WWW Virtual Library - Sri Lanka
Anuradhapura:
Its origin, fall and revival
Recorded history of
Sri Lanka beginning from the third century B.C. to eighteenth century A.D. is
one of the best documented. The island has a collection of historical chronicles
and religious writings which have no parallel in South Asia. Pre-eminent is the
great chronicle or Mahawansa, composed in the early years of the sixth century
A.D.
As legend has it, over 2500 years ago in 500 B.C., Sakya, brother of Princes
Badda Kanchana laid the foundation for the city of Anuradhapura under the
Asterim Anuradha, auspiciously aspected by the planets. But according to
Mahawansa, the city was named after a Minister called Anuradha, a kinsman of
Vijaya who landed in Lanka in 543 B.C. and founded the Sinhalese race.
Anuradha founded a village settlement by the Malwatu Oya, where water was
readily available. It was in the 5th century B.C. that Pandukabaya (437 B.C. -
367 B.C.) who succeeded Vijaya did honour to this hamlet by making it his
capital. He being a great town planner, divided the town into four zones. Little
did Anuradha dream that the remote village named after him was so destined. At
that time the town depended on rain and natural springs for their domestic needs
and ablutions. One of King Pandukabaya's first acts was to remedy this
deficiency in order to protect the health of the citizens. He constructed Abaya
Wewa for drinking water and Jaya Wewa, a marsh with a great body of water for
washing clothes and bathing. The water from Abaya Wewa was supplied through a
network of channels.
In A.D. 66, the entire city was served by subterranean channels connected with
reservoirs. To see to the sanitation of the town, he had appointed "Nagara
Guttikas" or sanitary assistants. There were 500 Chandala scavengers on duty by
day and 200 by night, helped by the town guards and sentries. The removal of
corpses was entrusted to 150 Chandala Undertakers, who removed the corps to the
four cemeteries in the suburbs. The outer city was in charge of Yakka chiefs
Kalawela and Chitta. Anuradhapura comes into full light of recorded history with
the "events" of the 3rd century B.C. From that time onwards Anuradhapura became
the metropolis capital of the entire country and within two or three centuries
it became one of the great international centres of Buddhism, the state
religion. It was adorned with palaces, temples, monasteries, lakes, gardens,
hospitals, cemeteries and working class suburbs. It was a hub of activity where
life ran smooth. Pliny said in A.D. 52 that it had a population of two hundred
thousand and an area of 256 square miles. Turner believed that it must have been
about 300 square miles. Major Skinner after a survey he carried out in 1833 A.D.
agreed with him. The magnitude of the city was established by H.C.P. Bell, when
he unearthed a street of 9 miles long having on each side, continued mounds of
decayed bricks, the relics of the principal streets of Anuradhapura. Two broad
roads were constructed to facilitate the movement of peraharas and processions.
They were Rajaweediya running from East to West and Mahakalaweediya from North
to South. In 204 B.C. there was big market place near the southern gate, where
Romans and Phoenicians purchased atomic drugs and departed by the northern gate.
King Elara in 205 B.C. constructed a road from Anuradhapura to Mihintale and
permitted Brahamin traders to furnish shops with merchandise brought by
foreigners.
Fa-Shien, the itinerant Chinese monk who visited Lanka in 412 A.D. says, "In
Anuradhapura are many Buddhist laymen, elders and merchants of all trades, whose
houses are stately and beautiful. The roads and byways are kept clean and in
order. At the four principal streets they have built preaching halls, where on
certain days they spread carpets and set forth high seats for the monks who
preached "Bana" to the community who come from all quarters to listen to the
preaching. He describes accurately the climate, uniform temperatures of the
atmosphere with no change during the seasons and the grand constructions which
gave the city lasting renown, especially the Brazen Palace with 1000 chambers
with richly embellished halls. There were more than 50 to 60 thousand monks of
whom 5,000 to 6,000 were fed by the bounty of the King.
After the demise of Vijaya in 505 B.C. the kingdom devolved on his kinsman
Pandukabaya in 437 B.C. followed by Muta Siva in 367 B.C. He established parks,
playing fields and pleasure gardens one of which was named Maha Megha, a
beautiful royal garden planted with fruit and flower bearing plants. There were
orchards of jambu, mango and other trees of luscious fruits. To the North of it
was Nandana Uyana provided by Devanampiyatissa. At the death of every king there
was competition among the royal descendants to ascend the throne. From early
times, it was the practice to retain mercenaries from India and other
neighbouring countries to protect the reigning monarch and his kingdom. The
first to be employed were the Malabars and Cholians, which created animosity and
bloodshed. Both the naval and military commands were held by two Malabars, Sena,
and Guttika. They took advantage of their position and seized the throne in 237
B.C. and ruled the country for 22 years thus overthrowing the Vijaya dynasty.
This easy success encouraged Elara, a descendant of the Malabar tribe in 205
B.C. who invaded the island from the Chola country killing the reigning king
Asela and ruling Anuradhapura for 40 years. He eschewed impiety and injustice.
Cholian invasions destroyed some of the most beautiful parts of Anuradhapura.
However it is said that he administered justice impartially to friend and foe.
Dutugemunu in 140 B.C. re-captured the city of Anuradhapura and rebuilt the
demolished structures. The most remarkable of the edifices which he created was
the Lova Maha Seya, the Brazen Palace, a monastery which was roofed with plate
of copper. It was 100 cubits long on each of its sides and the same height.
There were 9 storeys in the supreme palace with 100 apartments in each storey.
