{"id":105365,"date":"2020-08-10T16:18:55","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T23:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=105365"},"modified":"2020-08-10T16:18:55","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T23:18:55","slug":"buddhism-in-present-day-eastern-province-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/08\/10\/buddhism-in-present-day-eastern-province-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"BUDDHISM IN PRESENT DAY EASTERN PROVINCE Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Ven. Ellawala\nMedhananda has drawn attention to the damage done by \u2018non-Buddhists\u2019 (Hindus\nand Muslims), to the Buddhist monasteries, hermitages and ancient ruins in the\nnorth and east. Medhananda says that more than five hundred sites with ancient\nBuddhist ruins are either destroyed or are being destroyed in the north and\neast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Destroying\nBuddhist ruins in the East started long ago, said Medhananda. Initially, it was done secretly and cleverly. The\nactivity  has got speeded up and is now\ndone openly on a large\nscale. Only Buddhist places face this destruction, not the other religions,\nobserved Medhananda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In 1916, Ven. Kohukumbure Revata went into\nthick jungle amidst many difficulties in search of the Dighavapi chaitya. He\nhad cleared the area around the Chaitya and lived there under great difficulty in\na small hut.  He was shot dead by a Muslim, in 1950. This got great publicity at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 2015\nonwards, the tactic used was organized encroachment by ethnic groups supported\nby extremist elements. The reason given was landlessness of the local people,\nthe real reason was the need to erase evidence and symbols of Buddhist\nhabitations and cultural influence in the East, said Lakshman Wickremasinghe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hindus and Muslims have occupied many lands\nand paddy fields that were owned by the Sinhalese, a few years ago. Through\nthis, Hindus and Muslims had taken physical possession of lands which were\nsites of Buddhist worship in earlier times. Once they are on the land, they\nerase the Buddhist remains and prevent Buddhist coming there, observed\nMedhananda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinhala names of\nthese places were then replaced by Tamil names. Veheragala became Verugal.\nKotthasara is now Kottiyar pattu. Tonigala and Kandakadu\nwewa were Sinhala villages, they now have Tamil names. There\nwas a Sinhala village at Sakkam wewa near Pannal oya called Bodhianga now is no\nlonger Sinhala. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda in his explorations in the Eastern\nProvince found many instances where lands carrying Buddhist ruins were taken\nover by non-Buddhists. At Paschimaramaya, Buddhist ruins including a stupa was\ndestroyed by \u2018Suruttu mudalali,\u2019 to grab the land. At Paravankandam the ruins including stupa\nwere destroyed in April 2002, to convert the area into a paddy field. Its\nbricks can be seen at the site, reported Medhananda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are  \nBuddhist ruins at Maha oya, Veheragala, and Dambaliyadde gala. In 1972\nit was planned to settle non Sinhalese there. Inscription at   Piyakalutota vihara by Rugam wewa show that Yatalatissa\nbuilt it. In 1972 there was a plan to convert 18  acres to a wewa and settle non Sinhalese  there, too said Medhananda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linemalai is now Muslim and Tamil. LTTE chased\naway the few Sinhalese there, said Medhananda. Kombanacci, originally Somawathi vihara, in\nKiliveddi, Trincomalee, is now a Muslim area and one part of the ruins is now a\n\u2018goat farm of a Mussalman\u2019. At Mottayakanda the Muslims have\nbulldozed all the Buddhist ruins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kokkadicholai had\nruins which showed that there has been an aramaya there, earlier. Guard stones,\nparts of stupa could be seen.  Villagers\nhad told Medhananda when he visited in 1968 that there had been an inscription\ntoo.  Kokkadicholai is now completely\nTamil, said Medhananda. They\nhave encroached over most of the 22 acres. Ruins\nhave been destroyed.  The evidence is\nstill there.  