ISURUMUNI VIHARAYA

The Meghagiri Vihara is now commonly known as Isurumuniya Vihara or Isurumuniya. But the real Isurumuni Vihara is located few hundred metres away is now called Vessagiri Vihara.

Isurumuniya is most famous for the stone carving of a couple located there. This carved stone was found in the royal pleasure garden and brought here. There are many interpretations for this carving.

Isurumuniya Lovers
The most popular is that this carving shows the prince Saliya (the son of the great king Dutugamunu) and his mistress Asokamala. Asokamala was of a lover cast called “Chandala” and the prince Saliya gave up the right to be the king by marrying this girl of a lower cast.

Isurumuni, Meghagiri
Bathing elephants above the water tank
Another belief is that this couple represent the god Siva and goddess Parvathi of Hindu belief.
The vihara also has another stone slab which depicts a court scene which is thought to be the court of king Dutugemunu. Both these stone slabs are thought to be originated in the 8th century.

The vihara itself is built on a rock and the sacred tooth relic of Buddha has been originally kept here when it arrived to the island from India in the 312 AC. [h]

Isurumuni, Meghagiri
The horse head and the man in the
royal pose
At the entrance to the rock temple is a large pond. Above the pond there is a carving of bathing elephants and on the top level of the stairs there is another carving of a man seated in a royal pose and a horse head. The top carving is thought to be carving of Agni and Parjanya. Parjanya is the god for rain. The elephants below represent the the clouds. With this interpretation it is believed this place was also used by the king to perform ceremonies for rain god.
The stupa and the Buddha image in this temple are of recent origin. But there are some caves which probably were used earlier but now have become a haven for bats.

Driving Directions To Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura can be reached through many routes from Colombo. The two main routes are through Puttlam (Puttalama) and though Kurunegala. Traveling from Puttlam you will pass scenic Wilpattu area. the From Kurunegala there are two main routes to Anuradhapura. The most common route is through Dambulla. The other route is though Galgamuwa. 

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AMBAKKE DEVALE : WOOD CARVING

The village of Embekka (also written as Ambakka , Ambakke , Embakka , Embakke , Embekke) is found in the area known as Udunuwara in the Kandy district. It is situated about three kilometres from the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. 

The beautiful devale, which was built during the 14th century is believed to have been built by King Wickremabahu III, who reigned in Gampola from 1357 to 1374, in honour of the God of Kataragama. The king is said to have built it on the invitation of his queen. The site comprises the devale, digge and the centre where hewisi were played. 


The carved wooden pillars in the temple are believed to have come from a royal audience hall in the city. They are said to be the finest such carvings belonging to the Kandyan era, and have earned the devale much acclaim from artists. The carvings include lions, swans, bulls, elephants, double-headed eagles, leaf patterns, wrestling men, soldiers, horse riders, dancing women, mermaids and lotus motifs. There are altogether 128 carvings in these pillars and what is unique about them is that all these carvings are different from each other. Some believe these carvings to have been done by an artisan known as Devendra Mulachari. 

There are 16 wooden pillars at the entrance to the devale. The 52 feet, 10 inches long and 25 feet, 9 inches wide digge has 32 square-shaped pillars. The wood known as gammalu has been used here, while other types of wood such as ginisapu, na and pihibiya have been used in the other sections. Most of these intricately carved wooden pillars have stone pillars as their base. The UNESCO has identified these marvellous but elaborate carvings on wooden pillars to be the finest products of woodcarvings to be found in any part of the world.

The most impressive feature of the devale is its roof. It does not have one central beam, but 26 smaller rafters are fixed to the roof through huge wooden nails, resembling spokes in the wheel of a cart. It is the only place in Sri Lanka where such a construction can be witnessed. 

The main devale is a 28 feet long, 23 feet and 7 inches wide two-storeyed building. The smaller devale is built close to it. The entrance is through a large doorway built of wood and there is a verandah spreading on three sides of the building. 

