Anuradhapura

Day 4

Anuradhapura was top on the list. I wanted to visit this place, coz this was the place where Buddhism started first in Srilanka. Emperor Ashoka’s children Bindusara and Sangamitra, took a sapling from the Bodhi tree at Gaya to Anuradhapura and planted it there. The tree is prayed and millions of devotees come there to offer their prayers.

Anuradhapura is also the 1st capital of ancient Srilanka. In all good intentions, I wanted to visit Anuradhapura first and then visit Polonnaruwa which is the 2nd capital. But, the order got reversed as Arvind’s health was not good. We visit Polonnaruwa first. But, that’s okay.

I visited Anuradhapura alone.

Mathow picked me up early, and the distance of 90 kms from Giritale resort took about an hour and a half.

Anuradhapura is the oldest city I have visited. According to my reading, it was a city dating back 500 BC.

This ancient and 1st Srilankan capital, is famous for its well preserved ruins of the Great Srilankan Civilization. It is one of the greatest civilizations of Asia. It is a UNESCO recognized World Heritage Site. It lies 205 kms north west of Colombo.

Reading more about Anuradhapura, I realize it is not just a 500 BC city, it is much older than that.

Mahavamsa is the greatest ancient historical books of Sinhalese, and it mentions that Anuradhapura was the capital of Kind Pandukabhaya who ruled from 437 to 367 BC. It was built by King Vijaya’s chief minister Anuradha, and hence it was called Anuradhapura.

As per historical records the city is of the 5th century BC, but excavations near the citadel have revealed information about the earlier inhabitants of the city. Excavations also showed articles dating 900 to 700 BC. The city is well placed, between the ports on the Northwest and the North East, and is buried deep in the jungle, which was to serve as natural defense.

First, Pandukabhaya who founded this city and planned it, had gates for the city, and quarters for traders. At that time, the city must have covered a large area. This is evident from the countless number of ruined roads we passed through as we drove to reach the different places in this city.

Buddhish was introduced first into Srilanka here and then, the city became more prominent. The book Mahavamsa states that King Kutakannatissa built the first wall around the city to a height of about 7 cubits with a moat. This fortification was later enlarged and reinforced during the reign of King Vasabha. Gates were also added, and these can be seen even today.

The noted traveler Fa-Hien visited Anuradhapura at this time and was thoroughly impressed with the city planners. He states in this books that there were two types of homes. The homes of the merchants were large and well decorates, these merchants were mostly from foreign countries, South India, Mediterranean and Persia. The other homes were much smaller and they belonged to the locals whose main source of income was from agriculture.

King Devanampiya Tissa wanted to create enclosures for the Sanga ie the Buddhist monasteries and wanted to himself live close to the Buddha. Hence he commissioned the constructions of buildings with marked boundaries. Thus began the great building era.

Go around Anuradhapura, and you will see how large the city is, and how large the buildings and stupas are. They made the largest stupas and seems like they did it with easy and in style.

The monastic settlement, known as the Theravadins was founded by King Devanampiya Tissa in 249 BC.

The Mahayana followers built the Abhayagiri Vihara.

King Mahasena ( 275 BC – 310 AC ) built the Jetawana Ramaya, which is the large brick structure in the world. Its looks marvelous from a distance with its orange robe. The robe is given as offering by devotees.

Therefore around the city, several gigantic stupas were constructed. The Mahatupa, the Bodhi tree and the Thuparama are in the south of the city, the Abhayagiri to the north, the Pubbarama to the east, the Tonovana to the north-west and the Jetavana to the south east.

The tooth relic was brought by the King Kirtisri Meghavana, and was kept in a building named Dhammachakka. It was taken in a annual procession to Abhayagiri.

The city began to grow and lots of people began to live there. Administration has to be taken care of and amenities had to be provided.

King Vasabha ordered the construction of many ponds for rain water harvesting. River Malwatu Oya was dammed to built the Maccaduwa wewa. Tissa, Abhayavapi and Nuwarawewa tanks were built to collect rain water. I passed through Nuwara wewa and I could see the Ruvanaweli Seya and the Abhayagiri at the background.

Hospitals, quarters for the crippled and blind were built. King Buddhadasa ( 337 – 365 BC ) appointed a physician for every 10 villages. Sanitation was taken care of the city was always maintained clean.



Anuradhapura is known for its irrigation system and many of these survive to this date.