A kovil, named Kanakone\nIshwara Kovil, has been built over the aramaya. \nThe   Kovil started small and is\nnow enlarged. There is a Pullaiyar kovil too, said Medhananda <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kuchchaveli\nMaha vihara was \u2018known earlier as Samudradevi vihara. There were  \nMahayana ruins there, in 1966, in pleasing form but when Medhananda\nvisited in 1978 the upper parts of the most of them were destroyed. A Sanskrit\ninscription was defaced in 1981 and a Hindu kovil was coming up in the\nvicinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There had been a\nplanned programmed to hinder Buddhists in Sembumalai, observed Medhananda. Sembumalai\nruins also included a standing Buddha statue in limestone and a lotus pedestal.\nWhen I visited in 1978, the statue was not there. Many more ruins were\npurposely damaged. And in one place a Hindu kovil has been established.  The Poosari\u2019s statements that it was built in\n1938 cannot be accepted as the materials were \u2018so new\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilankaturai was\nearlier Lankapatuna. Many non Buddhist have encroached and Hindu kovils have\ncome up. Nelugala was once Piyangalu vihara. At Nelugala Buddhist evidence\nhas been destroyed. Buildings\nwere set on fire by non-Sinhalese, and the Sinhala settlers driven away. A\nHindu kovil was constructed there. Veheragama has 145 families of which\n20 are Tamil. Veheragama ruins are being deliberately destroyed. Veheragama Stupa\ncan be dated to 6-7 AD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilankulam\nruins contained a huge stupa 150 ft in circumference and 35 in height.  Stupa was broken and bricks scattered all\nover. This has been deliberately destroyed. When I saw it in 1978, at the top\nof the stupa, Sellappa Nalliah and Inamuttusamy had built a house with toilet\nand well. Viharagalkanda\nhad a thanitalawa with huge number of Buddhist  \nruins. When we visited, a Tamil man was living there, farming\nbananas.  We explored the site, examined\nthe ruins and copied the inscription. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda found that ruins he had examined\nearlier had vanished when he went a second time. I found that\nruins I had seen in 1966 had disappeared by 1976. What I saw in 1976 had\ndisappeared by 1986\u201d said Medhananda.\n<\/strong>What we saw in 1964 at Veddikinarimalai had\ndisappeared by 1973. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Buddhist sites in good condition in\nTrincomalee   in 1960 had vanished when Medhananda visited\nthem in 1980. Hindu kovils had been built over many of them.\nThis continued in 2002. The stupa near Kinniya wells vanished after the\nCeasefire Agreement. Kovils were set up on Buddhist structures. In\nour exploration at Digamadulla we found many inscription and ruins never seen\nbefore. The ruins seen earlier have now vanished, said Medhananda.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda visited Mundikulammale ruins for the first time in\n1964. Then there was fear of wild animals.In  1999 the fear was of the LTTE. To\nvisit we needed the support of the army and police. It is now\ndangerous for Sinhalese to go there\u201d he said in 2003.  No Sinhalese can\ngo to Rugam now either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we visited\nGokanna vihara, Trincomalee (Koneswaran) in 1960, we faced much opposition from\nthe Hindus, said Medhananda. We had visited Girikumbara vihara,\nAmpara earlier, but when we went in 1986 to see what had happened, no one\nwanted to drive us there.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan to\neliminate all signs of an ancient Buddhist civilization was greatly helped by\nthe fact that most of these ruins are not registered in the Department of\nArchaeology as archaeological monuments. Thottama, Manthottama, Pannala oya and\nAmbalan oya has archaeological remains that which are not registered, said\nMedhananda. Panama pattu forest range is full of archaeological ruins. There is\nno protection for any of it, he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When records were\navailable in the Archaeological Department another tactic was used. The files\nvanished.  They went missing.  There were 11 cave inscriptions near\nKundikudichchi aru. The Ampara Kachcheri held the file on this. This file is\nnow missing, said Medhananda.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Files also vanish\nwhen new kovils\nare constructed. There was a hill with a stupa, and eleven cave\nshrines to the east of the Pannala oya. \nNow there is a kovil there, said Medhananda. There had been a file at\nthe Ampara Kachcheri describing the Buddhist remains of the area, but with the\nconstruction of the kovil those documents  \ndisappeared, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 LTTE   destroyed temples, killed monks and persons in\nthe Eastern Province. LTTE\nhad built a kovil at Nilaveli by 1981. At\nKalladi the LTTE had used a stupa to set up it communication tower. At\nParavankandam ruins,   LTTE had bulldozed\nthe standing Buddha statue and destroyed it head complete, rest was rescued and\npiece sent to Ampara museum. Kombanachchiya,\nat its villu can see  ruins of  panchavasa .Moat and lots of ruins\nscattered  around. There was a a   huge stupa on the rock.  