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Dutugemunu
Dutugamunu the Great (, , also spelled as ''Dutthagamani''), also known as Dutthagamani Abhaya ("fearless Gamini"), was the greatest king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for reuniting the whole island of Sri Lanka by defeating and overthrowing Elara, the usurping Tamil prince from the Chola Kingdom, who had invaded the Anuradhapura kingdom in 205 BC. Dutugamunu also expanded and beautified the city of Anuradhapura and projected the power of his native Rajarata region across the island of Sri Lanka. Due to his significance as one of the most potent symbols of Sinhalese historical power, Dutugamunu's story is swathed in myth and legend. However, many aspects of the accounts of his life have been verified by contemporary inscriptions, and the basic account of his life is generally accepted as accurate. Etymology The Mahavamsa describes how as a youth he mocked his father Kavantissa, king of Ruhuna, for refusing to wage war against t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ten Giant Warriors
Much is written of the war of 205 BC to 161 BC between Sinhala King Dutugemunu and Ellalan for the city of Anuradhapura, and the central role played by Dutugemunu's Ten Giant Warriors or Ten Great Giants ( si, දසමහා යෝධයෝ, daśamaha yôdoyo). According to the chronicle Mahavamsa the men were drafted into Royal service during the reign of Dutugemunu's father, King Kavantissa. The Rajavaliya asserts that the ten warriors had remained impartial throughout Dutugemunu's battles with his younger brother Tissa, as they had promised King Kavantissa that they would remain impartial in the event of a dispute between the two brothers. At the decisive battle between the two kings at Vijithapura, Nandhimitra and Nirmalaya (Suranimala) are said to have fought to secure the south gate to the city. Mahasona (sena), Gothaimbara and Theraputtabhya are said to have secured the east gate, while the remaining champions fought for the north and west gates. Nandhimithra Nandhimi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kavan Tissa
Kavan Tissa, also known as Kavantissa, Kaha Wan Thissa,(that means who has the color of golden body) or Kaka Wanna Tissa,( that means who has black skin tone like a crow). was the king of the Kingdom of Ruhuna in the southern part of Sri Lanka. He ruled Ruhuna, in the same time as Keleni Tissa of Maya Rata and the usurping Tamil king of Anuradhapura, Ellalan of South India, who was projecting power from the Rajarata region across the island of Sri Lanka. Kavan Tissa was a great-grandson of King Devanampiyatissa's youngest brother Mahanaga, and also the father of the great Sinhalese King Dutugemunu. In Wilhelm Geiger's rendering of the Mahavamsa Kavantissa is given as Kakavannatissa. Under that name the Mahavamsa mentions him twice. In chapter 15 Kavantissa, or Kakavannatissa is the son of a king named Gothabhaya and father of king Abhaya better known as Dutthagamini, correctly spelled as Dutugemunu. Chapter 15 of the Mahavamsa has been called, either by Geiger or by previous sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kavantissa
Kavan Tissa, also known as Kavantissa, Kaha Wan Thissa,(that means who has the color of golden body) or Kaka Wanna Tissa,( that means who has black skin tone like a crow). was the king of the Kingdom of Ruhuna in the southern part of Sri Lanka. He ruled Ruhuna, in the same time as Keleni Tissa of Maya Rata and the usurping Tamil king of Anuradhapura, Ellalan of South India, who was projecting power from the Rajarata region across the island of Sri Lanka. Kavan Tissa was a great-grandson of King Devanampiyatissa's youngest brother Mahanaga, and also the father of the great Sinhalese King Dutugemunu. In Wilhelm Geiger's rendering of the Mahavamsa Kavantissa is given as Kakavannatissa. Under that name the Mahavamsa mentions him twice. In chapter 15 Kavantissa, or Kakavannatissa is the son of a king named Gothabhaya and father of king Abhaya better known as Dutthagamini, correctly spelled as Dutugemunu. Chapter 15 of the Mahavamsa has been called, either by Geiger or by previous scrib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruwanwelisaya Stupa 18
The Ruwanweli Maha Seya, also known as the Mahathupa (), is a stupa (a hemispherical structure containing relics) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Two quarts or one Dona of the Buddha's relics are enshrined in the stupa, making it the largest collection of his relics anywhere. It was built by Sinhalese King Dutugemunu in 140 B.C., who became king of Sri Lanka after a war in which the Chola King Elāra (Ellalan) was defeated. It is also known as Swarnamali Seya, Svaṇṇamāli Mahaceti (in Pali) and Rathnamali Seya. This is one of the "Solosmasthana" (the 16 places of veneration) and the "Atamasthana" (the 8 places of veneration). The stupa is one of the world's tallest ancient monuments, standing at and with a circumference of . The original stupa had been about in height and was renovated by many kings. The Kaunghmudaw Pagoda in Sagaing, Myanmar is modelled after this stupa The Mahavamsa contains a detailed account on the construction and the opening ceremony of the stupa. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viharamahadevi
Viharamahadevi ( Sinhala:විහාරමහාදේවි) was the mother of King Dutugamunu, Saddhatissa and the Queen consort of King Kavantissa (King of the Ruhuna Sri Lanka). Some scholars suggest that her original name was 'śavera', which possibly means goddess of the night. Life Queen Viharamahadevi was the daughter of King Kelanitissa who ruled Kelaniya. The king once punished an innocent monk by boiling him alive in a cauldron of oil. It is said that the gods, angered over this cruel deed, made the ocean rush inland and flood the land. Soothsayers said that if a princess was sacrificed to the sea, the raging waves would stop. The young princess sacrificed herself for the sins of her father and for the safety of her motherland. She was placed inside a beautifully decorated boat which bore the letters ''Daughter of a King'' and set adrift on the sea. It is said that as soon as she was sent off, the sea suddenly turned calm again and the water receded. However, the ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theravāda Buddhism
