{"id":104989,"date":"2020-07-28T17:10:41","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T00:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=104989"},"modified":"2020-07-28T17:10:41","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T00:10:41","slug":"buddhist-civilization-in-the-north-and-east-of-ancient-sri-lanka-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/07\/28\/buddhist-civilization-in-the-north-and-east-of-ancient-sri-lanka-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"BUDDHIST CIVILIZATION IN THE NORTH AND EAST OF ANCIENT SRI LANKA Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Medhananda also went on exploration\nto the Northern Province and wrote his findings in his book Pacina passsa,\nuttara passa, nagenahira palata ha uturu palate Sinhala Bauddha Urumaya\u201d. Ven.\nEllawala Medhananda was not able to explore the North as much as he would have\nliked, due to LTTE control. The Northern Province consists of Jaffna,\nKilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu and   Vavuniya districts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda   gave the\nhistorical background to the Buddhist civilization of the North. He  \nstated that Jaffna, Elephant Pass and the islands around it was known\noriginally as Nagadipa. Ptolemy had called it   \u2018Nagadiboy\u2019. \nVallipuram manuscript of Vasabha called it Nakadiva. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda declared that the North was part of the Sinhala kingdom. It was part of the Rajarata there was a main road from Jambukolapatana to Anuradhapura. The Raja rata was divided into uttara passa (north) dakkhina, (south) pacina, (east) and pajjima (west). Uttara passa consisted of today\u2019s Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Mannar, and Jaffna. Each division was ruled by officer appointed by king. Tonigala and Mannar inscriptions speak of uttara passa . \u00a0Periyakulam inscription says that during the time of Devanam Piyatissa, Vavuniya was ruled by \u2018Naga\u2019 and \u2018Uti\u2019 and Mannar was ruled by \u2018Kana\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Vasabha\u2019s time (111-14) Jaffna\nwas ruled by Vasabha\u2019s Minister Isigiri. Nelugala inscription indicated that a\nminister, also named, Asgiri administered the north under Bhatiya Tissa\nII   (143-167) and Kanitta Tissa (167-186). Sigiri Gee (5th-8th century)\ncontains   verses written by \u2018Uturupasa vasi Samanal bati\u2019 and\n\u2018Uturupasa vasi Agalabati\u2019 . They wrote in Sinhala.  Inscription  of\nKassapa IV(914-23) at Kadurugoda said Kassapa was the ruler of the south as\nwell as the north.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mannar was a part of the \nSitawaka kingdom. During the time of Rajasinha  I, (1581-93) \nManamperi Mohottala administered Mannar.  The Udarata kingdom included the\nnorth and the east, said Medhananda .Baldeus (1632-72)  writing during the\nDutch occupation, gave a list of places under the Sinhala king. It included\nTrincomalee, Mannar, Batticaloa,  and Jaffna. Kokila sandesaya gives a\nroute from Kotte to Jaffna via   Mannar.  The  inscriptions\nin Ichchalampaththai  ( date not provided) show that these were Sinhala\nvillages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way of showing that the\n North was ruled by the Sinhala king was by comparing the language and\nscript in northern inscription and those elsewhere, said Medhananda .\nMedhananda  found 2 inscriptions dated to 2 century AD at Kandakudichchi aru\nruins. The script and language resembled  inscriptions at  Ritigala,\nVessagiriya,  Mihintale.  He found that the language  and script\nwere the same in the Mailagastota ,    Kallampattuva \nand  Tunukai  inscriptions   . Mailagastota was in\nthe   south,  Kallampattuva in the east and  Tunukai \nin the north of Sri Lanka .  