The city flourished for 10 decades. It came under attack by the Kings of South India, especially the Chola rulers. The Cholas plundered the city and ruined it. In 1017, the city has to deserted and the capital was moved to Polonnaruwa.

Anuradhapura became ruins and the forests took over.

Sometime around the 19th Century the British colonists cleared the jungle and laid this beautiful city bare. Several tanks were restored and made usable for the general public.

So, what is there today to see at Anuradhapura. For any ancient ruin lover, there are lots of treasures.

There are basically three types of buildings – Dagobas ( stupas ), monastic buildings and Pokunas ( tanks ). The Bo tree is dated back to the year 245 BC.

The most important places to visit among the ruins in the city are the Bo tree, Ruwana weli seya, Tupa ramaya, Lanka Tilake, Abhayagiri, Jetavana Ramaya, The Dhana shala ( where the monks used to eat ), The Atupokuna where about 7000 monks used to bathe daily, the Kuttam Pokuna or Twin ponds were the royals used to bathe, Kiribath Vihara, Samadhi Buddha among other places.

Isirimuniya is a small Buddhist vihara close by, and it has many exquisite statues of Buddha and a small museum.

I finished by Anuradhapura trip and got back to the hotel by about 2 pm, ready for lunch and a well deserved afternoon siesta.

Also Read

Day 1 : Negembo

Day 2 : Dambulla

Giritale Hotel

Day 3 : Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa

Day 3

After a really calm night at Giritale were went to sleep early. Aravind was really tired after the car journey. He was also feeling unwell, and so on day 3 of the trip we decided to go to Polonnaruwa instead of Anuradhapura.

Polonnaruwa is very close to Giritale, about 20 kms away, and as Aravind was not well, we thought we shall visit the nearby place so that we can get back to the hotel early for rest.

Anuradhapura is the first capital of Srilanka ( 500 BC to 1017 AD ). The Chola kinds of South India attacked Anuradhapura and caused so much destruction, that the once great city was completely in ruins, the dams were destroyed and hence the city had to be abandoned. The capital was moved to Polonnaruwa, and it is hence called the 2nd capital.

Mathow picked us up. We passed through the Minneriya national park, the marching cadets of the nearly Army training institute, the wide lake and the several birds that inhabit the lake. As we approach the country side, again, it seems so much like India. The farmers now use mechanized motors to till the soil. The paddy is green and was from the Giritale and Kaudulla tank are used for irrigation.

We reached Polonnaruwa is 45 mins. We passed through a lake which was as big as a ocean. It was the Parakrama Samudra, build by the 2nd king of Polonnaruwa Parakrama Bahu. It had birds of many kinds and had fishermen fishing. The early Srilankan kings decided that water was precious and had to be conserved, and hence commissioned the construction of a tank of a monstrous size, which is called Parakrama Samudra. From one end, it was not possible to see the other end. In fact, it is 5 independent tanks connected by canals.

We also passed through some primitive dam structures. We saw water getting stored on one side, and part of it flowing through canals through primitive sluice gates like of rock structures.

The package tour that we took included entry fee to all the sites that we were about to visit during the trip. The entry fee can be anywhere between 8 to 15 US$ per head. Also, in some places like Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa which are a cluster of ruins, stupas and temples etc, each of these complexes attract a separate entry fee. Thomas Cook and Mathow took care of all the tickets for us. We din’t have to pay for it.

The first halt was at the Polonnaruwa museum. The complex is itself inside a ruined rampart. The museum is well maintained unlike any museum in India. The floor and the walls are clean, and all the exhibits are clean and well displayed, inside clean exhibition counters. The lighting is good. The wash rooms, water facility and the small cafeteria which sells some soviners was also good. The museum had replicas of all the structures that we were about to see. There were photos of the monument before and after restoration, and a ditto replica of the structure, how it would have looked in its days. The museum is one of the best I have visited.

Then, we went to visit the individual ruins, complexes and statues of Polonnaruwa.

Regarding the history of Polonnaruwa, it was the 2nd capital of the country. King Vijaya Bahu 1 founded this city. He defeated the Hindu Chola kings of South India and founded this city here. The real hero of Polonnaruwa is his grand son King Parakrama Bahu 1.

Parakrama Bahu’s days are considered the Golden Age, when trade and agriculture flourished. He invested lot of time and money on constructing dams, irrigation systems far superior than those of Anuradhapura, which would supply water for paddy cultivation. The greatest of his dams / lakes is the Parakrama samudra which in fact surrounds the city of Polonnaruwa. It also acted as a moat for the kingdom, to prevent intruders. The kingdom was self sufficient during his times.

