Anavama-darshin (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Anavamadarśin), also known by his
Pali name Anomadassi (fl. 1241 CE), was a Buddhist monk and author from
Dambadeniya in present-day
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. He is best known as the author of the
Sanskrit astrological treatise ''Daivajna-Kamadhenu''.
Biography
Anavama-darshin was a Buddhist monk associated with the Hattha-vanagalla (Hasta-vanagalya)
Mahavihara,
a monastery located in present-day
Western Province.
As the leader (''mahāsāmi'') of this monastery, he had close contact with and received favours from king
Parakramabahu II of
Dambadeniya.
According to ''
Chulavamsa'', the king, through his minister Devapiti-raja, commissioned the construction of a three-storey ''pāsāda'' (mansion) at the monastery, "at great cost". The king also arranged repairs to its shrines and the erection of a ''
cetiya'' there.
One of Anavama-darshin's pupils, whose name is not known, wrote the
Pali-language ''Hattha-vanagalla-vihāra-vaṃsa'', a history of the monastery at his request.
Works
In 1241, Anavama-darshin composed ''Daivajñā-Kāmadhenu'', sourcing information from other authors such as
Varahamihira and
Bhoja-raja.
This book is the most important
Sanskrit-language astrological text from present-day
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
It deals with omens, ''jataka'', ''
muhurta
Muhūrta ( sa, मुहूर्त, translit=muhūrtaṃ) is a Hindu unit of measurement for time along with nimiṣa, kāṣṭhā, and kalā in the Hindu calendar.
In the Brāhmaṇas, ''muhūrta'' denotes a division of time: 1/30 of a day, ...
'', and ''prashna''.
Some scholars, such as
Charles Godakumbura
Doctor Charles Edmund Godakumbura (5 December 1907 – 7 February 1977) was the Commissioner of Archaeology in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from 1956 to 1967.
Early life
He was born on 5 December 1907 in Chilaw in the North Western province of the cou ...
,
also attribute the authorship of the
Sinhalese grammar ''Sidat-sangara'' to Anavama-darshin.
''Paropakāra'', another work attributed him is now
lost.
Notes
References
External links
दैवज्ञकामधेनु: the Sanskrit text of ''Daivajna-Kamadhenu'', published as part of the Benares Sanskrit Series (1905)
{{Transitional period topics
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks
People of the Kingdom of Dambadeniya
13th-century Sri Lankan people
Sanskrit writers
Sri Lankan astrologers