Medhananda  said that inscriptions \nof Kassapa IV were found in  south, east and northwest  of the\nisland. The script and language was the same.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda says the North is full of\nBuddhist remains, every hill, every mound has a Buddhist  \nbuilding.  Every village had an aramaya.  Medhananda  said that\nthere were over 1500 Buddhist archaeological sites in the districts of\nVavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Mannar. Each time I went to \nVavuniya and Mullaitivu  I found new ruins. He has found foundations of\nbuildings, lived in caves, inscriptions, pada lanjana and bricks. He says there\nare many more sites. Medhananda  said there are more than 20\n archaeological sites on  the small Dollar Farm village alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vavuniya is  full of\nBuddhist  ruins. There are  hundreds of  Buddhist ruins In\nVavuniya there are three sets of ruins in a straight line, at Mahakachca\nkodiya,    Erupotana,  and  Periyapuliyam kulam malai.\nOdiamalai, Thadda malai, Kurundam malai had  inscriptions. Kurundammalai\n,  originally Kurunvashoka vihara, had a  lot of ruins. Medhananda\nsaid that this was the place  where he saw the most ruins. Have not seen\nso many ruins in any other place I  have gone to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vavuniya and Mullaitivu Buddhist \nruins have not been examined  fully by anyone., said Medhananda . Most of\nthese are not  recorded by Department of Archaeology.  \u2018We have never\nexplored these areas, said Medhananda . Our archeology only concentrated on\nAnuradhapura, Polonnaruwa   and a few other places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Jaffna to Wilpattu, all along\nthe ocean strip, one sees places with over 100 ruins. No explorations have been\ndone in this area. These sites were never examined carefully, other than\npresenting a random report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book Pacina passsa, uttara\npassa, nagenahira palata  ha  uturu palate Sinhala Bauddha Urumaya\u201d\nMedhananda  gives a list of Buddhist ruins seen by him  in the\nNorthern Province. The viharas seen by Medhananda in his northern explorations\ninclude Atambagaskada kiri vihara , Buddhanehela Raja Maha Vihara ,\nGalgiriyagama kanda vihara ,  Iratperiyakulam vihara ,  Kadurugoda\nvihara ,  Kurundammalai vihara ,  Madukande Dalada vihara ,\nMahakachcha kodiya vihara,   Mangana vihara, Piyagukatissa vihara ,\nParibhoga chaitya, Salavana vihara ,  Tonigala vihara ,   Valli\nvihara and  Vedikinarimalai Vaddamana parvata vihara . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda  gives  48\nplaces  in Jaffna where he has seen Buddhist ruins He says there are\nothers as well. the places listed are Algiriya, Anai kottai, Analativu,Ariyalai, \nAtchuveli, Buddhatottam, Buddhawalawwa,  Chakaveli,  Changanai,\nChulipuram,  Chunnakam, Delft,  Elavativu, Gotamalu watte, \nKaraitivu,Kodiyavatte Mahiyapiddy,  Mallakam, Manipai,\nMarattamadam,Mavaddipuram,  Nagachcha kovil precincts,   Nagarkovil,\nNainativu,Nallur, Neelavarai, Pinwatte, Ponnalai, Poonaryn,  Pukuditivu,\nPuloli, Puttur,Sambaturai,Tellipilai,  Tennavali,\nTiruadanilai,    Tisamalai,   Tunukai, Udupiddy,\nUduvil,  Uratota,Uraturai, Vadukkodai, Valikamam and Valvettiturai.\nMedhananda says these ruins show bricks, tiles, statues, potsherds,\ninscriptions.   Most are in private lands, Medhananda observed.