However, after Parakrama Bahu, the only other successor of mettle was his immediate son Nissankamala 1, all the others were weak. The successors decided to get into matrimonial alliances with the strong Chola rulers, so maintain peace in the kingdom. These alliances led to superseding of the local royal lineage, this lead to Kalinga invasion by King Magha in 1214. After this, a South Indian king of Pandyan Dynasty – Arya Chakrawarthi invaded Srilanka in 1284 and took control of Polonnaruwa. The capital was next shifted to Dambadeniya. Dambadeniya is the 3rd capital of Srilanka.

Polonnaruwa today is one of the best ancient archeological sites, and is one of the best planned cities of ancient times, and stand testimony to the greatness of his rulers and planners. We drove to several kilometers of roads through the ruined city, which has over grown trees and looks like a perfect haven. All the roads, ramparts, ruins, homes, monastic buildings, palaces, libraries, chapter houses, halls, conference halls and places of worship are well marked and maintained.

The most interesting ruined complexes to visit in Polonnaruwa are statue of Parakrama Bahu 1, Potgul Vihara ( the library ), The Palace ruins, the Conference Hall, the Bathing tank, The Tuparama ( Chapter house ), Shiva Devale ( Shiva temple which has a shiv linga ), Wata Dagoba ( Circular monastery with its beautiful Buddha’s ), Hata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 60 days ), The Ata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 8 days ), The image house which has some beautiful frescos and a large destroyed statue of the Buddha.

The places of worship have beautifully carved moonstones at the entrance. They have a row of cows, swans, horses, elephants and lions and the lotuses in the center indicating that life is full of trials, which one needs to cross before attaining the nirvana.

The site also has a large stone relic, and has inscriptions by King Nissankamala, giving details about the city. It is considered the largest stone relic in the world.

I was waiting all along for the Gal Vihara, which house three huge and magnificient statues of Buddha – in Sitting, Standing and Sleeping posture. I clicked several photographs.

Pollonnaruwa is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

Visiting all these places took about 4 hrs. Then, we went to the Polonnaruwa cultural guest house for lunch. This place is by the Parakrama Samudra and has a beautiful view of the large lake.

Srilanka was according to me a very expensive place. Indian rupee is stronger than the Srilankan rupee, but every thing was so very expensive. We spend about Srilanka Rupee 600 for lunch per head. So, about S Rs. 1200 per head, which is equal to INR 600. But, in India, whenever I travel, I manage to get a great lunch for a maximum of Rs. 100. So, in that sense Srilanka was expensive.
After the trip, we got back to our hotel by about 3 pm. Arvind was not feeling well and decided to take rest. I din’t have much to do. There is practically nothing on TV in Srilanka. There are a few Srilanka channels, Sun TV comes, so I could watch some tam songs, and there is a German and a French Channel. So, basically I kept it off most of the time. I freshened up and sat in my balcony to observe the langurs, the fishermen and the birds in the Giritale lake.

Also Read

Day 1 : Negembo

Day 2 : Dambulla

Stay at Giritale Hotel

Dambulla

Day 2 - Dambulla

Any article on Srilanka is incomplete without the image of the Golden Buddha. Most travel agents, when they suggest a travel itenary for Srilanka, include only Colombo, Kandy, Bentota and some other beach destination. They never suggest the places in the interior, which are so full of history and culture.

Next time anyone wishes to go to Srilanka, I suggest that they look beyond the ordinary shopping in Colombo and the beach destinations. There are so many beautiful historical places in Srilanka, and the kind of architecture that you would get to see there is truly mind blowing.

Srilanka is a 69 % Buddhist country, and therefore all the historical places are full of Buddhist monasteries, stupas and places of worship with exquisite statues of Buddha.

I have not visited the Buddhist sites in India like Sanchi, Sarnath or Gaya. But, this trip to Srilanka, I ensured that I will visit every Buddhist cultural site.

After my night at Negembo and the early morning walk by the beach, Mathow was ready to pick us up. We left Negembo at about 9.30 am.

The next destination Dambulla is just about 148 kms from Colombo / Negembo, on the Mathale – Anuradhapura Road , but, this short distance was going to take about 3 hours to cover. The reasons being the maximum speed at which anyone can drive is just 50 kms per hour. You will find the best imported Japanese cars, but, there is no fun at this slow speed. Just for information, Dambulla is 72 kms from Kandy is 18 kms from Sigiriya.

