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The best of Thanthirimale

What would I remember about Thanthirimale ten years from now? Frogs

It’s a semi dry season in Thanthirimale and the area is full of frogs! They were everywhere from my room to the temple. They were on the switchboard; in the bathroom and even on the chairs in the room I stayed at the temple.

Did I mind? Not at all after traveling for nearly seven hours from Colombo and braving the boulders and mountains of Thanthirimale I was dead tired and didn’t notice the frogs!

Yet the climb was worth it since you can see almost all the area the paddy fields, the villages and all. The top of the stone boulders are ideal for meditating with only torque monkeys to disturb.

The second best thing were oranges and they were everywhere sweet and cool orange was the only thing that kept me going in the hot climates of Thanthirimale.

Yet If U r planning to stay over at Thanthirimale boarding could be only found at the temple (where there are frogs!) But of course you could also stay at Anuradhapura and brave 48 km back to Thanthirimale.

While there you could also visit Villpattu National Park!

Outbreak of contagious diseases in Batticaloa district

By Damitha Hemachandra

January 08, 2005

The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry yesterday reported the increasing number of contagious diseases from Batticaloa health administrative division.
The daily assessment report issued by the Epidemiology unit recorded Two hundred and two patients with watery diarrhoea and 419 of respiratory tract infections among 16,319 displaced population in Batticaloa while fourteen patients with dysentery and 3 patients with hepatitis too had been monitored.
According to epidemiology unit sources the increase of diseases are mainly due to lack of clean drinking water and proper sanitary conditions, which are yet to reach the eastern coast of Sri Lanka.
Although there had been water cleaning systems provided to hospitals by some foreign agencies, many displaced at temporary camps do not receive clean drinking water due to unclean wells and the damage to the water supply system.
The unit also reported a trend of chickenpox, mumps and measles among the inhabitants of the temporary shelters in the affected areas, raising concerns of a possible outbreak and requirement of mass vaccination.
Another fear of influenza out break, which was present in Matara and Hambantota raising its head was raised when the number of patients with fever and symptoms of cold reported from the tsunami stuck areas as well as central Sri Lanka increased within the last few days.
Two deaths due to same symptoms had been reported from Matale while extractions from their respiratory track were directed to the Medical Research Institute yesterday.
Meanwhile the Health Services Trade Union Alliance (HSTUA) yesterday called for improved facilities for the volunteers engaged in clearance in the coastal areas.
Most of the volunteers and paid workers in clearance work do not have enough protection gear like masks, gloves and boots to protect them of diseases prevalent in the tsunami hit areas.
Spokesman for HSTUA said that many of these clearance workers and villagers involved in clearance work had reported of skin disease and rash in hands and legs. "Although there is a slow supply of masks, gloves and boots it is not enough to go around," he said calling for the public, donors and government to provide safety gear.

Health unions to promote sanitary habits among tsunami refugees

By Damitha Hemachandra
January 06, 2005

Poor sanitary habits of the displaced people could trigger several diseases if measures were not taken immediately, warned health unions yesterday calling for better awareness and facilities.
The Health Services Trade Union Alliance (HSTUA) said most people in the Tsunami struck area had returned to the use of well water without properly treating the water with chlorine.
"Although there had been a voluntary service of well clearing they have not provided them with necessary disinfectants and had not informed the need of using chlorine before drinking the water," they said.
They called for the relief agencies and the government to provide more water purifying systems to the refugee camps, where there are no facilities to boil or chemically treat water.
DART, a military relief group from Canada meanwhile is to convey four massive water purification units to the hospitals situated in the Eastern coast, each capable of producing 50,000 litres of clean water per day.
HSTUA also called for the Health Ministry to provide better facilities to Kalmunai and Kiniya hospitals, which had been destroyed by the tsunami.
Spokesman for HSTUA, Saman Rathnapriya pointed out that the new building, which has been taken to house the patients lacks basic facilities to deal with the injured and other victims of tsunami and requested the immediate provision of temporary hospital facilities to serve the increasing number of patients.
He pointed that the Kalmunai Hospital too is crowded with nearly 100 hospital staff, who too have lost their houses due to the tidal wave.
The HSTUA would hold five health camps in Balapitiya and Ambalangoda to promote good sanitation habits and distribute rubber slippers, gloves, sanitary pads, masks and chlorine packets to clear water.
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) yesterday also complained of donations of pharmaceuticals, which had expired its term of use and called for medical volunteers and doctors who are working to pay a special attention to the expiry dates.
Meanwhile skin diseases, respiratory infections and diarrhoea cases are being reported from the Tsunami struck areas with threats of outbreaks of dengue increasing with the torrential rains in the east.

