Explore Sri Lanka
No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • What’s On
  • What’s On April 2024
  • What’s On August 2024
  • What’s On December
  • What’s On July 2024
  • What’s On June 2024
  • What’s On March 2024
  • What’s On May 2024
  • What’s On October 2024
  • What’s On September 2024
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 1983 - 1990
      • 1987
        • May 1987
        • June 1987
        • July 1987
        • August 1987
        • September 1987
        • October 1987
        • November 1987
        • December 1987
      • 1988
        • January 1988
        • February 1988
        • March 1988
        • April 1988
        • May 1988
        • June 1988
        • July 1988
        • August 1988
        • September 1988
        • October 1988
        • November 1988
        • December 1988
      • 1989
        • January - March 1989
        • April 1989
        • May 1989
        • June 1989
        • July 1989
        • August 1989
        • September 1989
        • October 1989
        • November 1989
    • 2010 - 2019
      • 2010
        • January 2010
        • February 2010
        • March 2010
        • April 2010
        • May 2010
        • June 2010
        • July 2010
        • August 2010
        • September 2010
        • October 2010
        • November 2010
        • December 2010
      • 2011
        • January 2011
        • February 2011
        • March 2011
        • April 2011
        • May 2011
        • June 2011
        • July 2011
        • August 2011
        • September 2011
        • October 2011
        • November 2011
        • December 2011
      • 2012
        • January 2012
        • February 2012
        • March 2012
        • April 2012
        • May 2012
        • June 2012
        • July 2012
        • August 2012
        • September 2012
        • October 2012
        • November 2012
        • December 2012
      • 2013
        • January 2013
        • February 2013
        • March 2013
        • April 2013
        • May 2013
        • June 2013
        • July 2013
        • August 2013
        • September 2013
        • October 2013
        • November 2013
        • December 2013
      • 2014
        • January 2014
        • February 2014
        • March 2014
        • April 2014
        • May 2014
        • June 2014
        • July 2014
        • August 2014
        • September 2014
        • October 2014
        • November 2014
        • December 2014
      • 2015
        • January 2015
        • February 2015
        • March 2015
        • April 2015
        • May 2015
        • June 2015
        • July 2015
        • August 2015
        • September 2015
        • October 2015
        • November 2015
        • December 2015
      • 2016
        • January 2016
        • February 2016
        • March 2016
        • April 2016
        • May 2016
        • June 2016
        • July 2016
        • August 2016
        • September 2016
        • October 2016
        • November 2016
        • December 2016
      • 2017
        • January 2017
        • February 2017
        • March 2017
        • April 2017
        • May 2017
        • June 2017
        • July 2017
        • August 2017
        • September 2017
        • October 2017
        • November 2017
        • December 2017
      • 2018
        • January 2018
        • February 2018
        • March 2018
        • April 2018
        • May 2018
        • June 2018
        • July 2018
        • August 2018
        • September 2018
        • October 2018
        • November 2018
        • December 2018
      • 2019
        • January 2019
        • February 2019
        • March 2019
        • April 2019
        • May 2019
        • June 2019
        • July 2019
        • August 2019
        • September 2019
        • October 2019
        • November 2019
        • December 2019
    • 2020 - 2024
      • 2020
        • January 2020
        • February 2020
        • March 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020
      • 2021
        • January 2021
        • February 2021
        • March 2021
        • April 2021
        • May 2021
        • June 2021
        • July 2021
        • August 2021
        • September 2021
        • October 2021
        • November 2021
        • December 2021
      • 2022
        • January 2022
        • February 2022
        • March 2022
        • May 2022
        • April 2022
        • June 2022
        • July 2022
        • August 2022
        • September 2022
        • October 2022
        • November 2022
        • December 2022
      • 2023
        • January 2023
        • February 2023
        • March 2023
        • April 2023
        • May 2023
        • June 2023
        • July 2023
        • August 2023
        • September 2023
        • October 2023
        • November 2023
        • December 2023
      • 2024
        • January 2024
        • February 2024
        • March 2024
        • May 2024
        • April 2024
        • June 2024
        • July 2024
        • August 2024
        • September 2024
        • October 2024
        • November 2024
        • December 2024
    • 2025-2029
      • 2025
        • January 2025
        • February 2025
