Kataragama, Katharagama or Katirkamam (there. கதிர்காமம்) is a city, a popular place of pilgrimage for Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims of Sri Lanka and South India, where the god Murugan is the main deity.

Now it is a rapidly developing town surrounded by jungle in the very south of Sri Lanka. But in medieval times it was just a small village. Kataragama is located 228 km from Colombo.

Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka and South India call this place as Katirkamam and it is a famous Hindu shrine dedicated to Katirkaman. The main deity here is the god Murugan, or Skanda. Shaivites of southern India also call him Subrahmanya. This deity is depicted with six faces and 12 arms, or with one face and 4 arms. There is also a shrine called Sella-Katirkamam, dedicated to the elephant-faced god named Ganesha, who is known as the elder brother of Murugan.

In the local river Manik Ganga (or Mannika Gangai), worshipers take a sacred bath to purify themselves. Locals say that a person can be healed by the action of the waters of this river, and they explain this by the medicinal properties of the roots of trees growing along the entire length of the river.