Among the carvings, there are 125 series of decorations, 256 liyawel, 64 lotus designs in Pekada, 30 decorative patterns on timber, roof members, making a total of 514 such exquisite carvings.

The other constructions which can be seen at the Embekka Devala site are vahalkada, image house, kitchen and granary. They are located within a wall. The ambalama (resting place) and throne are located outside these premises, but also belong to the devale. 

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THOVIL DANCING IN CEYLON

Sri Lanka is generally regarded as the home of the pure Theravada form of Buddhism, which is based on the Pali Canon. And Buddhism is the last religion or philosophy to endorse or encourage superstition. The country however, has its fair share of beliefs in the occult — in demons and devils, in gods and angels. Amongst these, rituals involving devil dance take pride of place in the cultural scheme of things. These can be divided into two forms of worship – Bali and Thovil. Bali is the ceremony wherein the presiding deities of the planets (graha) are invoked and placated in order to ward off their evil influences.

The belief in the good and evil influence of the planets according to the time and place of one’s birth is quite widespread in Sri Lanka. The first thing normally done at the birth of a child is to cast the horoscope, which has to be consulted subsequently at all the important events of his or her life. When a calamity like a serious illness comes upon such a person, the horoscope would inevitably be consulted, and if the person is under a bad planetary influence, the astrologer would recommend some kind of propitiatory ritual. This could be a minor one like the lime-cutting ritual (dehi-kepima) or a major one like a bali ceremony, depending on the seriousness of the case. If it is a bali ceremony, he might also recommend the specific kind of bali suitable for the occasion.

Bali Pooja
The term bali signifies both the ritual in general and also the clay representations of the planetary deities which are made in relief on frameworks of bamboo and painted in appropriate colours. The ritual consists of dancing and drumming in front of the bali figures by the bali artist (bali-adura), who continuously recites propitiatory stanzas calling for protection and redress. The patient (aturaya) sits by the side of the bali figures. The bali artist is helped by a number of assistants working under him. The knowledge and art of performing the ritual are handed down in traditional families. The retentive power of these artists is remarkable, for they can continue to recite the appropriate formulas and verses from memory for days. The bali ceremony is a mixture of Buddhism and folk religion. The cult of the planets and the allied deities has become an important element in the popular living Buddhism of the island. The origins of this type of bali ritual have to be traced to the Kotte period of the 15th and 16th centuries, when it was introduced into the island from South India by some Hindu brahmins from that region. However, mainly owing to the efforts of the celebrated Buddhist monk of the period, Ven. Vidagama Maitreya Thera, this ritual was recast with a Buddhist significance, both in form and content, in that all the verses and formulas used in the ritual are those extolling the virtues of the Triple Gem — the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha — and of the Buddhist deities. It is these spiritual qualities that are invoked to bring redress. The entire ritual is thus made subservient to Buddhism. The ceremony begins after paying homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. Even during the course of the ceremony this homage is paid at important junctures. The majority of the stanzas recited as benedictory verses by the artist extol the virtues of the Triple Gem or refer to the Buddha’s previous existences as a Bodhisatva. The verbal part of the entire ritual consists mainly of the recitation of these verses and the pronouncement of the blessing: "By the power of those virtues let the evil influence of the planets disappear." It is believed that this kind of pronouncement of blessings becomes effective only if they are made at such an elaborate ceremony like bali.

