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At Nallūr Kanta Cuvāmi Temple, Jaffna, vel alone is the mūlamūrti. According to the Yālpāna Vaipava Malai, the origin is attributed to Bhuvenaka Vaku, Chief Minister to Kulangai Ariya Cakravarti, who reigned at Singai Nagar. However, several references give the entire credit for building the city of Nallur and the Kanta Civāmi Temple to Sempaha Perumal who ruled at Nallur under the name of Bhuvenka Bahu for 17 years from 1450 AD (Mayilvagana Pulavar,1739).
In the battle of Vannarponnai after Sangili Kumara's defeat, the former Kanda Swami temple was leveled to the ground in 1620 by Philip de Oliveira, leaving no traces of its foundation. The present temple at Nallur originated during the period of Dutch rule by the effort of Mappana Mudaliyar. This temple may be said to be the most popular place of worship in the whole of Jaffna peninsula, with peak level of up to one million devotees at festival time.
