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Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara
Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara is an ancient Buddhist temple in Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka. It is believed to be the site of Gautama Buddha's first visit to the country, and is one of the Solosmasthana, the 16 sacred religious locations in Sri Lanka. Currently this temple has been declared as one of archaeological site in Sri Lanka. Buddha's visit Historical sources, including the ancient chronicle Mahavamsa, a record that the Buddha visited the Mahiyangana area in the ninth month after he attained enlightenment, which was his first visit to the country. According to the Mahavamsa, Sri Lanka was inhabited by yakshas at the time. It says that the Buddha subdued the yakshas there and held a discourse on Dhamma with them. They were then sent to an island named Giri so that the country would be "purified" and Buddhism could be established there later on, where it would prevail "in all its glory". History A Yakka chieftain named Saman (who is now regarded as a deity) attained Sotāpanna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahiyangana
Mahiyanganaya is a town situated close to the Mahaweli River in Badulla District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is said that Gautama Buddha visited Mahiyanganaya on the Duruthu full moon poya day in order to settle a dispute arose between Yakkas and Nagas (two tribes which then inhabited the area) and this was his first ever visit to Sri Lanka. Then the Buddha preached Dhamma to Sumana Saman, a leader in this area, to whom the Buddha gave a handful of his hair relic so that people could worship. After that Sumana Saman (now the god Sumana Saman) built a golden chethiya in which the sacred hair relic was deposited. Later on about seven chethiyas were built over the original golden chethiya from time to time, the last one being built by the King Dutugemunu. As such, this historic town is a very sacred place for Buddhists. The majority of the people in this area are engaged in paddy cultivation being the main economic activity. The name Mahiyangana is a Pali word (in Sinhalese Bint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saman (deity)
Saman (also called Sumana, Sumana Saman, si, සුමන සමන් දෙවි) is a deity, subject to local and indigenous belief and worship in Sri Lanka. The name Saman means "good minded". His character is of historical significance for the Sinhalese people and veneration especially to all the Buddhists. God Maha Sumana Saman is depicted crowned and bejeweled, holding a lotus flower in his right or left hand and accompanied by a white elephant. According to Mahavamsa, the early chronicle of Sri Lanka, Saman is considered one of the guardian deities of the island and Buddhism in the country. Natha, Upulvan, Vibhishana and Kataragama are the other guardian deities. Nayakkar dynasty from South India introduced the goddess Pattini replacing god Saman, during the period of Kandyan Kingdom. Saman is the guardian (patron deity) or the presiding deity of Sabaragamuwa and the Sri Pada mountain. Accordingly, his main shrine or devalaya is at Ratnapura, where an annual festival i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Temples In Badulla District
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; "taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ; and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Stephen Senanayake
Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon having emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Ceylon. He is considered as the "Father of the Nation". Born to an entrepreneur from the village of Botale, Senanayake was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mutwal before briefly working as a clerk in the Surveyor General's Department. Joining the family business, he managed the family own estates and the Kahatagaha Graphite Mine. Long with his brothers, Senanayake became active in the temperance movement which grew into the independence movement following 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots, in which the Senanayake brothers were imprisoned without charges for 46 days. He was elected unopposed in 1924 to the Legislativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirti Sri Rajasinha Of Sri Lanka
Kirti Sri Rajasinha ( Sinhala: කීර්ති ශ්රී රාජසිංහ, Tamil: கீர்த்தி ஸ்ரீ ராஜசிங்கம்; 11 August 1747 – 2 January 1782) was the second Nayaka king of Kandy. He was a prince from the Madurai Nayak Dynasty and the brother-in-law of Sri Vijaya Raja Singha. He succeeded his brother-in-law to the throne in 1751. The king is credited for the revival of Buddhism and literature in Sri Lanka. Under the guidance and influence of Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero, with Dutch assistance, king Kirti Sri Raja Singha successfully invited Bhikkus from Siam (Thailand) to revive the higher ordination of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka. He also built the existing inner temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and Raja Maha Vihara (Gangarama) in Kandy. During his reign the Mahavamsa chronicle was continued from the time of Parakramabahu IV of Dambadeniya. He also rebuilt the Munneswaram temple close to Chilaw. Attack on Dutch F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vijayabahu I Of Sri Lanka