Spritual qualities
As in the case of the pirith ceremony the spiritual qualities of the Buddha are regarded as superior to any worldly powers like those of the planets and stars as in the present instance, and consequently the ceremonial and ritualistic pronouncement of those qualities is believed to counteract those evil forces. Those propitiatory recitations also include the panegyrics (sthothras) praising those planetary deities. The preparation for the bali ceremony takes a day or two. Plantain stems, tender coconut leaves, coconut and arecanut racemes, powdered resin, limes, betel, torches made by wrapping clean rags around dry reeds (vilakku and pandam), coconut oil, flowers of different colours, and burnt offerings are among the main items needed. Plastic clay and reeds would be needed in large quantities to cast the bali figures. Life-size images of the planetary deities are moulded from these and painted beautifully in bright colours. Each planetary deity has its own dress, colours, diagram (mandala), support (vahana), weapon, etc. It is the nine planets (navagraha) that are generally propitiated: the Sun (ravi), Moon (chandra), Mars (kuja), Mercury (budha), Jupiter (guru), Venus (sukra), Saturn (sani), and Rahu and Kethu, the ascending and the descending nodes of the moon respectively. When everything is ready, with the bali figures propped up leaning against a wall and the patient seated by a side facing the figures, the chief bali artist starts the proceedings by taking the ‘five precepts’ and reciting a few benedictory stanzas while the drummers start drumming. This takes place in the evening. After these preliminaries it is more or less customary for the chief artist to retire to the side, while one or two of his assistants would appear on the scene to perform the more vigorous part of the ritual, consisting mainly of dancing and reciting.

Devil dancer
The dancing artist wears an attractive and colourful dress consisting of white tights, a red jacket adorned with white beads, anklets, pads of jingling bells around his calves, and an elaborate headdress. In one hand he takes a pandama or lighted torch adequately fed with coconut oil. While reciting formulas and dancing to the beat of the drum, he throws handfuls of powdered resin into the burning pandama, setting up flares of flames which are regarded as very powerful in driving away the invisible evil spirits (bhutha). In addition to the virtues of the Triple Gem, his recitation would also include legends and anecdotes taken from the Buddha’s and Bodhisatva’s lives. Sometimes references to previous Buddhas are also made. Planetary deities are eulogised and requested to stop troubling the patient. The ceremonies actually end early in the morning when the artists carry the clay images (bali figures) and the altars of offerings or pideni-thatu and leave them at the cross-roads that the evil spirits who give trouble are believed to frequent.

Thovil dancing
Thovil or ‘devil-dancing’ is another ritualistic healing ceremony that primarily belongs to folk religion. As in the case of the bali ceremony, here too many Buddhist elements have crept in and it has become a ceremony purporting to fulfil, at the popular level, the socio-religious need of the simple rural Buddhists. Thovil is essentially a demonic ritual mainly exorcistic in character, and hence a healing ceremony. In its exorcist form it is meant to curb and drive away any one or several of the innumerable hosts of malevolent spirits, known as yakshas, who are capable of bringing about pathological states of body and mind. Prethas or departed spirits of the malevolent type, referred to as mala-yakku (mala = dead) or mala-pretha, are also brought under the exorcist power of thovil. While some of these could be subdued by the chanting of pirith (described earlier), there are some for whom methods of a more drastic type have to be adopted. The most popular of such methods is the thovil ceremony. As was pointed out earlier in relation to rituals in general, thovil is also an important aspect of folk religion that has been adopted by the Sinhala Buddhists. In the case of thovil too, religious sanction is conferred on folk-religious elements that have crept into normative Buddhism, supplementing, as it were, whatever is lacking in it to satisfy the religious needs of the masses.

Source

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KANDYAN DANCE

History
According to the legend, the origins of the dance lies in an exorcism ritual known as the Kohomba Kankariya, which was originally performed by Indian shamans who came to the island. According to legend, the Indian shamans came to the island upon the request of a king who was suffering from a mysterious illness. The king was said to be suffering from a recurring dream in which a leopard was directing its tongue towards the king, believed to be as a black magic of "Kuweni" the first wife of the king "Vijaya". After the performance of the Kohomba Kankariya the illness vanished, and many natives adopted the dance.

It was originally performed by dancers who were identified as a separate caste under the Kandyan Fudel system. They were aligned to the Temple of the Tooth and had a significant role to play in the Dalada Perahera (procession) held each year by the temple.