        • March 2025
        • April 2025
        • May 2025
  • For Digital Subscription
  • About Us
  • What’s On
    slide
No Result
View All Result
Explore Sri Lanka
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 1983 - 1990
      • 1987
        • May 1987
        • June 1987
        • July 1987
        • August 1987
        • September 1987
        • October 1987
        • November 1987
        • December 1987
      • 1988
        • January 1988
        • February 1988
        • March 1988
        • April 1988
        • May 1988
        • June 1988
        • July 1988
        • August 1988
        • September 1988
        • October 1988
        • November 1988
        • December 1988
      • 1989
        • January - March 1989
        • April 1989
        • May 1989
        • June 1989
        • July 1989
        • August 1989
        • September 1989
        • October 1989
        • November 1989
    • 2010 - 2019
      • 2010
        • January 2010
        • February 2010
        • March 2010
        • April 2010
        • May 2010
        • June 2010
        • July 2010
        • August 2010
        • September 2010
        • October 2010
        • November 2010
        • December 2010
      • 2011
        • January 2011
        • February 2011
        • March 2011
        • April 2011
        • May 2011
        • June 2011
        • July 2011
        • August 2011
        • September 2011
        • October 2011
        • November 2011
        • December 2011
      • 2012
        • January 2012
        • February 2012
        • March 2012
        • April 2012
        • May 2012
        • June 2012
        • July 2012
        • August 2012
        • September 2012
        • October 2012
        • November 2012
        • December 2012
      • 2013
        • January 2013
        • February 2013
        • March 2013
        • April 2013
        • May 2013
        • June 2013
        • July 2013
        • August 2013
        • September 2013
        • October 2013
        • November 2013
        • December 2013
      • 2014
        • January 2014
        • February 2014
        • March 2014
        • April 2014
        • May 2014
        • June 2014
        • July 2014
        • August 2014
        • September 2014
        • October 2014
        • November 2014
        • December 2014
      • 2015
        • January 2015
        • February 2015
        • March 2015
        • April 2015
        • May 2015
        • June 2015
        • July 2015
        • August 2015
        • September 2015
        • October 2015
        • November 2015
        • December 2015
      • 2016
        • January 2016
        • February 2016
        • March 2016
        • April 2016
        • May 2016
        • June 2016
        • July 2016
        • August 2016
        • September 2016
        • October 2016
        • November 2016
        • December 2016
      • 2017
        • January 2017
        • February 2017
        • March 2017
        • April 2017
        • May 2017
        • June 2017
        • July 2017
        • August 2017
        • September 2017
        • October 2017
        • November 2017
        • December 2017
      • 2018
        • January 2018
        • February 2018
        • March 2018
        • April 2018
        • May 2018
        • June 2018
        • July 2018
        • August 2018
        • September 2018
        • October 2018
        • November 2018
        • December 2018
      • 2019
        • January 2019
        • February 2019
        • March 2019
        • April 2019
        • May 2019
        • June 2019
        • July 2019
        • August 2019
        • September 2019
        • October 2019
        • November 2019
        • December 2019
    • 2020 - 2024
      • 2020
        • January 2020
        • February 2020
        • March 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020
      • 2021
        • January 2021
        • February 2021
        • March 2021
        • April 2021
        • May 2021
        • June 2021
        • July 2021
        • August 2021
        • September 2021
        • October 2021
        • November 2021
        • December 2021
      • 2022
        • January 2022
        • February 2022
        • March 2022
        • May 2022
        • April 2022
        • June 2022
        • July 2022
        • August 2022
        • September 2022
        • October 2022
        • November 2022
        • December 2022
      • 2023
        • January 2023
        • February 2023
        • March 2023
        • April 2023
        • May 2023
        • June 2023
        • July 2023
        • August 2023
        • September 2023
        • October 2023
        • November 2023
        • December 2023
      • 2024
        • January 2024
        • February 2024
        • March 2024
        • May 2024
        • April 2024
        • June 2024
        • July 2024
        • August 2024
        • September 2024
        • October 2024
        • November 2024
        • December 2024
    • 2025-2029
      • 2025
        • January 2025
        • February 2025
        • March 2025
        • April 2025
        • May 2025
  • For Digital Subscription
  • About Us
  • What’s On
Home August 2015

