KAMALIKA PIERIS

The main strategy used to suppress Buddhism in the north and east, was to place Hindu kovils within Buddhist ruins. Kovils were set up on Buddhist structures. Hindu kovils have been built over many of the Buddhist shrines, said Medhananda.There was a historical precedent for this. Ama Wanniarachchi reported in 2022 that recent archaeological excavation revealed that the Siva Devala No. 1 at Polonnaruwa, was built on a Buddhist image house that had been demolished.

The Report of the Sinhala Commission (2001) listed Buddhist ruins into which kovils had been inserted. Department of Archaeology did a survey in 2010 of Buddhist ruins in the north. Administration report 1950 said that Sivapuram Sri Malai kovil was a small kovil .today it is greatly enlarged,   they reported. Buddhist pillars were seen beside the Sivapuram Sri Malai Kovil also a stone edict dated to 8 to 10 AD which has been published.

 Ven. Ellawela Medhananda reported that many Buddhist ruins in the north and east has been converted to Hindu kovils. Hindu kovils have been built over many of the Buddhist shrines. Many ancient Buddhist ruins have been demolished and kovils belonging to Hindu gods have been built over them. Moonstones, guard stones, yupa gala have been found in these Kovils. The 2010 survey by Department of archaeology confirmed this. They also found that most Hindu kovils were erected on Buddhist ruins .

In some kovils the Buddhist origin  is visible.  At Tirumangala the kovil had a Buddha statue.   Kantakonishwaran kovil near Vellavali, built on a   huge, ancient Buddhist monastery, has used the ruins as altars. The huge stone ansana and asanaghara at Vihara gal kanda   had been taken to Santamalai where a Hindu kovil had been set up on the Buddhist site. At Kandakudichchi Aru where the stupa was replaced by a kovil, one mal asana gala was   placed before the Hindu statue  and the other was used as a step.  Villagers in Veheragoda, Ampara, said that the stone door frame belonging to the stupa had been taken away to a kovil at Mandur.

Puravasakulam badrakali kovil had used the korawakgala, siripatul used for worship. At Mallavi Sri Puram kovil they were crushing the old bricks to make the new sculptures.   The sculptor had said the old bricks were excellent for the purpose. Buddhist items were taken for use in Mullavaikkal kovil. Materials from Buddhist ruins were used for the Oddusuddan kovil. Buddhist pillars were seen beside the Sivapuram Sri Malai Kovil also a stone edict dated to 8 to 10 AD which has been published.

Buddhist sites in good condition in Trincomalee   in 1960 had vanished when Medhananda visited them in 1980. Hindu kovils had been built over many of them. When the archaeological Department went to Jaffna peninsula in the 1960s remains of the Buddhist sites cited in the 16^th Nam Pota were still there. These have been gradually built over with Hindu Kovils.

Ancient Buddhist ruins dating to Polonnaruwa period had been found at Kilinochchi. The locals    said that there had been a small kovil there in the 1940 which was enlarged to the present Shiva kovil in 1980.  In Kilinochchi LTTE had destroyed the large Buddha statue and thrown pieces into the tank. There had been a Samadhi statue and a Bo tree and moon stone, but LTTE had felled the Bo tree, planted a Palmyra tree, and renamed the place Nagalingam.

Archaeological officers in Vavuniya complained to the Omanthai police about a kovil being built in Maligai area, Omanthai in an  area which has ruins  dated to the Anuradhapura period. Buddhist ruins including ancient ‘stupa’ bases,  siripatul, bases of buildings, stone pillars, bricks and tiles had been bulldozed and replaced by  statues of Hindu gods. The area, seven acres in extent, has been enclosed as private land and arrangements have been made to build a Kovil there, the report concluded. 

Files  on Buddhist ruins held in the  Department of archaeology  vanished when new kovils are constructed, said Medhananda. There was a hill with a stupa, and eleven cave shrines to the east of the Pannala oya.  Now there is a kovil there, said Medhananda. There had been a file at the Ampara Kachcheri describing the Buddhist remains of the area, but with the construction of the kovil those documents   disappeared, he said.

Here is an incomplete list of Buddhist ruins which have now turned Kovil.

