{"id":105233,"date":"2020-08-03T16:52:38","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T23:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=105233"},"modified":"2020-08-03T16:52:38","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T23:52:38","slug":"buddhism-in-the-northern-province-1990-2019-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/08\/03\/buddhism-in-the-northern-province-1990-2019-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"BUDDHISM IN THE NORTHERN PROVINCE (1990-2019) Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The Northern\nProvince was an integral part of the Rajarata of the Anuradhapura kingdom. The\nRaja\nrata was divided into uttara\npassa (north) dakkhina, (south) pacina, (east) and pajjima (west). Uttara passa consisted\nof today\u2019s Vavuniya,\nMullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Mannar, and Jaffna. Each division was ruled by officer appointed by king. \nJambukolapatana in Jaffna was the main port for arrivals and departure\nto Rajarata. There was a main\nroad from Jambukolapatana in Jaffna to Anuradhapura. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Northern\nProvince continued under the Sinhala king in the ancient and medieval periods. Periyakulam\ninscription says that during the time of Devanam Piyatissa, Vavuniya was ruled\nby \u2018Naga\u2019 and \u2018Uti\u2019 and Mannar was ruled by \u2018Kana\u2019. <\/strong>During the time\nof the Sinhala attakatha, Nagadipa ruler was under   Sinhala king, as diparaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Vasabha\u2019s time ((67-111 AD) Jaffna was\nruled by Vasabha\u2019s Minister Isigiri. Nelugala inscription indicated that a\nminister, also named, Asgiri administered the north under Bhatiya Tissa II   (143-167) and Kanitta Tissa (167-186). The inscriptions in Ichchalampaththai (date\nnot provided) show that these were Sinhala villages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sigiri Gee (5th-8th century) contains   verses written by \u2018Uturupasa vasi Samanal\nbati\u2019 and \u2018Uturupasa vasi Agalabati\u2019 . They wrote in Sinhala.  Inscription \nof Kassapa IV((898-914) at Kadurugoda said Kassapa was the ruler of the\nsouth as well as the north.  Mannar pillar\ninscription of Kassapa IV\n has the  term Mahaputu Laddan, which  denotes officers attached to sea port. Amenities given\nto some villages are also mentioned . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mannar was a part of the  Sitawaka kingdom. Kokila\nsandesaya (15th<\/sup> century) gives a route from Kotte to Jaffna via   Mannar. \nDuring the time of Rajasinha  I,\n(1581-93)  Manamperi Mohottala administered\nMannar. Baldeus\n(1632-72)  writing during the Dutch\noccupation, gave a list of places under the Sinhala king. It included\nTrincomalee, Mannar, Batticaloa,  and\nJaffna.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Northern Province continued under the\nSinhala king. It was a  part of the\nlast  Sinhala kingdom, the Udarata\nkingdom.  The Northern Province remained\nwithin Udarata until the kingdom came to an end in 1815. The Udarata kingdom was huge, about three\ntimes the size of the Portuguese and Dutch possessions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way of showing that the  North was ruled by the Sinhala king was by\ncomparing the language and script in northern inscription and those elsewhere,\nsaid Medhananda in 2013.  Medhananda  found 2 inscriptions dated to 2 century AD at\nKandakudichchi aru ruins. The script and language resembled  inscriptions at  Ritigala, Vessagiriya,  Mihintale. \nHe found that the language  and\nscript were the same in the Mailagastota ,   \nKallampattuva  and  Tunukai \ninscriptions   . Mailagastota was\nin the   south,  Kallampattuva in the east and  Tunukai \nin the north of Sri Lanka . \nMedhananda  said that\ninscriptions  of Kassapa IV were found\nin  south, east and northwest  of the island. The script and language was\nthe same.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Northern Province was originally Sinhala\nand Buddhist. Mannar\npillar inscription of Kassapa IV spoke of three Buddhist viharas in the area, Bahaduru\nSen Piyangala, Na Vihara and Rakkha vihara. Kannimaduwa\ninscription found near Kongarayam kulam , Vavuniya   speaks of Salapavu vehera and its villages. The Province still retains evidence of this\ncivilization. Kirivehera at   Atambagaskada,\n6 km from Vavuniya, has a Samadhi Buddha statue, which is  far superior to those found in this area. It is 2\u2019 21\/2\u201d high.   The head dress or ketumala is unique. Villagers\nsays it was brought from elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A list of\nBuddhist sites in the north and east were prepared in 1962 by  Assistant Archaeological Commissioner ,M H\nSirisoma. Buddhist Times<\/em>,  in 2007,  \nprovided a list of Buddhist sites in north and east. Jaffna had 21,\nMannar had 4, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu had 104.