Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya
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Nagadeepa Purana Vihara ( si, නාගදීප පුරාණ විහාරය, ta, நயினாதீவு நாக விகாரை ) is an ancient
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 ...
temple situated in
Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
district of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is among the country's sixteen holiest Buddhist shrines (''
Solosmasthana 'Solosmasthana' are 16 sacred places in Sri Lanka, believed by Buddhists to have been hallowed by visits of Gautama Buddha. These places of worship are among the most important religious locations in Sri Lanka, and are located throughout the count ...
''). According to contemporary history, the
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
visited the site after five years of attaining Enlightenment to settle the dispute between two warring
Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...
kings, Chulodara and Mahodara. Ancient history according to the Mahavamsa chronicles and the Tamil Buddhist epic
Manimekalai ''Maṇimēkalai'' ( ta, மணிமேகலை, ), also spelled ''Manimekhalai'' or ''Manimekalai'', is a Tamil-Buddhist epic composed by Kulavāṇikaṉ Seethalai Sataṉar probably around the 6th century. It is an "anti-love story", a s ...
mentions a gem-studded throne and a stone with the Buddha’s footprint at the island
Nainativu Nainativu ( ta, நயினாதீவு ''Nainatheevu'', si, නාගදීපය ''Nagadeepa''), is a small but notable island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The name of the island alludes to the f ...
, (also known as Nagadeepa) which pilgrims from India visited.


History and development

The site is known as the place where Lord Buddha came during his second visit to Sri Lanka, after five years of attaining Enlightenment, to intervene and mediate in settling a dispute between two Naga Kings, Chulodara and Mahodara over the possession of a gem-studded throne. When Buddha arrived and saw the
Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...
Kings prepared for fighting, Budhha used psychic powers to appear in the sky performing miracles. This made the Nagas astonished and happy. After having listened to the
Dhamma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''d ...
sermons displaying Buddha's masterly knowledge of unity and harmony, ''meththa'' and compassion, the Naga kings paid homage to Budhha with overwhelming faith. The throne was offered to him in unison and they became pious devotees. A deity named Samiddhi Sumana, who had made the banyan tree his abode, accompanied him to Thathagatha while in Jetavanarama, holding the uprooted tree (Rajayathana tree) as an umbrella (parasol) to him. The Naga King Maniakkitha, ruler of Kelaniya, moved by the compassion of the Buddha, thanked him profusely for settling the dispute. He further pleaded for a souvenir to worship and consequently the Buddha offered him the Rajayathana tree and the throne. The Nagadeepa Vihara has been reconstructed, and developed in the times of king
Devanampiya Tissa 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 ...
and
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 ...
and to convert it into a sacred place.


Modern History

The temple was affected by ethnic strife and the civil war and was targeted several times. Following 1958 riots Tamil mobs that came from boats destroyed parts of the temple including a gold plated Buddha statue gifted from Burma which was beheaded and its arms removed and thrown to the sea and stupa which was blown up using dynamite. The government censored the incident at the orders of Governor-General Sir Oliver Goonetilleke who feared that the news would lead to further violence and restored the temple in secrets and the then head priest Rajakeeya Panditha Brahmanawatte Dhammakithi Tissa Mahanayaka Thera cooperated considering it an 'exercise of deception' in the interest of humanity. In 1986 the LTTE attacked a boat bringing food to the temple by placing bombs and blowing up the jetty. The explosion was set off prematurely due to a navy patrol and the enraged naval personal nearly went on a shooting spree that was averted by Dhammakithi thera who accosted them and calmed the soldiers who then returned to their barracks. Due to frequent threats the temple was given military protection and a bunker was built for senior monks during attacks and junior monks were given self-defence lessons by the navy. During the 1990 Expulsion of Muslims by the LTTE Muslims took refuge in the temple and Dhammakithi thera claimed that no Muslim will be sent away and assured protection from the navy resulting in the Muslim population in Nainativu being the only group to avoid the expulsion. This eventually led to the tradition where the first Iftar is served to the Muslim by the Navy within the temple. In 2003 Dhammakithi thera passed away. Since the end of the war in 2009 the temple has rapidly grown to accommodate a massive number of pilgrims. By 2010 the total pilgrims visiting the Temple combined with those of the Hindu Nallur Kovil in Jaffna, and the Catholic Madhu Marian shrine in Mannar was nearly 3 million. In 2011 a gem-studded throne plated with gold and silver was donated by businessmen in Ratnapura to represent the throne in the legend that caused the war between Chulodara and Mahodara.


See also

*
List of Archaeological Protected Monuments in Sri Lanka The archaeological heritage of Sri Lanka can be divided into three ages; Prehistoric (Stone-age), Protohistoric (Iron age), and historical period. The presence of man activities in Sri Lanka probably dates from 75,000 years ago (late Pleistocene per ...
* Ancient constructions of Sri Lanka *
Buddhism amongst Tamils Buddhism amongst the Tamils was historically found in the Tamilakam region of India and Northern Sri Lanka. India Origin The heritage of the town of Nākappaṭṭinam is found in the Burmese historical text of the 3rd century BCE and gives evi ...


Further reading

*The first translation of ''Manimekalai'' by R. B. K. Aiyangar, was published in ''Maṇimekhalai in its Historical Setting''. Extracts of this were republished in Hisselle Dhammaratana Thero's ''Buddhism in South India'' A more recent translation of the poem was done by Alain Daniélou with the collaboration of T.V. Gopala Iyer Alain Daniélou & Iyer, ''Manimekhalai: the Dancer with the Magic Bowl by Shattan'', New York, 1989. There is also a Japanese translation by Shuzo Matsunaga, published in 1991.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya Buddhist temples in Jaffna District Stupas in Sri Lanka