GMOA calls for better management of drugs and medical aid

By Damitha Hemachandra
January 05, 2005

The GMOA yesterday said that at least 80 air cargo medication stocks sent as tsunami disaster relief were stuck at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) due to the lack of pharmacists to categorise the drugs.
The GMOA also called for a better management of drugs and medical aid through the central medical supply coordinator of the Health Ministry to prevent misuse and mismanagement of pharmaceuticals.
"There are many incidents of drugs and medical care not being directed on demand but purely on political grounds," GMOA secretary, Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said.
He said that the Sri Lankan government should request the dispatch of necessary medication and medical assistance without blindly accepting any pharmaceuticals or assistance given by foreign donors.
According to Dr. Padeniya, a proper programme of preventive medicine should be launched to prevent the outbreak of contagious diseases.
The GMOA also stressed the need of employing local doctors with the foreign medical volunteers to increase the efficiency and avoid language problems.
The GMOA had suggested to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) to provide each Medical Officer of Health (MOH) in tsunami struck areas with a group of 15 doctors with epidemiological, paediatric, surgical and other specialisations to handle the present demands while providing them with enough resources relieving each group at the end of three months.
They called upon the government to relocate residential, medical and public services in coastal areas beyond the risk zone of 600 meters to avoid future disasters.
The GMOA meanwhile said yesterday that the government was nearly one week late to act upon the safety of the orphaned and single parent children at refugee camps.
"There is a trend of child disappearances from refugee camps and hospitals while some children were lost due to negligence of the authorities," Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said stressing the necessity of having temporary centres to house these children away from regular refugee camps.
The GMOA suggested that less occupied district hospitals in the tsunami struck areas could be used for this purpose, since they have the capacity and human and physical resources to house the orphaned children.
They also sought an immediate discussion with the Health Ministry, Probation and Child Care Department, police and the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) to layout an action plan on the future of children orphaned by the tsunami.
Dr. Padeniya revealed that the GMOA is presently holding discussions with the NCPA on ensuring a safe future for orphaned children with plans to rehabilitate them through counselling with the assistance of UNICEF volunteer groups.

Strict buffer zone on coastal belt

By Damitha Hemachandra
January 11, 2005

The government plans to resettle the people, who are now living in environmentally vulnerable and unsafe locations of the affected coastal belt along with the people, who were displaced by the tsunami.
Urban Development Ministry Secretary T. Hewage said all structures excluding essential buildings like ports and harbours would be moved out of the 300 metre coastal buffer zone while the remaining constructions too would be forced to follow strict precautions to prevent future tragedies.
While insisting on the strict implementation of the National Coastal Management Plan Mr. Hewage said any future construction on the coastal line should get permission from the Coast Conservation Department and UDA.
Commenting on the rumours of removing resorts from the coastal belt he said they would be functioning at their own risk but hotels which were increasing sea erosion would have to take strong steps to prevent it