LTTE destroyed the stupa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Pulunkunawa,\nLTTE had done much destruction to the stupa there. Brick have been taken to\nbuild huts and there was manioc cultivation among the ruins. When\nI last went in 1982 they had established an Eelam kingdom there. On all\nhilltops there was the Eelam symbol drawn in color, house built on top of stupa\nand the owner glared at me, said Medhananda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LTTE cadres were just onlookers when the Sihala\nUrumaya led by Tilak Karunaratne accompanied Ven. Ellawela Medhananda to\ninspect the archaeological sites at Ampara despite the Tiger threat that the\nmonk would not be allowed to set foot on that site, reported the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Medhananda has been driven away from that site\na few weeks ago when he went there and was warned not to return. The SU decided\nto accept the LTTE challenge and taka the monk back to the site. The special\nTask Force and the Police were on duty to provide security and prevent any\nincidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medhananda took the delegation to a spot close\nto the site where a kovil was being constructed with the backing of the LTTE.\nWhen Medhananda had visited the site in august 19 nearly 25 armed LTTE cadres\nhad threatened him with death if he ever came back to inspect the site, an\ninscriptions found by the monk had been destroyed after the monk left.  (I am unable to give the date as I have\nmislaid the reference.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ven. Ellawala\nMedhananda provides information on the Bhikkhus who bravely went into the\nEastern Province and tried to revive the Buddhist temples there.  Bhikkhus have tried to save these\nBuddhist ruins by setting up avasa on the premises.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dambagalle Ratanapala, took up residence Malayadi\nkanda vihara In 1912   . he died in 1931. The stupa at Bellagama Raja Maha viharaya,\nwas renovated in 1916 by Aralupitiye Sobhita. \nIt was redone by one of his pupils, Ven. Kekirihene Silavansa.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I visited\nVeheragama in 1986  there was one priest Baddegama Chandavimala residing there, with much difficulty, he\nwas   reestablishing the shrine.\nHe started a daham pasala. Pallegalauda Mettananda set up an awasa in 1991 at Kuda\nSigiriya . \nAt Namalu vihara (near Heda oya, on boundary of Ampara and Moneragala) a\nmonk had settled by the stupa in a small hut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I found\nBollagama RMV in 2011. This vihara has no support villagers too poor. Despite\nall this,   Kekirihene Seelavansa is\nkeeping the temple going.    A monk has settled at Maha kachcha\nkodiya vihara, Vavuniya and is struggling to survive. A\nmonk had once tried to live at Budu patum Kande. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When monks try to settle, they are harassed and\nthey run away, observed\nMedhananda. Niyaguna kanda\nvihara Ampara a monk had taken up abode in a lena and the villagers round were\nlooking after him, now he is not there. Monks had set up\nan avasa at Girikurumbika vihara, but now there is nothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Kopavela vihara Medhananda said, this area\nis going under the LTTE. There was a monk there, he was a teacher at Serankada\nVidyalaya. He has left. The LTTE murdered a set of monks at the ruined\npanchavasa monastery at Kombanachchi villu.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dimbulagala priest\ntried to revive Piyangalla vihara in 1971.     Tamils burnt down the awasa and destroyed\nthe ruins.  chased away the Sinhalese and\nset up a kovil.   Dimbulagala priest was\nlater killed.( continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS Ven. Ellawala Medhananda has drawn attention to the damage done by \u2018non-Buddhists\u2019 (Hindus and Muslims), to the Buddhist monasteries, hermitages and ancient ruins in the north and east. Medhananda says that more than five hundred sites with ancient Buddhist ruins are either destroyed or are being destroyed in the north and east. Destroying […]<\/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-105365","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\/105365","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=105365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}