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ven. Ellawala\nMedhananda exploring in the 1990s \nfound  additional  sites which are not in the Sirisoma map.  He found 17 more locations  in Jaffna district, including 4 on the\nsmaller islands, 19  more for Vavuniya\nand Mullaitivu , and  32  for Mannar, of which 15 are lined along the\nsea coast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda\nalso   named 48 places in  Jaffna   and 90 \nplaces in Vavuniya and Mullaitivu \nwhich had Buddhist ruins. He says this list is not complete, there are\nother unexplored places. There are more\nthan 20 archaeological sites on Dollar Farm alone. Each time I went\nto  Vavuniya and Mullaitivu  I found new ruins. Most are in private lands. The ruins showed  remains of stupas, foundations of\nbuildings, statues, pada lanjana, bricks,  tiles,  potsherds. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda says\nthe North is full of Buddhist remains, every hill, every mound has a\nBuddhist   building.  Every village had an aramaya.    Medhananda \nsaid that there were over 1500 Buddhist archaeological sites in the\ndistricts of Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Mannar. Each time I went to  Vavuniya and Mullaitivu  I found new ruins. He\nhas found foundations of buildings, lived in caves, inscriptions, pada lanjana\nand bricks. He says there are\nmany more sites.\nMedhananda  said there are more than\n20  archaeological sites on  the small Dollar Farm village alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vavuniya is \nfull of Buddhist  ruins. There\nare  hundreds of  Buddhist ruins In Vavuniya there are three sets of\nruins in a straight line, at Mahakachca kodiya,    Erupotana, \nand  Periyapuliyam kulam malai. Odiamalai, Thadda malai, Kurundam malai had \ninscriptions. Kurundammalai , \noriginally Kurunvashoka vihara, had a \nlot of ruins. Medhananda\nsaid that this was the place  where he saw the most ruins.\nHave not seen so many ruins in any other place I  have gone to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

From Jaffna to Wilpattu, all along the ocean\nstrip, one sees places with over 100 ruins. No\nexplorations have been done in this area. These sites were never examined carefully,\nother than presenting 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\nseen by him  in the Northern Province.\nThe viharas seen by Medhananda in his northern explorations include\nAtambagaskada kiri vihara , Buddhanehela Raja Maha Vihara , Galgiriyagama kanda\nvihara ,  Iratperiyakulam vihara ,  Kadurugoda vihara ,  Kurundammalai vihara ,  Madukande Dalada vihara , Mahakachcha kodiya\nvihara,   Mangana vihara . Piyagukatissa vihara , Paribhoga chaitya,\nSalavana vihara ,  Tonigala vihara ,   Valli vihara, Vedikinarimalai Vaddamana\nparvata vihara .  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda \ngives  48 places  in Jaffna where he has seen Buddhist ruins He\nsays there are others as well. the places listed are Algiriya, Anai kottai,\nAnalativu,Ariyalai,  Atchuveli,\nBuddhatottam, Buddhawalawwa, \nChakaveli,  Changanai,\nChulipuram,  Chunnakam, Delft,  Elavativu, Gotamalu watte,  Karaitivu,Kodiyavatte Mahiyapiddy,  Mallakam, Manipai,\nMarattamadam,Mavaddipuram,  Nagachcha\nkovil precincts,   Nagarkovil,\nNainativu,Nallur, Neelavarai, Pinwatte, Ponnalai, Poonaryn,  Pukuditivu, Puloli,\nPuttur,Sambaturai,Tellipilai,  Tennavali,\nTiruadanilai,    Tisamalai,   Tunukai, Udupiddy, Uduvil,  Uratota,Uraturai, Vadukkodai, Valikamam and\nValvettiturai. Medhananda says these ruins show\nbricks, tiles, statues, potsherds, inscriptions.   Most are in private lands, Medhananda\nobserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Vavuniya and Mullaitivu Medhananda has\nexplored the following places: Ariyamadu,Atambagaskada,  Bogaswewa, Buddha kovil,  Bumaya, Chelliyar villu, Chenkal veddi\nkulam,Chenmadu, Dollar farm, Eeratperiyakulam, Erupothana,    Iluppu kulam,  Iranai illupun kulam, Iranamadu, Irasattiram\nkulam,Iruvil,Kachchilamadu, Kallaru, Kalnattan kulam, Kalukundammaduwa,\nKanagarayam kulam, Kanchiramuddai, \nKaradikulam,  Karavil kulam,   Karidikkulam, Kokkavelliya, Kongaraya\nkulam,  Kontaka karnakulam, Kovil puliyan\nkulam,Kumbakarna malai,Kurum puliyan kulam, Madukanda, Mahakachchkodiya,Mahamailan\nkulam, Mamaduwa Manikai,  Maniyar\nkulam,Mankalkeni,Mannan kadal,Manthri vihara, \nMaradamadu,Maratamadu, Menik farm, Mohonnan kulam, Molliyavela,  Mudaliyakulam,Namban kulam, Navagama\nKirivehera,  Nayaru,Nedunkerni,\nNelukkulam, Nochchiya moddai,Oddusuddan, \nOdiyamalai,  Olumaduva, Omandan,\nPaddikudiirippu, Padivettukulam, Palamoddai, Panaiyan kulam,Panangama,   Patta