Anuradhapura was the first capital of Sri Lanka established in the 4th century BC. It was the royal capital for 119 successive Singhalese Kings and lasted for about thousand five hundred years. Many historic monuments and buildings still remain in the acres of this sacred land.
The historic city of Anuradhapura is an essential stop on any tour of Sri Lanka. This city, located around 205 kms north of Colombo, is one of eight World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Anuradhapura currently serves as the capital city of the North Central Province, and is considered the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Its vast network of ancient Buddhist temples, monasteries and places of worship which cover over 40 sq kms has made it a sacred site to Buddhists around the world.
Located on the banks of a river, Anuradhapura is now a picturesque ruined city, filled with mystery and steeped in a rich Buddhist culture. Tour groups and pilgrims alike visit this city, and this diverse and versatile city caters to a locals and visitors alike. The ancient city lies adjacent to the modern, and ruined buildings, ancient temples, cobbled streets, and even crumbling fort walls are spread out and interspersed with all signs of modern life in this bustling and thriving city.
History of Anuradhapura
Sri Lanka’s historical chronicle, the Mahavamsa, records that Anuradhapura first became the capital of ancient Lanka in 4th Century BC, during the reign of King Pandukhabaya. The King is attributed with designing the city, developing a core town and even surrounding suburbs based on a highly complex plan.
Anuradhapura came into prominence after Buddhism was introduced to the island in the 3rd Century BC during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa. He built the country’s first stupa here, the Thuparama, which is said to house a relic of the Buddha, his right collarbone. King Tissa also arranged for the planting of the sacred Bo sapling brought to the country by Princess Sangamitta, daughter of Emperor Asoka of India. This is today the venerated Sri Maha Bodhi, which is considered the oldest living tree in the world.
King Devanampiya Tissa was also one of the first Kings to build irrigation tanks to develop inland agriculture, especially the growing of rice. He is credited with building the Tissa wewa (also known as Tisa wewa), which covers an area of approximately 550 acres and the embankment alone is measured at around 2 miles long. This man-made lake continues to be a major irrigation tank even today, and has become an essential resource to rice farmers in the area.
This ancient capital city fell many times to invading armies from India, but was famously recaptured and established as the pinnacle of the country’s development and culture by King Dutugemunu in the 2ndCentury BC. During his reign in Anuradhapura, he embarked on a massive construction project which created many of the magnificent monuments which are visible even today, chief amongst them the Ruwanweliseya stupa (built to house the begging bowl of Lord Buddha), the Mirisavetiya temple and the Lohapasada or Brazen Temple.
There were many among King Dutugemunu’s successors who added on to the city through construction of religious buildings, gardens and parks as well as irrigation tanks. The city became not only the centre of commerce and religion, but a place of learning and cultural expression.
Anuradhapura – Points of Interest
Sri Mahabodhi Tree
It is hard to believe; but without a shadow of doubt—that this small tree with limbs so slender that they must be supported on iron crutches, is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world (2,200 years).
A branch of the very Bo beneath which (at Buddha Gaya in North India) the Buddha himself found Enlightenment, was brought to Sri Lanka in the 3rd Century B.C. by the Princess/religieuse Sanghamitta; a sister of the saint Mahinda.
It has never since been without its hereditary attendants and the care, to the very end, of the country’s kings. As lately as the reign of the last of them (Sri Vikrama Rajasingha, whom the British captured and deported); a wall was built by royal command to repair the platform on which it grows. In 1966 it was enclosed in a golden railing.
Loha Prasada – The Brazen Palace
A roof of copper over this primordial skyscraper bestowed upon it, its name. This work of Duttha Gamini is known to have burned down only 15 years after its building; which leads to the surmise that it was largely a wooden structure.
Mahathupa – Ruwanweli Dagaba
The Mahathupa (Great Thupa) is today known as the Ruvanveliseya Dagaba. This is the centre piece of The Maha vihara (Great Monastery). The Maha vihara, because of it’s long history of guarding the traditions of Theravada Buddhism, and because its monks kept the most sacred shrines at Anuradhapura, was the most important monastery of the city. Although not it’s true height and original form, the fine white Ruvanveliseya Dagaba, guarded by a ‘wall of elephants’, still looks magnificent.
A dagaba or thupa (relic chamber), is a dome which is built over sacred relics, the bodily remains of the Buddha. King Duttha Gamini had already built the Mirisavati and his magnificent Brazen Palace, but he wanted something bigger and better for his greatest work.
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