• Ettama in Pottuvil had a Buddhist vihara and stupa, siripatula, guard stones, dressed stone slabs, stone figures and sculptures. They are no more. They have been replaced by a Hindu Kovil. Bricks were taken to build houses.
• Kandakudichchi Aru. There is now a Hindu kovil at Kandakudichci Aru ruins. The stupa altars were used for this, one as a step and the other as an altar.
• Kilinochchi Buddhist ruins were destoyred and a kovil built.
• Kiliveddy Bo tree was destroyed and in 1977 a kovil was coming up on the site. This site was taken over by the Department of archaeology in 1979.
• Kokkadicholai .The Kankon Isvarna kovil, at Kokkadicholai, has been built over a Buddhist aramaya and   Buddhist items such as guard stones, parts of stupa are still visible said Ellawela Medhananda in 2005. Medhananda was told by those living there, that there was an inscription in 1968, but it had been destroyed.  The  Kovil had started  small and  was now enlarged. There is a second kovil  for Pullaiyar.  The area now  has only Tamil residents. 
• Kuchchaveli .A Hindu kovil was coming up in the vicinity of . Kuchchaveli Maha vihara
• Kurundi  The kovil at  Kurundi isdiscussed elsewhere.
• Lankapatuna .Medhananda observed in 2003 that the  stupa and pilimage at Samudragiri vihara, Lankapatuna has been destroyed and a kovil set up. Samudragiri will be completely destroyed very soon, he said.
• Nagacholai reserve in Mullativu.  there are three kovils in Nagacholai reserve.
• Nelugala,  in Batticaloa  was once Piyangalu vihara. Buddhist ruins at Nelugala have been destroyed. Buildings were set on fire by non-Sinhalese, and the Sinhala settlers driven away. A Hindu kovil was constructed there. 
• Nelukkulam, in Vavuniya. Stupa 30 feet in height was    leveled, cemented and a trident placed on top.
• Okanda devale at Panama has been renamed Murugan kovil. 
• Omanthai  a kovil was built in Maligai area, Omanthai  in an  area which has ruins  dated to the Anuradhapura period.
• Palamottai in Trincomalee. There is a kovil at Palamottai with a notice giving its ‘history’ in Tamil.  
• Rahatgala is today known as Shanthamalai, It had   30 acres of Buddhist ruins including an ancient two storied building. The huge stone ansana and asanaghara at Viharagalkanda has been deposited there.    The  Buddhist ruins were damaged and three Hindu kovils had been built on three ancient image  houses. There is another large Hindu kovil in front of these three .The forested area beyond  containing Buddhist ruins have been encroached on  by Tamil settlers.
• Ridikanda Buddhist ruins At Ridikanda had been destroyed.  Media reported in 1978  that the statues had been pushed off the hill , dragged down and   destroyed. A Shiva devale called  Sembir devale is set up here,.  Tamils said it was set up in 1938.
• Samalankulam in Vavuniya had two stupa mounds and a statue of Avalokiteshvara. A Hindu kovil was being constructed in 2001
• Samudragiri, in Lankapatuna had remains of a  stupa and image  house. Hindu kovil there now.
• Sangaman kanda in Pottuvil  was a Buddhist  site, with two  cave inscriptions  . Now it is a Siva kovil. 
• Santamalai a Hindu kovil had been set up on the Buddhist site.
• Sembumalai When I visited Sembumalai in 1978, the Buddha statue seen earlier was missing, said Medhananda. It was recovered later six miles away. Many ruins were purposely damaged and a Hindu kovil has been established. The Poosari’s statements that it was built in 1938 cannot be accepted as the materials used for the kovil were   new.
• Sunethra wewa,in  Kantalai. A  modern Hindu kovil has been  constructed over the Buddhist monuments. The materials from the Buddhist ruins were used in the construction of the kovil.
• Taravakulama  in Batticaloa had a  Buddhist  vihara which is now converted to Hindu kovil.
• Tirumangala had Buddhist  ruins for 5 acres or so with moonstone and image stand. There is now a kovil  there  with a Buddha statue within it.  Ancient bricks, columns,  stone tiles,  have been used for the kovil.
• Toppigala  now has a Hindu kovil.
• Vadunagala Buddhist ruins at Vadunagala have been  destroyed and a  kovil substituted.
• Vellaveli Kantakonishwaran kovil was built on a   huge, ancient Buddhist monastery, near Vellavali. ( continued)