Sri Lanka’s First Dalada

by
0
327
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
PDF Button
The Flag Train: A long Buddhist flag is carried in procession  by a stream of people to drape the circumference of the stupa
The Flag Train: A long Buddhist flag is carried in procession
by a stream of people to drape the circumference of the stupa

 

Five hundred years before the Sri Dalada arrived, the Buddha’s Right Tooth lay embedded in a jungle stupa.

Words and Photographs Manu Gunasena

Mystery sights and sounds, miracle light shows, wild elephants keeping dusk to dawn vigil, even baffling reports of alien visitations continue to enthral thousands of pilgrims who throng an ancient stupa set deep in the jungles 25 miles north east of Polonnaruwa, to worship and venerate the sacred object it enshrines.

For here embedded in the inner chamber of the stupa known as the Somawathie Chaithya built in the Second Century BC, is the sacred Right Tooth Relic of Gautama the Buddha, Sri Lanka’s first Dalada.

With the fall of Anuradhapura in the face of Chola invasions in the Tenth Century AD, the Sri Lankan kingdom was constantly on the move. As besieged Kings retreated further down south west, the North Central Province was abandoned to the wilds and the forest soon reigned supreme and regained possession of the lost terrain.

The flourishing civilisation that had existed for over 1500 years in the Tenth Century AD, the man made monuments and engineering feats that would later marvel the world, the towering dagobas that rivalled the Giza Pyramids of Egypt were soon camouflaged in dense jungle green and lay hidden. But the jungle concealed and stubbornly refused to yield its prized possession: the Buddha’s Right Tooth Relic.

It had existed on Sri Lankan soil, embedded in this small stupa named after a woman, five hundred years before the arrival of the Left Tooth Relic of the Buddha hidden in a stupa shaped hairdo of a royal princess—a safe keeping gift from an Indian king which, as befits a Buddha’s sacred relic, was accorded all the pomp and pageantry of royal patronage and the fervent devotion and worship of the multitude, no sooner it made shore after its voyage from India.

Whilst this Left Tooth Relic of the Buddha famed as the Sri Dalada is enshrined in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy today, and is annually paraded on the city’s streets in August, the Right Tooth Relic has received no such recognition, no such veneration and no such explicit explosions of reverence mainly due to its solitary existence in vaulted secrecy in an uninhabited jungle.

Known simply as the Dakunu Dalada or right tooth, it remained unknown, unsung and unworshipped for over a thousand years till it was discovered by a wandering monk in 1947 by a miraculous chance.

Sirimalwatte Piyaratana Thero and a few other monks were walking through this remote jungle area in the northern part of the Island, when they happened to notice rays of light emanating from the jungle canopy and streaming towards the sky. Puzzled by this visual phenomenon and curious to determine its source, they made haste to the spot from whence it seemed to originate.

They soon arrived at the site and stumbled upon a small stupa cloaked in dense forest cover. They had discovered the fabled lost Chaithya of Somawathie; in which, legend and lore held and ancient historical chronicles recorded, lay enshrined the sacred Right Tooth Relic of the Buddha. The thousand year secret was out. The two thousand two hundred year old dagoba had been finally found.

Ancient chronicles record that when the Buddha passed away in India, over two thousand five hundred years ago, the right tooth relic had come into the possession of the King of the Nagas, King Jayasena, who in turn had gifted it to a Buddhist Arahath monk. Another version states that the sacred relic was in the possession of the King of the Gods, Sakkra who had gifted it to Sri Lanka’s first Arahath, the Enlightened Aritta. The monk in turn had gifted it to Prince Giri Abha a powerful sub king of the area whose wife, Princess Somawathie was the younger sister of King Kavantissa who ruled the Southern Province of Sri Lanka known as Ruhunu. Kavantissa was the father of King Dutugamunu who built the Ruwanwelisaya in Anuradhapura.

