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Temple Of The Tooth
Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Sinhalese kings. The Temple of the Tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic. Bhikkhus of two particular chapters, the Malwathu chapter and the Asgiri chapter, conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with a herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers called ''Nanumura Mangallaya''; this holy water is believed to contain healing p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity". To be selected, a World Heritage Site is nominated by its host country and determined by the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to be a unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable, having a special cultural or physical significance, and to be under a sufficient system of legal protection. World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains or wilderness areas, and others. A World Heritage Site may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humankind and serve as evidence of humanity's intellectual history on the planet, or it might be a place of grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalinga (historical Kingdom)
Kalinga is a historical region of India. It is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between the Ganges and the Godavari rivers, although its boundaries have fluctuated with the territory of its rulers. The core territory of Kalinga now encompasses all of Odisha and some part of northern Andhra Pradesh. At its widest extent, the Kalinga region also included parts of present-day Chhattisgarh, extending up to Amarkantak in the west. In the ancient period it extended until the bank of the Ganges river. The Kalingas have been mentioned as a major tribe in the legendary text '' Mahabharata''. In the 3rd century BCE, the region came under Mauryan control as a result of the Kalinga War. It was subsequently ruled by several regional dynasties whose rulers bore the title ''Kalingādhipati'' ("Lord of Kalinga"); these dynasties included Mahameghavahana, Vasishtha, Mathara, Pitrbhakta, Shailodbhava, Bhaumkara, Somavamshi, and Eastern Ganga. The medieval era ruler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratnapura
Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located on the Kalu Ganga (Black River) in south-central Sri Lanka, some southeast of the country's capital, Colombo. Ratnapura is also spelled as Rathnapura. The name 'Ratnapura' is a Sanskrit word meaning "city of gems", from the Sanskrit words ''pura'' (town) and ''ratna'' (gemstone). Over 2000 years ago, when the first Buddhist monks arrived here from the north eastern provinces of India namely Bodh-Gaya, Varanasi and Pataliputra, they not only brought with them the Buddhist religion, but since their teachings were mainly in Sanskrit and Pali they also influenced the local language. While candy produced from the jaggery palm is traditionally known in this region as ''ratnapura'', it is more likely that the candy was named for the locale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharmapala Of Kotte
Dharmapala or Dom João Dharmapala Peria Bandara (1541 – 27 May 1597) was the last king of the Kingdom of Kotte, in present-day Sri Lanka, from 1551 until 27 May 1597. He is also known as Dom João Dharmapala, the first Christian king in Sri Lankan history. He is widely despised by the majority of Buddhist Sinhalese for having betrayed his religion of birth i.e., Buddhism and converting to the religion of the foreign conquerors, who carried a reign of terror. Dharmapala allowed Buddhist Temples in his Kingdom, including the highly venerated Temple of Kelaniya to be ransacked and burnt down by the Portuguese. Birth Dom João Dharmapala (Don John Dharmapala) was born as the eldest child of Weediye Bandara, a Prince from Madampe and his wife Samudra Devi, daughter of King Bhuvanekabãhu VII the King of Kotte. His exact date of birth is unknown, but the year is commonly regarded as 1541. He had a younger brother, Prince Wijayapala. A golden statue of Dharmapala was sent to Por ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Kotte
The Kingdom of Kotte (, ), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Founded by Parakramabahu VI with the help of the Ming, the Kingdom managed to conquer the Jaffna kingdom and the Vanni principalities, and bring the country under one flag. It led to a punitive invasion against the Vijayanagar dynasty and captured a port. The Kotte Kingdom was largely dissolved during the Sinhalese-Portuguese War, as it faced attacks from rival Sinhalese kingdoms, the Kingdom of Sitawaka and Kingdom of Kandy. Dom João Dharmapala handed it over to the Portuguese, thus leading to the formation of Portuguese Ceylon. Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan and his two son's also returned from Madurai with mercenaries and managed to conquer Jaffna.Kunarasa K, ''The Jaffna Dynasty'' p.68-72Nadarajan V, ''History of Ceylon Tamils'' p.81 The remainder was annexed into Sitawaka and Kandy. Etymology The term ''Kotte'' is said to have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (), also known as Jayapura or Kotte, is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located adjacent to the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, Colombo. The Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council area is bounded in: * the North by Kolonnawa Urban Council area, * the North-East by the Kotikawatta–Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha area, * the East by the Kaduwela Municipal Council area, * the South-East by the Maharagama Urban Council area, * the South-West by the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council and * the West by the Colombo Municipal Council area, which is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. History The village of Darugama lay at the confluence of two streams, the Diyawanna Oya and the Kolonnawa Oya. As Darugama was a naturally secure place, it was not easy for enemies to enter it. Here, in the 13th century, a local chieftain, Nissanka Alagakkonara, built a '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamsa-Sandesha
The ''Hamsa Sandesha'' (Sanskrit: ; IAST: ) or "The message of the Swan" is a Sanskrit love poem written by Vedanta Desika in the 13th century CE. A short lyric poem of 110 verses, it describes how Rama, hero of the ''Ramayana'' epic, sends a message via a swan to his beloved wife, Sita, who has been abducted by the demon king Ravana. The poem belongs to the ' "messenger poem" genre and is very closely modeled upon the ''Meghadūta'' of Kālidāsa. It has particular significance for Sri Vaishnavas, whose god, Vishnu, it celebrates. Sources The ''Hamsa-Sandesha'' owes a great deal to its two poetic predecessors, Kālidāsa's ''Meghadūta'' and Valmīki's '' Ramāyana''. Vedanta Desika's use of the ''Meghaduta'' is extensive and transparently deliberate; his poem is a response to one of India's most famous poems by its most celebrated poet. Vedanta Desika's debt to Valmīki is perhaps more pervasive but less obvious, and possibly less deliberate too. Where the poet conscio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Gampola
Gampola (Ganga Sri Pura / Gangasiripura) is a town and once an ancient polity located near Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was made the capital city of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four years in the mid-fourteenth century. King Buwanekabahu IV (son of King Vijayabahu V) ascended the throne after his father and shifted the capital from Kurunegala to Gampola, with the support of General Senalankadhikara. After his death, his brother, King Parakramabahu V (1353 AD - 1359 AD), who used to reign from Dedigama ascended the throne and moved to Gampola. He was dethroned by King Buwanekabahu IV's son, King Vikramabahu III (1359 AD - 1374 AD) and sent to Malaya. King Vikramabahu III conveyed the tooth relic to Gampola and held a festival in honour of this sacred relic. He built a shrine at Niyamgampaya in Gampola. The rock temple "Gadaladeniya Viharaya" was constructed by king Vikramabahu III. Meanwhile, a general called "Alagakkonara" became more p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Dambadeniya
The Kingdom of Dambadeniya was a medieval kingdom in what is present-day Sri Lanka. The kingdom's rulers reigned from 1220–1345. States and territories disestablished in 1345 History Founding The first king to choose Dambadeniya as his capital was Vijayabahu III. He was able to bring about the unity among the Sangha that had fled in various directions due to the hostile activities of the invader Kalinga Magha and succeeded in holding a Buddhist convention in 1226 to bring about peace among the Buddhist clergy. King Parakramabahu II was the king who inherited the throne after King Vijayabahu. He was considered a genius, who was a great poet and a prolific writer. Among the books he wrote are ''Kausilumina'', which is considered a great piece of literature. King Bosath Vijayabahu, as the eldest son of King Parakramabahu the second, was crowned in 1270. He was well known for his modest behaviour and for his religious activities. He was killed in the second year of his rei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Polonnaruwa
The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa () was the Sinhalese monarchy, Sinhalese kingdom that expanded across the island of Sri Lanka from 1070 until 1232. The kingdom started expanding its overseas influence during the reign of Parakramabahu the Great. It had an influence in Pandya Nadu since its involvement in a Pandyan Civil War (1169-1177), civil war in the Pandya country. During this war, Pandya Nadu was seized as a country administered by the military of Polonnaruwa and Vira Pandyan of Pandya Dynasty. The tributaries of the Chola empire such as Tondi and Pasi came under its and Vira Pandya military rule. Rameswaram, Rameshwaram was under Sinhalese and Vira Pandyan Alliance rule till 1182. Its currency ''Kahapana'' was struck in these places. During their influence on pandya nadu, construction works were undertaken. But Soon after their initial victory, Vira Pandyan army and Polonnaruwa army are defeated by Cholas and lost the control of Pandya Nadu, Tondi, pasi and Rameswaram. Accord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
