South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c13.s1.88

c13.s1.88

26. (1) *Mangalam*.—This is a common name of various places, and, in the course of the Ceylon war, this name occurs in various stages of the campaign. The first Mangalam, geographically speaking starting from Rāmēśvaram, is the place about fifteen or sixteen miles from the railway station Paramaguḍi on the road Paramaguḍi-Iḷaiyānguḍi-Kāḷaiyārkovil-Tiruppattūr road. This is called Vaḷudivāḷmangalam in old books in the locality. The present village is remarkable only for a Durga temple which is much sought after by the inhabitants of the locality. About a mile from the town towards the south, there are the remains of a temple, which contain a few broken inscriptions in characters which may be of the twelfth or thirteenth century. Just a little way from it is a pretty large bit of raised ground which is pointed out as the site of the old city which the Mahāvaṃśa account says was destroyed in the course of the Ceylon war. It is at a distance of about eight or nine miles by country road from Kāḷaiyār Kovil.