This priceless, precious gift kindled a great desire in the heart of Princess Somawathie to enshrine the treasure in a stupa for a people’s veneration. Both her husband and her brother supported in her mission and the search soon began to find an ideal place to build a stupa. In the course of their explorations to find a suitable location they came upon an area where Bhikkus led by Arahat Mahinda resided.

The place was Somapura and the Somawathie Chaithya was erected and the Right Tooth Relic of the Buddha was duly enshrined in its relic chamber. In later years the stupa was renovated by King Kannitta Tissa, King Kurtakanna Tissa, King Gamini Abhaya better known as Valagamba and King Amanda Gamini. Several stone inscriptions detailing the history of the stupa have also been found at the site and inscriptions in the Brahmi characters have been identified by scholars as dating back to the Second Century BC.

With the discovery of the stupa in 1947, government archaeologist began excavation and restoration work commenced a few years later. And with every digging they made, more illuminating details emerged of its origins. The Chaithya had been built 2,200 years ago in the floodplains of the Mahaweli River. Though ancient records stated that the Chaithya was built on the eastern banks of the Mahaweli, what the archaeologists found was that it was located on the west bank. This discrepancy was resolved when it was later found that the river itself had changed course through the long passage of time. The present road leading to the temple is said to be the river bed of the Mahaweli prior to its natural shift to the west approximately eight hundred years ago.

The Somawathie Chaithya stands today in the Somawathie Chaithya Sanctuary and is part of the Wasgomuwa Strict Natural Reserve, the Flood Plains National Park and Trikonamadu Natural Reserve. In this statutory protected reserve roam large herds of elephants, wild buffaloes and deer. There are also other ancient stupas in the area, namely, Kumbanacchaduwa, which has been since identified as the place where King Dutugamunu’s royal tusker Kadol Atha died—the Gal Amuna, Sangabodhigama and the Surangala Viharaya.

Whilst excavation work proceeded on the main stupa, archaeologists found a smaller stupa at a depth of five feet into the main stupa. They determined that it was the original Somawathie Chaithya build by Prince Giri Abha in the Second Century BC. The larger stupa covering was the work of King Kanitta Tissa in 164 AD. Also unearthed were several ruins of structures amongst them were a wall surrounding the stupa, four moonstones, flower pedestals and six ‘siripa gal’, 3 ½ feet long rocks carved with the image of the Buddha’s sole, referred to as ‘Sri Pathula’.

What really draws the thousands of devotees who throng this jungle stupa is the inspiring sublime presence of the sacred Tooth Relic

As restoration work progressed painstakingly for a number of years, it has to be halted due to disturbances that flared in the area thirty years ago. Later when a security post was established to protect the site, those on duty were surprised to see a group of elephants arriving at the stupa every night for no other reason, but to keep a silent all night vigil over the Buddha’s Right Tooth Relic.

Meanwhile miracle stories abound, photographs of mysterious light shows proliferate at the site. But whether or not the miracles are true, whether they meet the test of credibility, whether they enchant, mystify or baffle the pilgrims who are treated to a surfeit of its occurrences, one thing remains clear.

What really draws the thousands of devotees who throng this once long forgotten jungle stupa is the inspiring sublime presence of the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, enshrined therein. They come with zeal and fervour in their hearts to worship and pay their homage to the DakunuDalada of the Buddha, though long overdue; and, by such veneration, they realise Princess Somawathie’s sole purpose of building the Chaithya and enshrining the Buddha’s sacred relic in it for a nation’s reverence, however belated.

Tags: Narrative
Previous Post

Solitude by the glistening waters

Next Post

Homage To Shiva And Shakthi

Next Post
Homage To Shiva And Shakthi

Homage To Shiva And Shakthi

No Result
View All Result

Categories

exlpore-sri-lanka-logo

Location

20-2/1 Lauries Place Facing R A de Mel Mawatha Colombo 04.

Contact

(+94) 715 134 134

Email

info@btoptions.com

© 2023 BT Options. All Rights Reserved.