The dance waned in popularity as the support for the dancers from the Kandyan kings ended during the British period. It has now been revived and adapted for the stage, and is Sri Lanka's primary cultural export.

Tänze (Uda Rata Natum) Ves Tanz "Ves" dance, the most popular, originated from an ancient purification ritual, the Kohomba Yakuma or Kohomba Kankariya. The dance was propitiatory, never secular, and performed only by males. The elaborate ves costume, particularly the headgear, is considered sacred and is believed to belong to the deity Kohomba.

Only toward the end of the 19th century were ves dancers first invited to perform outside the precincts of the Kankariya Temple at the annual Kandy Perahera festival. Today the elaborately costumed ves dancer epitomizes Kandyan dance.Kandyan dance highlights Sri Lanka's culture.Kandyan dance can be carried to the future as an example of Sri lanka's miraculous culture.

Vannam
The vannam belong to the kandyan dancing tradition and are thorught to have originated as song composed in Kavikara Maduwa in the reign of he 18th century Monarch ofThe word "vannam" comes from the Sinhala word "varnana" (descriptive praise). The Gahaka, Gajaga, Asadrusha, Udara and Thuranga Vannams - in praise respectively of the conch shell at the King’s consecration, the royal elephant, the king’s glory, monarchy and the chariot-horse – were the first written. The corpus later grew to eighteen Vannams. 

The word "vannam" comes from the Sinhala word "varnana" (descriptive praise). The Gahaka, Gajaga, Asadrusha, Udara and Thuranga Vannams - in praise respectively of the conch shell at the King’s consecration, the royal elephant, the king’s glory, monarchy and the chariot-horse – were the first written. The corpus later grew to eighteen Vannams. 

The Vannam dance tradition has seven components: 

1 Thanama - singing a note of the melody to each syllable. 

2 Thitha - the beat indicated with cymbals giving a rhythmic timing. 

3 Kaviya - the poem vocalized by the dancer. 

4 Bera-matraya - rhythm of the drum. 

5 Kasthirama - the finale of the first movement of the dance. 

6 Seeru-maruwa - the movement in preparation for ‘adawwa’. 


7 Adawwa - the finale of rhythmic body and foot movements. 

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SIGIRIYA - THE LION ROCK

Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is a large stone and ancient rock fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos), which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. It is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.
Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees of the Buddhist Sangha. According to the chronicles as Mahavamsa the entire complex was built by King Kashyapa (AD 477 – 495), and after the king's death, it was used as a Buddhist monastery until 14th century.
The Sigiri inscriptions were deciphered by the archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana in his renowned two-volume work, published by Cambridge, Sigiri Graffiti and also Story of Sigiriya.


Location and geographical features
Sigiriya is located in the Matale District, Central Province in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is within the cultural triangle, which includes five of the eight world heritage sites in Sri Lanka.
The Sigiriya rock is a hardened magma plug from an extinct and long-eroded volcano. It stands high above the surrounding plain, visible for miles in all directions. The rock rests on a steep mound that rises abruptly from the flat plain surrounding it. The rock itself rises approximately 370 m (1,214 ft) above sea level and is sheer on all sides, in many places overhanging the base. It is elliptical in plan and has a flat top that slopes gradually along the long axis of the ellipse.

History
In 477 CE, prince Kashyapa seized the throne from King Dhatusena, following a coup assisted by Migara, the king’s nephew and army commander. Kashyapa, the king’s son by a non-royal consort, usurped the throne from the rightful heir, Moggallana, who fled to South India. Fearing an attack from Moggallana, Kashyapa moved the capital and his residence from the traditional capital of Anuradhapura to the more secure Sigiriya. During King Kashyapa’s reign (477 to 495), Sigiriya was developed into a complex city and fortress. Most of the elaborate constructions on the rock summit and around it, including defensive structures, palaces, and gardens, date back to this period.