It was protected by lightening conductors "Chumbakam" made of Amber and
Tourmaline. Dutugemunu, second only to King Devanampiyatissa as the champion of
the faith, built the great stupa, Ruwanweliseya, which was unique in
architecture in the East. King Valagamabahu (B.C. 19) added more Dagabas and
Pirivenas. Bhatika Abaya (B.C. 19 A.D.) planted Jasmin creepers on the sides of
the broad streets to enhance the beauty of the city and provide flowers for
those who worshipped at the viharas. Separate quarters were assigned in the city
on both sides of the streets and a special quarter was apportioned for Iran and
Arabic countries, the Yonas. Lanka suffered waves of invasions from the mainland
India. These brought about the decline of the internal situation in the island.
In 933 A.D. a Chola Emperor landed in the North and looted and burnt
Anuradhapura. Later he proceeded to Polonnaruwa, which became the centre of
Chola administration for 40 years. The Cholas encouraged the worship of the
Hindu god Siva at the expense of Buddhism. The sacred city of Anuradhapura,
which was the centre of Buddhist worship fell into decline, unable to support
the large number of monks. The Ruwanweli Dagaba was destroyed by them. Although
the original outline was missing it was still was a mountain of masonry almost
150 feet high. Trees and jungles soon grew upon it but the terrace was
comparatively saved.
The Cholians frequently despatched military expeditions to Lanka and the worst
of the barbarians was the leader Magha, who in 1214 A.D. landed with an army of
24,000 savage soldiers and the island fell into his power as the country was
defenceless, exhausted and impoverished by constant civil war. He ruled
Polonnaruwa adopting an intolerant and hostile attitude towards Buddhism.
Anuradhapura was abandoned. As a result of the many invasions and the subsequent
devastation of the country, pillaging the places of worship, monasteries and
other, the population dwindled. The vast population either died in war or due to
the starvation or fled to the coastal areas. Ravages of Malaria was one other
reason for the de-population of the regime. Finally the jungle tide swallowed up
the "Ghost City" within a short time, rendering the once great kingdom, an abode
for wild animals such as the elephant, bear and leopard.
When Lanka fell into the hands of the Western conquerors, the Portuguese and the
Dutch beginning 1505 A.D. they did not pay any attention to the buried cities,
the ruins were unknown to them. Their sole interest was enjoying the profits of
the produce of the country such as cinnamon, areconuts and spices. They directed
their interest towards pearl fisheries and the mining of gems. They established
their power in the coastal regions. The third Western power, the British,
enjoyed full sway over the whole island when they captured the Kandyan Kingdom
in 1815 A.D. Soon after, they began to explore the remains of the buried cities
of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Fifty years after the rediscovery of
Anuradhapura in 1823 A.D. by Backhouse, (C.C.S.), he entered into a close
friendship with the monk Naranwita, who had not deserted the remains of the
Great Stupa, Ruwanweli but lived within the precincts of the Dagaba paying
homage to it. It was the Governor Sir William Henry Gregory in 1878 A.D. who
decreed by an edict that Anuradhapura should once again be inhabited and become
the capital of at least a province which he carved out as the North Central
Province, rescuing the eternal city from pestilence and jungle.
Thereafter, an accurate survey of Anuradhapura was completed and a lithic record
of the remains of the Great Stupa was done by Dr. Goldachaidst; but he became a
victim of malaria and died a short while after. At the same time Governor
Gregory retired from the Government of Ceylon due to severe illness and returned
to his home in Ireland. This delayed official patronage for the work undertaken
according to the fiat of 1878 by another one year. The benevolent Governor and
friend of the poor did not give up his interest and love in the restoration of
the sacred city, that from his home in Ireland he advised what should be done by
submitting an exhaustive report to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord
Carnaarvon. In it he referred to the jungle clearing, exposition of ruins and
the rendering of Anuradhapura healthy, by the Government. In this report the
following tribute was paid to monk Naranwita's pioneer work. "By far the most
important architectural discoveries have been made by a young Buddhist priest,
who with the view of "gaining merit" has devoted himself to the clearing and
restoration of the Ruwanweli, which before 1873 was a huge shapeless mass of
bricks. The priest whom I have referred to, undertook the apparently hopeless
task of cleaning and restoring the great structure. He began without any funds.
He was not even a native of Anuradhapura, but such was his energy and confidence
of success, that his countrymen by degrees began to contribute, and I too was
able to strengthen his position by a small contribution during each of my
visits, along with a testimonial in the favour of his praiseworthy efforts. It
is incredible as to what he had been able to do in so short a time and with such
slender means.
As the years rolled by, more and more important landmarks of the ancient city
were discovered and restored. Among them were the Sacred Bo Tree, Thuparamaya,
Isurumuniya, Jeta Vana Ramaya, Abayagiriya, Mirisewetiye, and Vessagiri.
Ruwanweli was the greatest of the shrines built by Dutugemunu, although he did
not live to see it completed. Revered through centuries as the first and
greatest capital of Lanka, Anuradhapura has survived strange vicissitudes. After
Ceylon obtained Independence in the year 1948, D. S. Senanayake, the first Prime
Minister of Ceylon, called the "Father of the Nation", established a New Town in
Anuradhapura by unveiling a "Lion Pillar" at the entrance to the New
Anuradhapura. When the late Rev. Senior of Trinity College, Kandy at the
beginning of this century recited the following prophetic lines, neither he nor
anyone dreamed that Ceylon would be free and a New Anuradhapura would arise on
the outskirts of the Sacred City.
"But most shall he sing of Lanka In the brave new days that come When the races
all have blended And the voice of strife is dumb When we leap to a single bugle
March to a single drum When the ruined city rises And the palace gleams once
more."