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Vavuniya and Mullaitivu\nMedhananda has explored the following places: Ariyamadu,Atambagaskada, \nBogaswewa, Buddha kovil,  Bumaya, Chelliyar villu, Chenkal veddi\nkulam,Chenmadu, Dollar farm, Eeratperiyakulam, Erupothana, ,   Iluppu\nkulam,  Iranai illupun kulam, Iranamadu, Irasattiram\nkulam,Iruvil,Kachchilamadu, Kallaru, Kalnattan kulam, Kalukundammaduwa,\nKanagarayam kulam, Kanchiramuddai,  Karadikulam,  Karavil\nkulam,   Karidikkulam, Kokkavelliya, Kongaraya kulam,  Kontaka\nkarnakulam, Kovil puliyan kulam,Kumbakarna malai,Kurum puliyan kulam,\nMadukanda, Mahakachchkodiya,Mahamailan kulam, Mamaduwa Manikai,  Maniyar\nkulam,Mankalkeni,Mannan kadal,Manthri vihara,  Maradamadu,Maratamadu,\nMenik farm, Mohonnan kulam, Molliyavela,  Mudaliyakulam,Namban kulam,\nNavagama Kirivehera,  Nayaru,Nedunkerni, Nelukkulam, Nochchiya\nmoddai,Oddusuddan,  Odiyamalai,  Olumaduva, Omandan, Paddikudiirippu,\nPadivettukulam, Palamoddai, Panaiyan kulam,Panangama,   Patta\nkattuveli,  Pavattakulam,  Periyakulam,  Periyamar\niluppai,Periyauttukai, Pokkaravanni  tunukai, Pudukudi\niruppukulam,Puleliya, Pumaduva,   Puravasan kulam, \nPuvarasankulam, Ruvanmadu, Samalankulama,<\/em>\nSirappanmaduva,Tachcankulam,Tadikkulam,  Tambankulama,\nTapassavellliya,  Tiranamadu,  Tiraviyamalai,Tonigala,Tukkumarattadi,\nTuntimuruppu wewa, Udavelikulam, Ulakkulam,Unjaral kaddi, Vadamarachhci,\nVariyakuddiuru, Veherabanda  wewa, Vettilkulam,  Vettiyakulam and\n  Yakumadu yaya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Mannar  Ven. Medhananda has\nvisited Arippu , Cholayan kaddu, \nCompotukki,      Ilukpeyikadachei, Irantivu,\nKadappiditti kulam,   Kohala wewa, Kunchi kulam, Magana, Malikai\nkulam, Mannankulam, Mantota,  Moderagam ara, Mudalikulam, Mukkarayakulam,\nMulliyakkulam, Musali, Na vehera,  Olivettikulam, Pachcha addappan\nwewa,  Paniyankulam,  Pannankamam, Periyanavakkulam, Pesalai,\nPuliyankulam, Rajakulama, Rajamaduva,Rakkha vihara,  Samadetiya, \nTalaimannar, Tiruketiswaram, Ttuvavali,  Valli vihara ,  Vachinikulam\n   and Vellantarai.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda has also  found\nruins of some 1538 tanks form Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Elephant pass,\nPooneryn Omanthai and Mannar. Medhananda had also made a list of the wewas\nfound in the Northern Province. They are listed by name in his book. He has\nlisted 340 wewa in Vavuniya, mostly called kulam, and 15 wewa in Mannar\nIranamadu in  Kilinochchi district,  was  originally Ranmadu\nwewa.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda has given  a\ndetailed description of the sites he has visited. In Vavuniya, \nMedhananda   explored Buddanehela  Raja Maha Vihara  .\nRuins are fast   deteriorating he said. Galkiriyagama kande vihara,\nhad  remains of a huge stupa , a  Siripatula and ponds. Inscriptions\nshow king Uththiya\u2019s queen had  built   a structure here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirivehera at  \nAtambagaskada, 6 km from Vavuniya, has a Samadhi Buddha statue, which is \nfar superior to those found in this area. According to villagers was brought\nfrom elsewhere. It is 2\u2019 21\/2\u201d high,   the head dress or ketumala is\nunique. Eeratiperiyakulam   ruined vihara, Vavuniya, ruins show\navasa, vihara and 150 year old  Bodhi tree. Medhananda had found a stylish\nstatue in pieces and  had put it together.  ( continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Medhananda also went on exploration to the Northern Province and wrote his findings in his book Pacina passsa, uttara passa, nagenahira palata ha uturu palate Sinhala Bauddha Urumaya\u201d. Ven. Ellawala Medhananda was not able to explore the North as much as he would have liked, due to LTTE control. The Northern Province consists […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104989\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}