kattuveli,  Pavattakulam, \nPeriyakulam,  Periyamar\niluppai,Periyauttukai, Pokkaravanni \ntunukai, Pudukudi iruppukulam,Puleliya, Pumaduva,   Puravasan kulam,  Puvarasankulam, Ruvanmadu, Samalankulama,<\/em> Sirappanmaduva,Tachcankulam,Tadikkulam,  Tambankulama, Tapassavellliya,  Tiranamadu, \nTiraviyamalai,Tonigala,Tukkumarattadi, Tuntimuruppu wewa, Udavelikulam,\nUlakkulam,Unjaral kaddi, Vadamarachhci, Variyakuddiuru, Veherabanda  wewa, Vettilkulam,  Vettiyakulam and   Yakumadu yaya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Mannar  Ven. Medhananda has visited Arippu , Cholayan\nkaddu,  Compotukki,      Ilukpeyikadachei, Irantivu, Kadappiditti\nkulam,   Kohala wewa, Kunchi kulam,\nMagana, Malikai kulam, Mannankulam, Mantota, \nModeragam ara, Mudalikulam, Mukkarayakulam, Mulliyakkulam, Musali, Na vehera,  Olivettikulam, Pachcha addappan wewa,  Paniyankulam, \nPannankamam, Periyanavakkulam, Pesalai, Puliyankulam, Rajakulama,\nRajamaduva,Rakkha vihara,  Samadetiya,  Talaimannar, Tiruketiswaram, Ttuvavali,  Valli vihara, Vachinikulam    and Vellantarai.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda has given  a detailed description of the sites he has\nvisited. In Vavuniya,  Medhananda   explored Buddanehela  Raja Maha Vihara  . Ruins are fast   deteriorating he said. Galkiriyagama\nkande vihara, had  remains of a huge\nstupa , a  Siripatula and ponds.\nInscriptions show king Uththiya\u2019s queen had \nbuilt   a structure here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ven. Ellawala Medhananda has drawn\nattention to the damage done by \u2018non-Buddhists\u2019 (Hindus and Muslims), to the\nBuddhist monasteries, hermitages and ancient ruins in the north and east.\nMedhananda says that more than five hundred sites with ancient Buddhist ruins\nare either destroyed or are being destroyed in the north and east. Lavatories have been built amidst Buddhist ruins\nin north, he said. Medhananda found a destroyed Buddha statue and moonstone at\nOddusuddan.    Others found that ruins at Etambagaskanda\nand  Kandikulam  had been destroyed. Kantarodai was a large\narea, now it is reduced to a small area, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The ruins in Jaffna  and elsewhere are  in danger, said Medhananda speaking  in 2009 during Eelam war IV.  In 2009 Medhananda   wanted the \nDepartment of Archaeology to take control of the Buddhist  ruins in the cleared areas of the Vanni. He said that there were over 1500 such sites\nin the districts of Vanni, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Mannar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2010 that\nMedhananda had   told Daily Mirror\nthat  more than 50 sites of archeological\nimportance in the Mullaitivu district have been desecrated by the LTTE and used\nas bunkers and fortifications. A total of 1633 sites have been desecrated in\nthe Anuradhapura, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts and that they should be\npreserved from further damage. Ellawala Medhananda requested the President to\ntake steps to hand over the control of these archeological sites to the\nDepartment of Archaeology for preservation.  Monuments like moon stones\nand ancient fortresses belonging to 11th century have been severely affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main strategy used to suppress Buddhism in\nthe north and east, was to promptly substitute Hindu kovils for the destroyed\nBuddhist ruins. Hindu\nkovils have been built over many of the Buddhist shrines, said Medhananda.\nLTTE \nhad put  up a Hindu kovil\nAt Oddusuddan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeological\nofficers in Vavuniya  complained to the\nOmanthai police about  a kovil being\nbuilt in Maligai area, Omanthai  in an  area which has ruins  dated to the Anuradhapura period. Buddhist\nruins including ancient \u2018stupa\u2019 bases, Sri Pada , bases of buildings, stone\npillars, bricks and tiles had been bulldozed and replaced by  statues of Hindu gods. The area, seven acres\nin extent, has been enclosed as private land and arrangements have been made to\nbuild a Kovil there, the report concluded. \n( date not provided).