Tucked behind Nallur's lanes, Yamuna Eri is a quiet, brick-lined pond shaped like the Tamil letter "pa", its worn stone steps descending to the water on both faces. The 18th-century chronicle Yalpana Vaipava Malai tells how a Jaffna king blended sacred water carried from India's Yamuna River into this pool — the story behind its name.
Local memory adds that the kingdom's queens and princesses once bathed here, screened from view, and that a secret tunnel linked the pond to the minister's mansion nearby. None of this is provable — the tales come from late chronicles and oral tradition — but the pond's antiquity is beyond doubt: it has been a protected monument since 1948, one of the earliest such designations in the district.
Good to know
- In Nallur, minutes from Manthiri Manai and Sangiliyan Thoppu
- One of Jaffna District's first protected monuments (1948)
- Pairs into a short royal-Nallur heritage walk with the arch, mansion and Cankili II statue
- A quiet stop — ten minutes is enough, but the stories linger