Kashyapa was defeated in 495 by Moggallana, who moved the capital again to Anuradhapura. Sigiriya was then turned back into a Buddhist monastery, which lasted until the 13th or 14th century. After this period, no records are found on Sigiriya until the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was used as an outpost of the Kingdom of Kandy. When the kingdom ended, it was abandoned again.

The Mahavamsa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, describes King Kashyapa as the son of King Dhatusena. Kashyapa murdered his father by walling him up alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his brother Mogallana, Dhatusena's son by the true queen. Mogallana fled to India to escape being assassinated by Kashyapa but vowed revenge. In India he raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka which he considered to be rightfully his. Knowing the inevitable return of Mogallana, Kashyapa is said to have built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya as a fortress and pleasure palace. Mogallana finally arrived and declared war. During the battle Kashyapa's armies abandoned him and he committed suicide by falling on his sword.

Chronicles and lore say that the battle-elephant on which Kashyapa was mounted changed course to take a strategic advantage, but the army misinterpreted the movement as the King having opted to retreat, prompting the army to abandon the king altogether. It is said that being too proud to surrender he took his dagger from his waistband, cut his throat, raised the dagger proudly, sheathed it, and fell dead. Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura, converting Sigiriya into a monastery complex.

Alternative stories have the primary builder of Sigiriya as King Dhatusena, with Kashyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Still other stories have Kashyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya a pleasure palace. Even Kashyapa's eventual fate is uncertain. In some versions he is assassinated by poison administered by a concubine; in others he cuts his own throat when isolated in his final battle. Still further interpretations have the site as the work of a Buddhist community, with no military function at all. This site may have been important in the competition between the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions in ancient Sri Lanka.
The earliest evidence of human habitation at Sigiriya was found from the Aligala rock shelter to the east of Sigiriya rock, indicating that the area was occupied nearly five thousand years ago during the Mesolithic Period.

Buddhist monastic settlements were established in the western and northern slopes of the boulder-strewn hills surrounding the Sigiriya rock, during the 3rd century BC. Several rock shelters or caves were created during this period. These shelters were made under large boulders, with carved drip ledges around the cave mouths. Rock inscriptions are carved near the drip ledges on many of the shelters, recording the donation of the shelters to the Buddhist monastic order as residences. These were made within the period between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century CE.

Archaeological remains and features
In 1831 Major Jonathan Forbes of the 78th Highlanders of the British army, while returning on horseback from a trip to Pollonnuruwa, came across the "bush covered summit of Sigiriya". Sigiriya came to the attention of antiquarians and, later, archaeologists. Archaeological work at Sigiriya began on a small scale in the 1890s. H.C.P. Bell was the first archaeologist to conduct extensive research on Sigiriya. The Cultural Triangle Project, launched by the Government of Sri Lanka, focused its attention on Sigiriya in 1982. Archaeological work began on the entire city for the first time under this project. There was a sculpted lion's head above the legs and paws flanking the entrance, but the head broke down many years ago.
Sigiriya consists of an ancient castle built by King Kashyapa during the 5th century. The Sigiriya site has the remains of an upper palace sited on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the lower palace that clings to the slopes below the rock, and the moats, walls, and gardens that extend for some hundreds of metres out from the base of the rock.
The site is both a palace and a fortress. Despite its age, the splendour of the palace still furnishes a stunning insight into the ingenuity and creativity of its builders. The upper palace on the top of the rock includes cisterns cut into the rock that still retain water. The moats and walls that surround the lower palace are still exquisitely beautiful.

Sigiriya is considered one of the most important urban planning sites of the first millennium, and the site plan is considered very elaborate and imaginative. The plan combined concepts of symmetry and asymmetry to intentionally interlock the man-made geometrical and natural forms of the surroundings. On the west side of the rock lies a park for the royals, laid out on a symmetrical plan; the park contains water-retaining structures, including sophisticated surface/subsurface hydraulic systems, some of which are working even today. The south contains a man-made reservoir; these were extensively used from the previous capital of the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Five gates were placed at entrances. The more elaborate western gate is thought to have been reserved for the royals.