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Fundamental\nRights petition was filed in the Supreme Court in 2019 seeking an order\ndirecting the authorities to take immediate action to investigate the imminent\ndanger to the Buddhist religious sites and archaeological sites situated in the\nNorthern and Eastern Provinces. This petition has been filed by attorney-at-Law\nDharshana Weraduwage. The petitioner states that he was shocked and dismayed to\nhear the news that a certain group had bulldozed an area in Maligai, Omanthai,\nVavuniya, which had contained archaeological memorials and ruins that belonged\nto the Anuradhapura period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npetitioner also states that he came to know that Mullaitivu Police had removed\nthe CCTV system which was installed to the protection of the Mullaitivu\nGurukanda Temple. The petitioner further sought an order declaring that\nfundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution under Articles 10, 11, 12\n(1), 12(2), 14(1)(e) and 14(1)(f) have been violated by the respondents owing\nto their inaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is now\na impressive large Hindu kovil at Nagadipa. According to Wikipedia, theNainativu  Nagapoosani Amman Temple  is a historic Hindu temple<\/a>.It has been\nmentioned since antiquity in Tamil\nliterature<\/a>, such as Manimekalai<\/a> and Kundalakesi<\/a>. it is one\nof the prominent 64 Shakti\nPeethams<\/a> of Hinduism  and was identified\nas such in the  9th<\/sup>\ncentury  by Adi\nShankaracharya<\/a>,  a Hindu philosopher of\nTamilnadu .The present structure was built during 1720 to 1790, concluded\nWikipedia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is  all nonsense. This kovil\nwas not there in the 1950s when I visited Nagadipa with my parents. It was\nprobably built during the Eelam wars. This \nnew kovil  is strategically\nlocated at the tip of  the island,   facing Jaffna. It has four tall gopurams\nranging from 20\u201325 feet in height, the tallest being the eastern gopuram\nsoaring at 108 feet high.  The  kovil is clearly visible   from \nmiles away and  gives the impression\nthat Nagadipa is a Hindu island.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The  annual High Festival of Sri Nagapoosani Amman\nTemple is supported by the state. The Navy media unit   said in 2019, the annual festival began on\nJuly 2 in Nainativu Island. As in previous years, a large number of devotees\nare arriving for this year\u2019s festival too. Naval personnel of the command\nprovide their assistance in numerous ways for making the festival a success.\nNaval assistance is extended in a wide range of ways from providing sea\ntransportation for VIPs, coordinating the ferry service between Kurikadduwan\nand Nainativu, providing drinking water for devotees, arranging safe bathing\nlocations, life-saving assistance for devotees, and providing pier security and\nsecurity checks. Sri Lanka Navy will assist the annual festival which is\nscheduled to finish on July 17,assured the navy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nagadipa is one of the solosmastana of\nBuddhist worship. it is the only one  of\nthe  \u2018solosmastana\u2019 to be located in\nthe  Northern Province .The new Hindu\nkovil   is clearly an attempt to wrest\nthis particular solosmastana from Buddhist worship and convert it to Hindu\nworship.  Buddhists , specially the Maha\nSangha , do not seem to mind. When I visited Jaffna last year,  as part of a tour group, those who went to\nNagadipa returned speaking admiringly of the Hindu kovil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nNainativu cannot be the Nagadipa mentioned in the Mahavamsa .it is too small.\nThe Jaffna  peninsula is the real\nNagadipa. Paul E Pieris has \nprovided  the necessary evidence. He\nshowed, among other evidence, that Ptolemy called  the\nJaffna peninsula  \n\u2018Nagadiboy\u2019.  Vallipuram\nmanuscript of Vasabha called it Nakadiva.   Medhananda, writing in the 1990s, stated his\nview. Jaffna, Elephant Pass and the islands around\nit were known originally\nas Nagadipa, said Medhananda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians find\nthe Mahavamsa reference to  the\nChulodara-Mahodara contest at Nagadipa, very useful in reconstructing the\nsettlements of pre-historic Sri Lanka . Historians accept that there was a  community of Nagas  in the Northern province. If so,  this settlement, which had to be a  large one  to accommodate such a fight, could  not have existed on the present Nainativu,\nwhich is only two square kilometers in extent. It took place in the Jaffna\nPeninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore\nJaffna must immediately replace Nainativu in the list of   \u2018solosmastana\u2019. Facilities must be provided\nfor Buddhists to worship in Jaffna. Buddhists should have asked for this long\nago. Jaffna must be  also given back its\noriginal name \u2018Nagadipa\u2019.( concluded) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Northern Province was an integral part of the Rajarata of the Anuradhapura kingdom. 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.  Jambukolapatana in Jaffna […]<\/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-105233","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\/105233","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=105233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105233\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}