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching or '' Buddha Dhamma'' in the Pāli Canon for over two millennia. The Pāli Canon is the most complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and '' lingua franca''.Crosby, Kate (2013), ''Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity'', p. 2. In contrast to ''Mahāyāna'' and ''Vajrayāna'', Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine (''pariyatti'') and monastic discipline ('' vinaya''). One element of this conservatism is the fact that Theravāda rejects the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras (which appeared c. 1st century BCE onwards). Modern Theravā ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vijithapura
Vijithapura ( si, විජිතපුර, translit=Vijitapura; ta, விஜித நகரம், translit=Vijita Nakaram), also known as Vijitha Nagara or Vijithagama, was a fortress–city in ancient Sri Lanka. When Vijaya of Sri Lanka, Vijaya, the first recorded ruler of the country arrived from India, he brought a large retinue of his followers with him. These followers spread throughout the country, and established settlements. One of his chief followers named Vijitha founded the establishment which was then known as Vijitha Nagara (city of Vijitha) or Vijithagama (village of Vijitha). The city is believed to have been founded during the reign of king Panduvasdeva of Sri Lanka, Panduvasudeva, the third recorded king of Sri Lanka, who was the brother in law of the chieftain Vijitha. The city is mentioned again in the chronicles Mahavamsa, Dipavamsa, Rajavaliya and Thupavamsa nearly 300 years later during the reign of king Dutthagamani. The city is then a highly fort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Vijithapura
The Battle of Vijithapura was a decisive battle fought in the campaign carried out by Sri Lankan king Dutthagamani against the invading South Indian king Ellalan. The battle is documented in detail in the ancient chronicles of the country. However, they only provide the viewpoint of Dutthagamani and his army, and details are scarce on Elara's side. After launching a campaign to regain the country from Elara, Dutthagamani captured a number of his strongholds before coming to the fortified city of Vijithapura. A four-month siege ensued, followed by a large assault where Dutthagamani's champions and royal elephant played a major part. The chronicles focus a lot on these ten champions, and vividly describe some unusual "tests" that Dutthagamani carried out to find out their skills. The battle ended in victory for Dutthagamani's forces and considerably weakened Elara's army, ultimately leading to his defeat and death. The exact location of Vijithapura is unknown, though historians h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devanampiyatissa
Tissa, later Devanampiya Tissa, was one of the earliest kings of Sri Lanka based at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura from 247 BC to 207 BC. His reign was notable for the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka under the aegis of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great. The primary source for his reign is the '' Mahavamsa'', which in turn is based on the more ancient '' Dipavamsa''. Reign Tissa was the second son of Mutasiva of Anuradhapura. The ''Mahavamsa'' describes him as being "foremost among all his brothers in virtue and intelligence". The ''Mahavamsa'' mentions an early friendship with Ashoka. Chapter IX of the chronicle mentions that "the two monarchs, Devanampiyatissa and Dharmasoka, already had been friends a long time, though they had never seen each other", Dharmasoka being an alternate name for Ashoka. The chronicle also mentions Tissa sending gifts to the mighty emperor of the Maurya; in reply Ashoka sent not only gifts but also the news that he had converted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, shamanism, and many other religions. ''Relic'' derives from the Latin ''reliquiae'', meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb ''relinquere'', to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics. In classical antiquity In ancient Greece, a polis, city or Greek temple, sanctuary might claim to possess, without necessarily displaying, the remains of a venerated hero as a part of a Greek hero cult, hero cult. Other venerable objects associated with the hero were more likely to be on display in sanctuaries, such as spears, shields, or other weaponry; chariots, ships or Figurehead (object), figureheads ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Elephants
A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant-mounted troops. Description War elephants played a critical role in several key battles in antiquity, especially in Ancient India. While seeing limited and periodic use in Ancient China, they became a permanent fixture in armies of historical kingdoms in Southeast Asia. During classical antiquity they were also used in ancient Persia and in the Mediterranean world within armies of Macedon, Hellenistic Greek states, the Roman Republic and later Empire, and Carthage in North Africa. In some regions they maintained a firm presence on the battlefield throughout the Middle Ages. However, their use declined with the spread of firearms and other gunpowder weaponry in early modern warfare. After this, war elephants became restricted to non- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chariots
A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000 BCE. The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the spoked wheel. The chariot was a fast, light, open, two-wheeled conveyance drawn by two or more horses that were hitched side by side, and was little more than a floor with a waist-high guard at the front and sides. It was initially used for ancient warfare during the Bronze and Iron Ages, but after its military capabilities had been superseded by light and heavy cavalries, chariots continued to be used for travel and transport, in processions, for games, and in races. Etymology The word "chariot" comes from the Latin term ''carrus'', a loanword from Gaulish. In ancient Rome and some other ancient Mediterranean civilizations, a ''biga'' requ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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