Frescoes
John Still in 1907 suggested, "The whole face of the hill appears to have been a gigantic picture gallery... the largest picture in the world perhaps". The paintings would have covered most of the western face of the rock, covering an area 140 metres long and 40 metres high. There are references in the graffiti to 500 ladies in these paintings. However, many more are lost forever, having been wiped out when the Palace once more became a monastery − so that they would not disturb meditation.[citation needed] Some more frescoes, different from the popular collection, can be seen elsewhere on the rock surface, for example on the surface of the location called the "Cobra Hood Cave".

Although the frescoes are classified as in the Anuradhapura period, the painting style is considered unique;[citation needed] the line and style of application of the paintings differing from Anuradhapura paintings. The lines are painted in a form which enhances the sense of volume of the figures. The paint has been applied in sweeping strokes, using more pressure on one side, giving the effect of a deeper colour tone towards the edge. Other paintings of the Anuradhapura period contain similar approaches to painting, but do not have the sketchy lines of the Sigiriya style, having a distinct artists' boundary line. The true identity of the ladies in these paintings still have not been confirmed. There are various ideas about their identity. Some believe that they are the wives of the king while some think that they are women taking part in religious observances. These pictures have a close resemblance to some of the paintings seen in the ajanta caves in India The frescoes, depicting beautiful female figures in graceful contour or colour, point to the direction of the Kandy temple, sacred to the Sinhalese.

The Mirror Wall
The Mirror Wall and spiral stairs leading to the frescoes
Originally this wall was so well polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of a kind of porcelain, the wall is now partially covered with verses scribbled by visitors to the rock. Well preserved, the mirror wall has verses dating from the 8th century. People of all types wrote on the wall, on varying subjects such as love, irony, and experiences of all sorts. Further writing on the mirror wall has now been banned.

One such poem in Sinhala is:
"බුදල්මි. සියොවැ ආමි. සිගිරි බැලිමි. බැලු බැලු බොහො දනා ගී ලීලුයෙන් නොලීමි."
The rough translation is: "I am Budal [the writer's name]. Came with all my family to see Sigiriya. Since all the others wrote poems, I did not!" He has left an important record that Sigiriya was visited by people beginning a very long time ago. Its beauty and majestic appearance made people stand in awe of the technology and skills required to build such a place.

The gardens
The Gardens of the Sigiriya city are one of the most important aspects of the site, as it is among the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. The gardens are divided into three distinct but linked forms: water gardens, cave and boulder gardens, and terraced gardens.

The water gardens
The water gardens can be seen in the central section of the western precinct. Three principal gardens are found here. The first garden consists of a plot surrounded by water. It is connected to the main precinct using four causeways, with gateways placed at the head of each causeway. This garden is built according to an ancient garden form known as char bhag, and is one of the oldest surviving models of this form.
The second contains two long, deep pools set on either side of the path. Two shallow, serpentine streams lead to these pools. Fountains made of circular limestone plates are placed here. Underground water conduits supply water to these fountains which are still functional, especially during the rainy season. Two large islands are located on either side of the second water garden. Summer palaces are built on the flattened surfaces of these islands. Two more islands are located farther to the north and the south. These islands are built in a manner similar to the island in the first water garden.

The gardens of Sigiriya, as seen from the summit of the Sigiriya rock. The third garden is situated on a higher level than the other two. It contains a large, octagonal pool with a raised podium on its northeast corner. The large brick and stone wall of the citadel is on the eastern edge of this garden.

The water gardens are built symmetrically on an east-west axis. They are connected with the outer moat on the west and the large artificial lake to the south of the Sigiriya rock. All the pools are also interlinked using an underground conduit network fed by the lake, and connected to the moats. A miniature water garden is located to the west of the first water garden, consisting of several small pools and watercourses. This recently discovered smaller garden appears to have been built after the Kashyapan period, possibly between the 10th and 13th centuries.