Also, driving through Srilanka heart land, is like driving through Kerala and Goa - very green and beautiful, with the road winding slowing through the jungle.

Srilanka is not divided into states like in India. It is divided into smaller administrative units called Zones. There are 52 zones in all. Each of the zones, have their local administrative body or government.

Now, regarding Dambulla, it homes the famous cave temples. It is called the Golden Temple at Dambulla. The complex has a museum, library, a huge Golden Buddha which is painted in gold, a Golden stupa and several caves.

The caves are on top of a hillock. There are about 80 caves, the most famous ones are the 5 caves that are called the Maha Raja Vihara. They contain in all exactly 157 statues – 153 Buddha’s and statues of kings and Hindu Gods. The Buddha statues are in sitting, standing and reclining positions, large ones and small ones.

The first cave had a large reclining Buddha who is dying. You can make this out from the position of his toes on his feet. When the toes are not together, the Buddha is considered to have died. The frescos on the wall show the life if Buddha and of Sinhalese history, these frescos were added much later.

The 2nd cave is impressive with 150 Buddha statues and has idols of Ganesh and Vishnu.

There are several mural paintings depicting the life of Buddha.

Dambulla has been a cultural and religious center for about 22 centuries. Dambulla region had a lot of caves and many monks used to practice Buddhism here. Going into the history of this place, Srilanka was contantly under attack by the Chola kings of South India. These caves were the refuge of King Walagamba also called as Vattagamini Abhaya in the 1st Century BC. He was the king from Anuradhapura. When attacked, to escape defeat, capture and ill-treatment, he took refuge in these caves along with the princess. Till this day, one can see the secret door inside the caves, in which the princess stayed. There is a stupa in the cave. The king is supposed to have put all his treasure into it and closed it up. King Walagamba returned to Anuradhapura after 14 yrs, and then he ordered the magnificient rock temple to be build from 104 to 76 BC. This temple was built in thanksgiving.

Successive kings had added to it. The site was repaired and repainted several times in the 11th, 12th and the 18th Century. The paintings are said to be new, they are about 200 yrs old. The statues of the Hindu gods, Vishnu, Ganesha and Saman date back to the 12th century, when Hinduism took root in Sri Lanka and started influencing the arts.

Dambulla was designated a World Heritage Site in 1991. It is a point on the golden triangle. Sigiriya and Kandy are the other 2 places. Dambulla site is indeed very unique as this site has seen additions made to it over the last 22 centuries, and has proof of material used in all the years, and also shows clearly the influence of each religion and culture across various time periods, under different rulers.

We reached Dambulla at about 12 noon. The sun was bright and we started sweating as we were going up the hillock. Any amount of trekking expertise is useless here, cos the sun shines sharper in Srilanka and can sap your energy.

The large Golden Buddha, the minute your eyes fall on it, you instantly cool off. The gold paint for this large statue that over looks the entire town is supposed to be donated by the Japanese. When I get to historical places like this I feel calmness within myself. And, the Buddha statues are a added bonus.

We reached the complex at the top of the hillock. The entrance of the caves is modified into a concrete structure – latest addition I guess. But, this is an absolute must, to protect the murals from rain water and sunlight. The dents in the rock, am sure helped keep rain water from entering the caves, but, what can withstand time. The concrete shelters will surely protect the paintings inside in the future.

Just outside the caves, is a lake, with purple lilies. The king is said to have washed his feet here, and used these flowers for his prayers.

The complex excursion was done in 1 hr. I clicked a lot of pictures.

It was about 2 pm now. The site seeing agenda for the day was done. We next had to reach Hotel Giritale in Giritale district. Giritale was to be our place of stay for the next 4 days, from where, we were to visit the other places.

We were terribly hungry. We stopped by a Habarana and had lunch in the tourist guest house. The food was sumptuous, spicy, just the right kind of flavor for my taste buds. We had a sumptuous meal and proceeded to Giritale.

The drive to Giritale is fabulous. The road is good. Giritale is a large artificial lake. It is in the Minneriya National Park, which also has the Northern command of the Srilankan army. We saw army cadets sweating out and doing their workouts by the lake.

We reached our hotel by about 4 pm. We got to our room, freshened up and settled in the open bar, which faces the Giritale lake for our evening cocktail. The sunset drama was about to begin, and I had my camera fully to capture the spectacle.

Also Read Day 1 - Negembo