Little Survivor

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

By Damitha Hemachandra

It was early morning last Monday nearly 24 hours after the Tsunami waves hit the southern shores of Sri Lanka. Displaced people from Parathotamulla and Thotamune were taking refuge at Rahula Vidyalaya Matara and among them was little Nirosha.
He was from the shores of Parathotamulla and seem to have forgotten yesterday’s tragedy and did not pay much attention to the fact that his parents not been around. He did not question nor grumble but was skylarking with his friends and was posing for the camera despite his injured leg. However what little Nirosha did not know was that both his parents were gone forever. Nirosha made an odd one among the others, who were mourning the death of their children.
He has an injury in a leg and had been rescued by a neighbour while he was being carried away by the waves.
Nirosha had been playing with a group of friends and many of them had been lucky to survive as a group of youths nearby had helped them to higher grounds. Yet Nirosha’s parents, who were at home had been carried away not knowing that their son was safe and Nirosha was yet to know the destiny of the his parents.
Many people at the refugee camps and the hospital were mourning the death of their children. Children seemed to be the worst hit by the giant waves as they failed to realize how to react which engulfed them in seconds.
Some have died during their sleep tangled in a mosquito net along with their siblings while another had been washed to sea while studying at a tuition class.
Asia UNICEF expressed fears that children are likely to account for more than one third of those killed since virtually no country has a population with less than one third of its population aged 18 years or below.
Children who had survived the first hit of the waves are exposed to epidemics of disease like diarrhea, food poisoning and cholera due to poor sanitation.
First relief supplies destined for Sri Lanka including health supplies for 15,000 people for three moths, 15,000 sachets of oral rehydration salts and 20 tents were air shifted to Sri Lanka from Denmark.
These reliefs also include school-in-box kits to compensate for the school timing lost for the children at refugee camps. Their schoolbooks and other schooling items all gone with the waves these kids would have to start from scratch when returning to school.
However the attention is yet to be shifted to children who had survived the tragedy and were left alone in the world. The tragedy could have left many orphaned children alone and helpless without a proper system to track them and start helping them standup physically and psychologically.
As in the case of Nirosha, who was playing along with his friends not knowing he has to stand alone in the world from that day there could be many children lost and helpless in refugee camps.
While Nirosha was lucky to be among the known people and friends others could be lost among strangers frightened and helpless not knowing whom to turn for help.
The chance of them being traumatized and abused by strangers increase while the state is yet to set up a mechanism, which could establish help and future for these children

