break with tasty food, we headed out to the Kovil.

Sita Amman Kovil

The first look at the temple was very emotional ….. When Maa Sita was here, she was all alone with no way of sending information to Bhagwan Ram.

Sthala Puranam of Sita Amman Kovil

While this is the Ashok Vatika from Ramayana, the Garba Griha of the temple has a Swayambhu Murti of Bhagwan Ram, Lakshman, Maa Sita and Hanuman. The Panditji there told us the murti is 10,000 years old. As you walk towards the Garba Griha, you pass through a separate Sannidhi for Maa Sita. Don’t remember any Mandir in Bharat having a separate Sannidhi for Maa Sita.

After you do the pradakshina and come out, you find a small Sannidhi with an ultra magnetic murti of Hanuman. Hanuman Ji is tiny in form but I got very emotional seeing him there with a tiny betel leaf Mala around him. He is never far from Bhagwan Ram. 🙏🏿

We bought a picture of Rama’s Pattabhishekam, (coronation) from the counter at the entrance. They had made these pictures during the Kumbabhishekam (consecration) of the temple.

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As Krishnan remarked, our visit to Sita Amman Kovil was a wish fulfilled and it was certainly the biggest highlight of our trip.

Jai Shri Ram ! Jai Bajrang Bali !!