The boulder gardens
The boulder gardens consist of several large boulders linked by winding pathways. The gardens extend from the northern slopes to the southern slopes of the hills at the foot of Sigiriya rock. Most of these boulders had a building or pavilion upon them; there are cuttings that were used as footings for brick walls and beams.
The audience hall of the king was situated in the boulder garden, the remains of which are seen on the flattened and polished summit of a large boulder. There is also a five-metre-long granite throne in this hall. The throne is carved from the boulder itself, and is not separated from it. Another notable feature in the boulder garden is the Cistern rock, named after a large, carved cistern atop it. A large archway, created by two boulders, provides access to the terraced gardens.

The terraced gardens
The terraced gardens are formed from the natural hill at the base of the Sigiriya rock. A series of terraces rises from the pathways of the boulder garden to the staircases on the rock. These have been created by the construction of brick walls, and are located in a roughly concentric plan around the rock. The path through the terraced gardens is formed by a limestone staircase. From this staircase, there is a covered path on the side of the rock, leading to the uppermost terrace where the lion staircase is situated.

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ALUVIHARA TEMPLE SRI LANKA

Aluvihāra; lucent Cave Temple is substitutable with the teaching of Siddhartha. Aluvihāra justifiedly assumes its significance within the annals of the history of world Buddhism. it's during this terribly location that the Tipiţaka was documented on palm-leaves.

“Assembled the clergymen, UN agency here compared their texts, that were then, or before long later, committed to writing, and kind the Banapota or Buddhist Bible. This befell} about cardinal years B.C.” “Therefore, to the enlightened Buddhist” says Major Forbes in his work Eleven years in Ceylon written in 1840 “This secluded and relatively restrained cavern should be of infinitely bigger interest than the Temple of the Tooth or Thupārāma itself.” Aluvihāra conjointly preserved with it a number of made literature that had woven  round the Tipiţaka as well as commentaries.

How Aluvihāra received its name
The name Aluvihāra has several meanings and legends related to it. it had been originally called ‘Alu-Lena’ or ‘Āloka-Lena’ (Luminous Cave) supported a legend. throughout the reign of King Devānampiyatissa (250-210 BC) a monk was acting on the commentaries (Aţţha Kathā). On seeing this, the King of Devās, Sakra lit the cave to facilitate his work.

The cave temple sweet-faced east and it received the morning rays of sunrise. This was the explanation the cave was named Āloka-Lena (the lightened cave) since times of yore.

It can't be controversial that the writing of the Tipiţaka brought belief illumination to group. This brought illumination to the planet from cognitive content and suffering, therefore Alu-Lena would counsel this event. In Pāli it's known as Āloka-Vihāra which suggests Alu (Luminous) and Vihāra (Temple).

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ABHAYAGIRI MONASTERY

This was the house of chiefly the Dhammaruchi sect, though it absolutely was receptive several alternative sects as well as Mahayanism. there's very little literary proof because the rival monks of the Maha Vihara were the compilers of the chronicle.

How ever, this 500-acre cloister was the most important for 600 years, and Was home for 5000 monks. it absolutely was a global center of the humanities, philosophy and mysticism, With branches in Java, Union of Burma and China. Its center was this dagoba in ruin designed over a sacred foot of Siddhartha.

Abhayagiri Dagaba is left from the crossroads. it's 400m spherical and was purportedly 135m high in its original from (part of the top has disappeared); it's currently concerning 110m high. inbuilt eighty eight before Christ by King Vattagamini (and later fixed by Parakramabahu I within the twelfth century), it's 2 splendid carven dwarapalas ( guardians) at the edge.

The dagaba and its associated cloister were inbuilt a trial to weaken the political hold of the Hinayana Buddhist and to offer shelter to monks of the Mahayana college. it absolutely was thought of a very important seat of Buddhist learning and also the Chinese traveler/ monk solfa syllable hien visiting within the fifth century notesd that there have been five,000 monks in residence.

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