Human tragedy after the tidal wave

By Damitha Hemachandra
Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Death hangs heavily on the besieged villages and towns down South with more than five thousand people from down South being reportedly killed by the killer tidal waves, the worst to hit the country ever.
Many people, who were left destitute after their homes were washed away by the waves, are for now too consumed by the loss of their family members even to gauge or grieve the material losses.
A man from Paramulla sits motionless at the entrance to the Matara General Hospital at two 'o' clock in the morning, where 350 ghastly looking dead bodies, mirroring their sufferings, were scattered around the hospital premises. He was away from home having gone to attend a funeral, that was when the gigantic wave hit his home killing his family.
"When I left in the morning my house, my kids and every thing was in place", he said adding that when he returned from Deniyaya his house and his kids were gone.
His little sons had been still asleep when the wave hit his house and the mosquito net was still entangled around their bodies, while they lay dead on the hospital floor.
A foreigner limps around the hospital searching for his nine-year-old daughter, who he thought simply could not be dead. Despite the repeated requests from the hospital staff to look in the morgue, which housed nearly 20 dead bodies of foreigners he limped around in a tattered sarong until he finally found her body at the morgue.
According to the Spokesman for Matara General Hospital only 100 bodies had been claimed upto now. The other bodies would be cremated after being photographed, he said.
Many homeless from Paramulla and Thotamune were camping at Rahula Vidyalaya at Matara.
A man explained how his son couldn't escape the wave when it hit his house situated at the Matara Dutch Fort as he had his door locked.
"All of us escaped upstairs but my eldest son couldn't make it", he said adding that later they found the body trapped inside the room.
However his loss seemed trifling when another stated that he was letting the government perform the last rites of his family members since he was not capable of handling the funeral of four people with their house not there any more.
"My two daughters, mother and sister were washed away to the sea while I hung on to a king-coconut tree", he said failing to look anyone in the eye.
"We all panicked and none of us knew exactly what to do", he said apologetically as if regretting his escape.
The story is common to many individuals, who were housed at Rahula Vidyalaya.
"We lost everything we ever had", Leela, a another woman from Paramulla said pointing to a little boy at this temporary camp making merry with his friends not knowing that both his parents were lost forever.
Dead bodies were still appearing from the least expected places yesterday morning and despite the large number of sightseers who turned up by the dozen, Matara seemed a ghost town.
Buses were lying around the Sanath Jayasuriya grounds like toys in the exact positions the mighty waves had left them in, while most of the shops and buildings were ripped bare.
Layers of dirt and mud could be seen on fences and walls even as high as seven feet indicating the height the tidal waves would have risen to.
Rangana who swam his way to make a narrow escape from his house to the roof of the Matara Bus Stand was boasting of how they managed to rescue a class of students attending a tuition class. It now stands ripped in half.
" But we couldn't save the teacher," he added with grim irony.
Houses around the Matara Fort and many streets near the beach were destroyed beyond recognition. The infrastructure of the town is in bad shape with electricity, telephone and drinking water being inaccessible to many.
The pipe borne water system was damaged by the waves while the wells have been polluted by the saline water and the dirt. Many people who left their homes in search of safety returned on Monday morning to asses the damage. Some were busy cleaning their houses while some just stood in shock.
Many were collecting their important documents and treasured trifles from the rubble while some failed to find even a simple memento of their home.
Although the people in Matara were trying to pick up their lives the situation was too large for many in Galle to handle.
Truckloads of dead bodies kept reaching the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital which compelled the health authorities to take a tough decision on cremating 400 bodies left at the hospital.
"We have no choice and this decision was taken for the sake of maintaining hygiene within the hospital and the town," he said adding that most of the dead were strangers.
Yet more bodies kept turning up during the cleaning up process many being of those who were trapped inside homes.
Many people kept on turning up at Karapitiya Hospital hoping that they would at least find the bodies of their loved ones creating a large crowd around the hospital at all times of the day.
Chaos added to confusion by repeated fresh warnings of new waves. With the fear of an apocalyptic wave still fresh in their mind the crowds took to their heels whenever a warning was raised increasing the tension and traffic.
Traffic, which had grown larger than life, is the biggest challenge one has to contend with in the post-disaster era of the South. With the transportation facilities in the Southern Province yet to return to normal, many hit the road on foot or on cycles searching for their loved ones and thus creating chaos.
Parts of the Galle Road were impassable due to heavy damage like the huge pits in the middle of the road and most of the sections were covered with thick layers of mud. The railway track too was displaced by the waves while many vehicles, which were on the road at the time of the disaster were seen entangled with the railway tracks.
Many roads were closed to the public like the road from Matara to Hambanthota. The Yala National Park and the newly opened Lunugamwehera National Park too would be closed to the public for the next week.
The reconstruction process too was constantly disturbed by cyclists and large crowds on foot, who were either looking for their relatives and friends or just walking around as sightseers. The situation was such that one might even mistake it for Wesak. Many teenagers in their Sunday’s best could be seen roaming the city or staring at the river waiting for another body to show up.

