Muhandiram Lansage Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana (19 November 1809 – 24 January 1890) was a Sri Lankan businessman, a philanthropist and a pioneer of the

Buddhist 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 ...

revival movement. He was the grandfather of

Anagarika Dharmapala Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer. Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...

. He owned extensive land on the hill of Maligakanda, in present-day

Maradana Maradana is a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Maradana is the site of Maradana Railway Station, one of the primary railway hubs in the country, serving intercity rail and commuter rail. Maradana also has many railway yards and running sheds. A te ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, as well as two shops in

Pettah, Colombo Pettah is a neighbourhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located east of the city centre Fort, and behind the Colombo Port. The Pettah neighborhood is famous for the Pettah Market, a series of open air bazaars and markets. It is one of Sri Lanka's b ...

In 1860, he gave his daughter, Mallika, in marriage to Don Carolis Hewavitharana. As dowry, he gave his son-in-law one of his two shops. This become the renowned furniture shop, H Don Carolis & Sons. He donated land and money to found, at Maligakanda in 1872, a Buddhist Seminary, the ''Vidyodaya'' Oriental College, better known as the ''

Vidyodaya Pirivena The Vidyodaya Pirivena was one of the prominent '' piriven'' (a monastic college, similar to a seminary, for the education of Buddhist monks) in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1873 by Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera and later in 1959, the pirivena ...

'', which later became the basis for

Vidyodaya University Vidyodaya School is a private college-preparatory combined-grades school located in Thevakkal, Kochi, India. It provides comprehensive school education from lower primary to grade 12. About Established in 1990-91 the school conducts classes fr ...

. In 1880 the Buddhist Theosophical Society was founded, with Dharmagunawardena as its president, an office he held until his demise ten years later. Until 1884, Buddhists were forced by the colonial authorities to convert to Christianity. This was changed after Colonel

Henry Steel Olcott Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...

made representations to

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

in London on behalf of the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. The

Buddhism Protection Committee 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 gra ...

(also known as the Colombo Committee) was formed in January 1884 under the patronage of Colonel Olcott, mainly with the objective of getting the

Vesak Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhism, Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival ...

full-moon day holiday restored. The British had not shown any interest in restoring the Vesak holiday which the Buddhists lost in 1770 during the Dutch rule. Dharmagunawardena was elected President - again a post he held until his demise - with Don Carolis as Vice President. In 1885 the Vesak holiday was restored and the committee elected a steering committee, to which Dharmagunawardena and his son-in-law were again elected, which went on to design the

Buddhist flag The Buddhist flag is a flag designed in the late 19th century as a universal symbol of Buddhism. It is used by Buddhists throughout the world. History The flag was originally designed in 1885 by the Colombo Committee, in Colombo, Ceylon (''no ...

. About three thousand people attended his funeral, at which the customary funeral orations were made by Colonel Olcott and Ven. Gnanisara. His ashes are interred on the grounds (donated by him) of the Vidyodaya Pirivena at Maligakanda.Vinod Moonesinghe, 'A forgotten Buddhist leader', ''The Island'', 14 September 2009
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharmagunawardhana, Andiris Perera 1809 births 1890 deaths Sri Lankan Buddhists Sinhalese businesspeople People of British Ceylon People associated with the University of Sri Jayewardenepura Sri Lankan Theosophists Muhandiram of Ceylon