Maliyadeva was a monk who is said to have lived in
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 ...
during the 2nd century BCE and to have attained
nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
.
According to the
Mahavamsa, part of
Theravādin tradition, Maliyadeva was the last well-known
arhat
In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
who had high psychic powers ( Abigngnalabhi:
''in Sinhala'':අභිඥ්ඥාලාභී අරහතුන් වහන්සේ ) in Sri Lanka and
Buddhism
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 ...
in Sri Lanka declined after this period. A legend says he brought four Buddha statues from India to Sri Lanka.
His meditation chamber may be seen at
Arankale
and his dwelling place at Guharamaya.
Guharamaya: a cave of stone age man
/ref>
See also
* Maliyadeva College, Sri Lanka
* Maliyadeva Girls' College, Sri Lanka
*Phra Malai
Phra Malai Kham Luang ( th, พระมาลัยคำหลวง, ) is the royal version of a Thai legendary poem of the Sri Lankan monk Arhat Maliyadeva, whose stories are popular in Thai Theravada Buddhism. The vernacular version is known ...
References
Arhats
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks
Folk saints
{{Buddhism-bio-stub