The magic of paradise island

By Damitha Hemachandra

Paradise will never be lost to Mr. Abeygunawardane, who turned his holiday hideout, all of seven acres at Dodanduwa lagoon, to a paradise hidden in a mangrove forest.
Designed initially to be a second home out of Colombo, with the help of his family, it was turned into an eco village is surrounded by water with a link to the mainland.
Inside, the main living area is built in harmony with the surrounding environment with a courtyard and a sculpture of Alakeshwara as a centrepiece. The gold painted statue surrounded by plant varieties and accompanied by a group of gold fish at the foot provides a simple but unique entrance piece to the living area.
However, the most interesting are the two old canoes converted into dinner tables! According to Mr. Abeygunawardane, these 300-year-old canoes had been in sea shape until they were donated by the owners. Today they are the most interesting items at eco village providing a marine touch.
Curiosities and surprises are never rare at eco village. A part of a whale skull lies at a side providing another puzzle to the eye while a clay finished mini-bar styled with old kitchen utensils adds to the authentic touch.
Yet the best things at eco-village are scattered over the garden like Easter eggs for the curious to find. A houseboat on float on two canoes is the best find of all. Although anchored closer to the shore the houseboat can be anchored in the middle of the lagoon far from civilisation.
The houseboat consists of a cabin enabling overnight stays in the middle of the lagoon while the boat deck is ideal for sunbathing and staring at the endless lagoon.
A short canoe rides around the island can take you to a hermitage at the nearby island while the canoe rides around the island could reveal the hideouts at eco village. Just a turn around the corner reveals a mangrove cave with stone seating and a stone lady to keep one company and then there is a wooden walk of intrigue through the mangrove forest. The walk, constructed through the dense mangrove forest, is a true tribute to Jurassic Park and a challenge to the faint hearted.
Follow the path and go west to find the hidden treasures at eco village. After a clay ambalama, a series of ponds streaming with fish and another sculpture taking a dive, the walk ends at the most unique aquarium of all.
The aquarium and greenhouse is an exclusive exhibition of plants and fish presented in the best way possible. A walk through the aquarium would mean stepping-stones through the fishponds while gold fish and angels glide their way through water plants dancing around in glittering waters beneath you.
Yet all the magic at eco village was not created overnight and is an attempt of a family to create the ideal holiday home. Eco village is also in remembrance of a son who was lost fighting for his country and a love that was snatched not long ago.

Where the shore is white and wide

By Damitha Hemachandra

Arugam Bay is a page from a surfer's dream book where the shore is white and wide, surf is high and the waters clear. Arugam Bay in Pottuvil was created to fit this dream and even today it stands the same with untouched beach lines stretching for miles.

Arugam Bay is at its best at sunrise when the sky and the beach provide a festival of colours. Fishing boats returning after the night catch, famous jumping fishes heading towards the beach and fisherman waiting with baited lines all join hands to make the perfect picture of a day break.

Most of the people in Pottuvil are fisherman and have returned to their vocation with the dawn of peace. Thus, Pottuvil is also the seafood paradise today with delicacies like prawns, cuttlefish and crabs available at every food outlet!


The beaches are also ideal for sea baths although the waves could be too strong for an amateur.

The surfing season in Arugam Bay starts in April and ends in October. There are four main surf points in Arugam Bay including Arugam Point and Crocodile Rock. Although all of them provide diverse experience of the sea, the sand and surf the ultimate experience is the Peanut Farm or Pottuvil Point.

The best, lesser known and hard to get is the Peanut Farm to where the journey takes you through a forest in habited with elephants. Nearly 20 minutes drive through forest brings you to the clearest and the most beautiful beach ever to be created.

A long, deserted, sandy beach dotted with some huge boulders at the waters edge make these waves a favourite with some of the seasoned veterans. Pottuvil Point provides 800 metre rides from the outside section right through to the beach on the inside.


The magic about these waves is that for the most of it, a surfer can be working a four foot face and be only a few metres from the beach as the wave grinds down the sandy point. The outside section sucks up and throws out as the swell raps into the point giving a 30 metre wall to work with before it fades as it hits deeper water for about 10 seconds. The surf increases into the day so be sure to be at beach by 10 in the morning.

Surfers and visitors are often helped and hosted by small communities of fishermen who live in wooden huts among the forest but who are keen to maintain the beach which is still heavenly.


Getting there

Arugam Bay is nearly 340 kms away from the capital of Colombo and is nearly 2.5 km away from Pottuvil. Peanut Farm is situated half an hour north to Arugam Bay and one must have a bike, motorbike or hire a three-wheeler to get there since public transportation is not at its best in Pottuvil.

The road to Peanut Farm is written on sand and is only visible as tyre tracks through the forest and could be easily missed. However, any villager could give you directions to the point.

Sacrilege at a sacred site

By Damitha Hemachandra
Pictures by Manoj Ratnayake

The battle between the past and present in Pottuvil is about to leave one of the most important archaeological sites of eastern Sri Lanka destroyed forever.

Muhudu Maha Viharaya, situated in the heart of Pottuvil, is believed to be the place where Princess Devi, the legendary mother of King Dutugemunu, is said to have landed at the kingdom of Ruhunu ending her journey from the Kelaniya kingdom. Historians and archaeologists have discovered numerous villages and places which claim a direct connection to Princess Devi. They say that she is known as Vihara Maha Devi due to her arriving at a temple.