Vijayabahu I (born ''Prince Keerthi'') (ruled 1055–1110), also known as Vijayabahu the Great, was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, Vijayabahu grew up under Chola occupation. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principality in the southern parts of the country in 1055. Following a seventeen-year-long campaign, he successfully drove the Cholas out of the island in 1070, "In their expulsion from the island" reuniting the country for the first time in over a century. During his reign, he re-established Buddhism in Sri Lanka and repaired much of the damage caused to infrastructure during the wars. He offered the Thihoshin Pagoda(Lord of Sri Lanka Buddha image) to Burma king Alaungsithu and it is now still in Pakokku. Early life Vijayabahu was born around 1039, by the name of Kitti (Keethi) in Ruhuna principality, under Chola occupation. ''Indian History with Objective Questions and Historical Maps Twenty-Sixth Edition 2010, South India page 59'' As a result t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sena II Of Anuradhapura
Sena II was King of Anuradhapura in the 9th century, whose reign lasted from 853 to 887. He succeeded his uncle Sena I as King of Anuradhapura and was succeeded by his brother Udaya I. The lost treasures during Sena I's reign to Pandyan invaders were restored by King Sena II. He readied a large army for retribution from Pandyas (Tamil invaders) when a disappointed prince from Pandyan dynasty sought his help. Sena II sent a large force under his Commander to besiege Madura, capture it and install the Pandyan prince on the throne. Madura was duly besieged, stormed and captured with the reigning Pandyan king killed. The Commander recovered all the treasures lost from Sri Lanka and returned to a hero's welcome. The Army had brought a heresy from India called 'Neelapata Darshanaya'. However, this did not take root. King Sena II secured the country against another Tamil invasion. He restored and built new tanks, revived Buddhist festivals and repaired Temples and made liberal o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voharika Tissa Of Anuradhapura
Voharika Tissa (a.k.a. Vira Tissa or Voharikathissa) was King of Anuradhapura in the 3rd century, whose reign lasted from 215 to 237. He succeeded his father Siri Naga I as King of Anuradhapura and was succeeded by his brother Abhaya Naga. He made a number of political reforms during his reign and is regarded as a ruler who established and promoted non-violence in the Anuradhapura kingdom. Voharika Tissa also made several attempts to suppress the spreading of the ''Vaitulya'' doctrine, a form of Mahayana Buddhism, which arrived at Sri Lanka during his time and spread among the bhikkus of Abhayagiri Vihara. See also * List of Sri Lankan monarchs * History of Sri Lanka The history of Sri Lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean. The early human remains found on the island of Sri La ... References External links Kings & Rulers of Sri LankaCodrin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutthagamani
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumambulation or ''pradakhshina'' has been an important ritual and devotional practice since the earliest times, and stupas always have a ''pradakhshina'' path around them. The original South Asian form is a large solid dome above a tholobate or drum with vertical sides, which usually sits on a square base. There is no access to the inside of the structure. In large stupas there may be walkways for circumambulation on top of the base as well as on the ground below it. Large stupas have or had ''vedikā'' railings outside the path around the base, often highly decorated with sculpture, especially at the torana gateways, of which there are usually four. At the top of the dome is a thin vertical element, with one of more horizontal discs spreadin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sotāpanna
In Buddhism, a sotāpanna (Pali), śrotāpanna (Sanskrit; , , Burmese: သောတာပန်, Tibetan: རྒྱུན་ཞུགས་, Wylie: ''rgyun zhugs''), "stream-enterer", "stream-winner", or "stream-entrant" is a person who has seen the Dharma and thereby has dropped the first three fetters (''Pāli: samyojana, Sanskrit: saṃyojana'') that bind a being to a possible rebirth in one of the three lower realms (animals, hungry ghosts and beings suffering in and from hellish states), namely self-view (''sakkāya-ditthi''), clinging to rites and rituals (''sīlabbata-parāmāsa''), and skeptical indecision ( Vicikitsa). The word ''sotāpanna'' literally means "one who entered (''āpanna'') the stream (''sota''), stream-enterer", after a metaphor which calls the noble eightfold path a stream which leads to a vast ocean, nibbāna. Entering the stream (''sotāpatti'') is the first of the four stages of enlightenment. Attainment The first moment of the attainment is termed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaksha
The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The feminine form of the word is or ''yakshini'' ( sa, यक्षिणी ; Pali:Yakkhini). In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, the has a dual personality. On the one hand, a may be an inoffensive nature- fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the , which is a kind of ghost ( bhuta) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travellers, similar to the . Early yakshas Several monumental yakshas are known from the time of the Maurya Empire period. They are variously dated from around the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. These statues are monumental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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