Bambaragala, Theldeniya, Sri Lanka.
The birth place of the Buddha.
Hiriwadunna, Habarana, Sri Lanka..
The place of enlightenment of the Buddha.
Isinbessagala, Madawachchiya, Sri Lanka.
The place of the first sermon of the Buddha.
Budugala, Balangoda, Sri Lanka.
The place of Parinibbana (passing away) of the Buddha.
The Sage and the teacher called Kapila was a noble person who lived in ancient Lakdiva
The Sage and the teacher called Kapila was a noble person who
lived in ancient Lakdiva[1]
The king Chethiya[2]
had five sons. Following the instructions of the Sage called Kapila, they built
cities in different places and lived in those cities. One of them, built and
lived in the city called Hasthipura[3],
how it was called in the past, Kurunegala, as it is called in the present day.
This incident is mentioned in Poojawaliya ( Page 111).
In the Buddhist literature, above
mentioned Sage Kapila, has been explained in many occasions. He had been a
teaching Sage who was through in art and science. This Sage was a son of Lanka,
he had lived in Lanka and was a noble person who had advised the Maha Sammatha
Dynasty. Because of this, his name had been taken in to the inscriptions in
Lanka. One such inscription in which his name can be seen is as follows.
803'
wpßh lms, mq; n.fojy p Achariya kapila putha bagadewaha cha
mreul wkqä p ums; f,fK parumaka anudi cha mapitha lene
w.; wk.; Y.Y Agatha anugatha shagasha
The cage build by Bhagadewa, the
son of teacher Kapila and also Pramuka Anudi is (given) for all the Sanga[4]
who are present and not. (Inscriptions of Ceylon, Page 61).
The Parumaka called Anudi also had
joint hands with Bhagadewa. This particular Anudi's father had been stated as
Uththara[5].
In looking in to the names mentioned in these inscriptions, one particular
thing is very clear. And that is that these names of people and castes had been
used in very ancient times. Kapila, Bhagadewa, Anudi and Uththara are the
examples for that. It is not necessary to hold on to the doubt that Anudi, the
person who built the cave with Sage Kapila, was a prominent character in the
Okkkaya Dynasty. The Pramukas can be identified as a group who follow the
instruction of teachings Sage Kapila. Having said all these, it is evident that
these names and incidents are related to the ancient heritage of Sri
Lanka.
[1]
Lakdiva - the island called Lanka.
[2]
Chethiya is pronounced as Che-thi-ya.
[3]
Hasthipura - the city of elephants.
[4] Sanga-
The non-lay disciples of the Buddha.
කපිල නම් වූ ඇදුරු ඉසිවරයා පුරාණ ලක්දිව විසූ උත්තමයෙකි
803. අචරිය කපිල පුත බගදෙවහ ච පරුමක අනුඩි ච මපිත ලෙණෙ අගත අනගත ශගශ
ආචාර්ය කපිලගේ පුත්ර භගදේව සහ ප්රමුඛ අනුඩි ද විසින් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද ලෙණ ආ නො ආ සංඝයාට ය. (Inscription of Ceylon, 61 වන පිට)
Mahamuni - The Enlightened One
.jpg)
Giving an explanation to the noble character that was named
as Mahamuni[1]
can be done with the aid of Mahavamsa Teeka.[2]
1. uydiïu;rdciai jxifcda ys uyduqks ^uydjxY àldj" 82
msg&
1. Mahasammatha rajassa wansajo hi mahamuni (Mahavamsa
Teeka,Page 82)
This Mahavamsa Teeka explains that The Enlightened One,
Gauthama Buddha, got this sacred name 'Mahamuni' as he was born in to the
generation which is connected to the Maha Sammatha Dynasty.
In ancient times, the name called Mahamuni had been rooted in
to Sri Lanka, in to the heritage of Sri Lanka. This is evident by the names
used in ancient Sri Lanka. The using of the name called Mahamuni, can be proved
by the references found in the texts. (Purathana Ha Madhyathana Lankawe
Ithihaasika Isthaana Vistharaya, Page 232- Historical Topography of Ancient
and Medieval Ceylon, C.W. Nicholas). In this book, the name called Mahamuni has
been taken in to the chapter called "The locations unknown".
Above mentioned book reports that a village called Mahamanikagama[3]
had been offered to Jethawana Monastery (Page 200). This book further says that
there had been a Korala[4],
a Wewa[5]
and a village called Maminiya[6]
situated 3 miles south-east from Maradankadawala. This place which is presently
called Maminiya might have been called, in the past, Mahamunigama[7].
This doubt can be supported by many facts. One of them could be that this name,
along with the time, may have been shortened for the easy use. Another fact is
that the presence of some main places
where The Enlightened One had once dwelled are situated somewhere closer to
this place.
(T.B-U.A)
[1]
Mahamuni is pronounced as Ma-haa-mu-nie, meaning, The Great Sage.
[2]
Mahavamsa is the The Great Chronicle. Teeka (is pronounced as Tee-Kaa) is the sub-chronicles
written for Mahavamsa.
[3] Mahamanikagama
is pronounced as Maha-manika-gaama.
[4]
Korala is a region or a sub division of a district.
[5]
Wewa is a water reservoir
[6]
Maminiya is pronounced as Maa-mi-ni-ya.
[7]
Mahamunigama is pronounced as Maha-muni-gaama. .ie. the village of Mahamuni,
the great Muni or sage.
Translated by Amal
Meemanage (amalmeemanage@gmail.com)
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