Yet the historical facts are heavily clouded with myths and legends. The story based on the arrival of Princess Devi claims that she was first spotted at a village near Pottuvil but when the king arrived at the spot the craft carrying the princess had drifted to the ocean and the disappointed king questioned the villagers 'Ko Kumari?' which eventually gave the village its name 'Komari'. "Later the princess drifted ashore at Arugam Bay and the villagers told King Kawantissa that the princess had landed at 'Ara Gama' which later changed into 'Arugam', " a villager at Pottuvil explained.

Shasthrawela Viharaya situated in Pottuvil is believed to be Devi's school while Magul Maha Viharaya is said to be the place where Princess Vihara Maha Devi got married to King Kawantissa. Although the legend has it all explained, the story is yet to be backed by archaeological evidence. But veteran archaeologist, Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thera, the only archaeologist to conduct research at the site, is convinced about its authenticity.


According to Ven. Medhananda Thera, the temple is one of the oldest temples in the country with its history dating back to the early Anuradhapura period.

He believes the temple to have been constructed by an early line of kings.

"The temple could be almost 2000 years old," he pointed out, while adding that the majority of the artifacts still lie under the sand . During the initial excavations nearly 100 stone pillars were discovered buried under the sand suggesting a large Buddhist monastery and a temple complex buried under the sands of time.


Most of these stone pillars are no longer on site and were sold as artifacts to foreigners and antique dealers while the chief incumbent of the temple, Kataragama Siriratana Thera, watched helpless.

"Although the Archaeological Department appointed a watcher, much harm is being done by him than good," the Ven. Thera pointed out. He said that the Archaeological Department authorities have not taken any step to stop the deliberate sacrilege unleashed on Muhudu Maha Viharaya.

These planned acts of vandalism began in the mid '90s when a leading politician of the SLMC bulldozed nearly 1000 years of a stupa in the temple, he pointed out.

"The stupa was strong proof that there was an age of temples and monasteries in the area and this politician who was planning to eliminate the traces of a temple, destroyed the stupa overnight leaving just a pile of bricks at the premises," said the Ven. Thera. The uninvestigated archaeological reservation, which surrounds the temple, amounts to 30 acres according to the gazette notification issued in 1965. "The majority of the temple's artifacts were discovered during a two year excavation initiated in 1960 and the area was gazetted as an archaeological reservation after the discovery of wide spread monasteries buried underground," said Sirirathana Thera.


However, the archeological reservation of the Muhudu Maha Viharaya has been diminished to a mere five acres today with planned and rapid encroachment by many Sri Lanka Muslim Congress MPs in the area, he pointed out. According to Sirirathana Thera, the encroachment started in the early 1980s when the East was a focal point of terrorism and violence.


"The chief incumbent and many priests living in the temple were forced to abandon the temple due to the rising violence," he said. On his return in the early '90s he found the temple land encroached upon.

"However, I did not complain since I did not want to deprive the encroachers of a living space," he said. But the dimension of the problem dawned upon the Ven. Thera when Muslim Congress MPs started distributing the temple land among more and more people and encroachment surrounded the archeological conservation left, right and centre.


The encroachers are using most of the invaluable artifacts for their home construction while destroying proof of a temple on site.


An encroacher who destroyed two statues at the statue house of the temple believed to be of King Kawantissa and Queen Devi later pleaded insanity and was released by the court on directions to follow a course of treatment. "This man was not insane and he is not following any treatment," Ven. Sirirathana Thera said adding that it was act vandalism. Meanwhile repeated complaints to the Department of Archaeology, Cultural Ministry and Ministry of Buddasasana have gone unheard or unattended.


According to the Department of Archaeology, the Ampara regional archaeological director has informed the main office that no such encroachment is taking place and authorities are negotiating with the incumbent Thera to give the temple another 30 acres with no archaeological value.


However, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Ministry of Buddasasana has initiated another inquiry against the chief incumbent of the temple on a complaint made by a former SLMC MP


In his letter to the authorities he had pointed that he is greatly distressed by the vandalistic acts of the monk in charge of the temple. He alleges that the Ven. Thera is selling the artifacts of the temple and is involved with drug dealing and smuggling.


The Pottuvil police have failed to find any evidence to back these allegations. The Ven. Thera has had several death threats since the '90s. A chat with the encroachers revealed that they had been 'planted' at the temple site which is close to Pottuvil town, from other areas. Many of them are Muslims and believe that the declaration of an archaeological reservation is just leaving good land wasted.


Many were eager to distance themselves from vandalism but felt that more temple land should be spared to built an access road to their homes. The unspoilt beach line behind the temple is becoming rapidly encroached thanks to the politicians.


An inhabitant of Peanut Farm, one of the few beach lines in Pottuvil, which still remains the same, told us the 'secret' behind the encroachment. According to him, two former ministers had tried to remove them (a small fisherman group) from their own lands in the forests of Peanut Farm on grounds of conservation "while we came to know that they were planning to sell the lands to a Korean hotelier." A lengthy court case has stopped the threats at Peanut Farm but the threat looms the same in Muhudu Maha Viharaya, where environment and history are at the mercy of political encroachers and
vandals.

A temple unlike any other

By Damitha Hemachandra


It is a place where history was made when the daughter of King Kelanitissa, the ruler of the Kelaniya kingdom married the King of Rohana, King Kavantissa, which unified Sri Lanka.


Built to celebrate this union which changed the face of Sri Lankan history forever, Magul Maha Viharaya hosts many characteristics not found in many a temple.


Situated in Lahugala, amidst an elephant infested forest reserve of Lahugala Kithulana, Magul Maha Viharaya carries the look of a lost city hidden amidst the towering trees of the jungle.


The 200-acre archaeological site scattered with temple complexes and granaries sets it apart from any other temple.


According to the chief incumbent of the Magul Maha Viharaya, Ven. Hulannuge Ratanasara Thera, the temple had been home to 12,000 arahants some 2000 years ago.


According to him, the temple had been designed to serve the purpose of a monastery and a fortress where food, weapons and animals were kept in preparation for the Dutugemunu-Elara war.


Moreover, the temple complex itself consists of three courtyards, exterior, interior and centre.


The outer yard comprises a heavy stone wall with seven ponds which provided water to the temple. The interior was house to the bhikshus who inhabited the temple, while the central courtyard comprises of the main interests of the temple.


The image house with an unusual sandakadapahana where the mahout accompanies the elephant and a bodhi-ghara, which was originally the poruwa of Princess Maya and King Kavantissa, are the main attractions of the central courtyard.


The central courtyard or the vihara maluwa also comprises a vihara geya, with a statue of the Buddha sculptured in moonstones, and a dagoba, which is greatly tried by time and weather. The side entrances to the Vihara Maluwa stand upright while the main entrance is a pile of ruins today.


The story of Princess Maya and King Kavantissa is yet to be proved by archaeological evidence. The oldest archaeological evidence found in the form of a stone inscription states that the temple was constructed by King Datusena and was renovated by a second Vihara Maha Devi, who was the wife of Buwanakabahu 4 and Parakramabahu 5 during the 14th century.


" Although the historical importance of the temple was known to the authorities the Cultural Ministry and the Archaeological Department is yet to take strong steps to protect the site," said Ven. Ratanasara Thera, pointing to the rare sandakadapahana covered by earth.


While blaming the authorities for their inaction to preserve the artifacts the Thera also accused the authorities of hindering the development work at the temple site.

"We are not allowed to build or develop inside the archaeological reservation," he said adding that attempts to build a resting place for the pilgrims outside the reserve grounds too were not allowed by authorities.


The temple grounds are being encroached by farmers in Pottuvil who are searching for more farming land.


Ven. Ratanasara Thera, the last of five generations who were the guardians of the temple, seems to be fighting a losing battle with nature, authorities and encroachers.

the view from the cave