Korathota Raja Maha Vihara: Oldest and longest cave inscriptions

This stone inscription is proof to say that 2500 years ago, a king ruled this area. According to Senarath Paranavithane, it belongs to between the third century B.C. to second century B.C.

The long flight of steps

Inside the Viharage

Turning off the old Colombo-Ratnapura Road, from Kaduwela heading towards Homagama, a few minutes’ drive brings us to Korathota Raja Maha Vihara, an ancient temple that radiates its splendour amongst the quarries in Kaduwela. This temple, which dates back to 2000 years, is one of the few ancient temples found in the Western Province, sited on the top of a mountain next to the Belungala Rock in Kaduwela. This temple boasts of having the oldest and longest cave inscriptions in the Colombo district. In addition to the historic artefacts, the ‘show off peacock’ and the ‘white porcupine’ add extra colour to the place.

The historic caves

The history of the temple runs to the era of King Valagamba and King Mahathissa. The historic cave inscriptions and the six caves are the focal points of the temple. The caves give a hint of the good times of this place. After climbing a long flight of steps, devotees are welcomed by a Sandakadapahana or a moonstone, which has carved motifs of tuskers, lions, horses and bulls in one arc and the other arcs with motifs like Liyavela and flower petals Palapethi. After the moonstone, the path leads us to the caves with Kataram carving, something that is carved on the top of the overhanging rock to prevent water dripping into the cave.
Among the caves at the temple, the largest cave is 25 metres in length, 15 metres in width and 18 metres in height. This cave houses a recently built Vihara Geya. A large statue of the reclining Buddha, five large standing Buddha statues and two smaller ones can be seen inside. However, these do not have a significant archaeological value as those have been reconstructed after the Kandy era. There are also some murals and two devalas in it. To the right of the cave temple is a smaller cave with the Chetiya in front.

The decorations around the pagoda

Towards the left of the Viharage, there is another cave, which is 16 meters long, 10 metres wide and 22 metres high. This is used as the Pattini Devalaya now. There is a smaller cave towards the left from this cave, which is 12 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet high. The overhung rock of this cave has a stone inscription belonging to the third century B.C. The smallest cave lies further away from these caves in front of the bo-tree. The last cave is located about 350 metres north of the Viharage. It is at the extreme west of the temple premises. The way to the cave is rough and steep.
The entrance naturally hewn into the rock is almost covered with a thick growth of foliage. This would have resembled the original environment of the caves. Here, one could imagine the monks of yore, meditating, performing their religious rites and living their simple lives in these forest caves, with only the rustling of leaves and the call of birds to disturb them.
The tunnel inside the third cave and behind the reclining Buddha statue there are entrances to a tunnel, which is said to be leading to the Kelaniya temple. Legend also states that this leads to the Kaduwakkalama via Kaduwela Rankadu Devalaya. It is said that a Portuguese slave lived in the cave. However, according to a resident bhikkhu of the temple, the legend mentions about a gold plate in the middle of this tunnel. “Some people, who were greedy for gold, went in search of it, but never returned. It is believed that they must have perished due to the lack of Oxygen inside the tunnel. So, now, the tunnel is sealed,” he added.

The longest cave inscription

The cave inscription, is considered as the longest and oldest inscription found in the Colombo district, can be seen near one of these Kataram carvings above the cave next to the Viharage. This inscription is written in Brahmi lettering. This states about a cave donated by the daughter of the King, ‘Mahabi’, and another cave named ‘Manapadassana’ donated by the son of ‘Parumuka Sumana’, ‘Sumana’.

Kataram of the cave temple

It is proof to say that 2500 years ago, a king ruled this area. According to Senarath Paranavithane, this stone inscription belongs between the third century B.C. to second century B.C. However, inscriptions talk about an anonymous king, who remains a mystery to-date. It is said that the person known as Sumana is Velusumana - one of the 10 great giants of King Dutugemunu.
“According to legend, during the Anuradhapura era, Viharamaha Devi, the daughter of King Kelanithissa and Sumana had attended a pooja at the Korathota temple. Later Sumana had become popular as Velusumana, because he had risked his life to bring some bees' honey from Anuradhapura to fulfil a pregnancy craving of the queen,” explained Habarakada Sumanasara Thera.
According to historians and archaeologists, Korathota Raja Maha Vihara had owned more than 3000 acres of land, which encompassed several tanks and a prosperous paddy cultivation. Apart from ancient artefacts, there are many animals roaming freely in the temple premises.
The peacock at the temple opens its decorative feathers very often. “When there is a crowd, it opens its feathers and shows off,” said the resident bhikkkhu.
The white porcupine is another attraction of the temple. In addition to these animals, there are deer, ducks, hens, turkey, and lovebirds. Korathota Raja Maha Vihara is one of the treasures of the country. It must be protected for posterity.
Though the caves are preserved with care, other parts of the temple are somewhat commercialised. With shops here and there, we were a bit confused at first whether we arrived at the correct temple. The area where the cave temples are situated is closed during the day and it is opened only around 2 pm.
 

Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya

Decorated entrance to the tunnel

Away from the hustle and bustle of the Nugegoda metropolis, a 20 minute drive towards the Pita-Kotte junction leads the way to Kotte Raja Maha Vihara, one of the ancient temples of the city. The tranquillity of the temple invited us for a journey towards a life full of peace and happiness. Since it was almost twilight, the temple was crowded with many worshippers. The light of the oil lamps and the aroma of the incense sticks took us to an incredible world, making us forget that we are at the edge of a busy town.
"When King Parakumbha VI (1415-1467) ruled the country, he built this temple closer to his palace, with the intention of doing the necessary duties to the Sangha regularly," the Chief Incumbent of the Kotte Raja Maha Vihara, Ven. Aluthnuwara Anuruddha Thera explained. With the arrival of the Portuguese, the Kotte Kingdom faced a tragic situation.
The fate of the temple was no difference. It was in 1813, when Ven. Pilane Dharma Keerthi Sri Buddha Rakkhitha Thera found this ancient temple in ruins and restored it to the present condition. "The Thera found the place, with some ruins of the present Chethiya, foundation of the Vihara and the Katharagama Devalaya, and some stone pillars here and there," said Anuruddha Thera. "However, most of the artifacts had been taken away by the foreigners leaving only a few ruins at this place," he lamented.

Kabok tunnel

A kabok tunnel situated at the Kotte Ananda Shasthralaya premises is another important artefact that belongs to the temple. This tunnel has three openings. One doorway leads to the palace and another to escape safely during an enemy attack. It is noticeable that during the past the entrance to the tunnel had been decorated with a 'Makara Thorana'. The outline of the decoration still remains at the doorway. It is said that there was another tunnel connected to this one. That is for the purpose of enabling the Queen and her maids safely reach the other nearby temples.

Inside the tunnel

A bronze plate kept at the temple, with the engraving 'vaasala' (palace), is one of the historic artifacts found at this premises. It is said that this plate was sent from the palace during alms-givings. Now the plate is restored at the Vihara.

Ancient drawings

The 'Viharage' of the temple has many ancient drawings and one of the old 'Devala' contains a drawing of a Portuguese Mudliyar or a soldier, with a bronze-buttoned shirt, a sarong with some designs, and a hat. One of the wall paintings depicts this Portuguese man holding a bird and a devil dancing nearby and another show the Mudliyar pointing a finger at something. The paintings are almost vanishing. It gives some signs of colour, however, now it is visible in black and white. The Sandakadapahana or the moonstone of the temple is adorned with swans, horses, elephants, and leaves (liyavel). The centre of the moonstone is decorated with some coloured glass beads, to give the effect of the seeds of the lotus.
The land towards the east of the temple is another important part of the ancient temple. It had been a place named 'Kota Vehera', a place that was worshipped by the kings, ministers as well as the public.

Na tree

Unlike other temples, this temple has an ironwood (Na) tree instead of a bo tree. History of this tree dates back to the era of the prince Sapumal Bandara, the prince who defeated Aryachakravarthis and won the administration of Jaffna. Before leaving for this war, he had worshipped this ancient naa tree and made a vow.

ancient na tree	Vihara Ge	Moonstone

He returned to Kotte as a winner and national hero. From that day onwards, people had the habit of worshipping the tree before attending any of their major tasks. The kings during that era paid a visit to the temple after their coronation ceremony to pay homage to the Buddha. H. C. P. Bell an Archaeological Commissioner of Ceylon once said, "At the village of Pita-Kotte, which consisted of the outer city stood the Dagaba and temple to which according to tradition, before the coronation the monarchs of Kotte used to ride on horseback for the ceremony of cutting the tali-pot tree that sprang into life again like the golden bough of Virgil with student of each successive ruler. The temple had vanished centuries ago, with the other Buddhist buildings. The Dagaba, which had remained in facet, spaced alike by conqueror and by time, has recently been exploited and the bricks of the dome daily abstracted to build a house. Now, only the basement is left of it, and that too is fast disappearing"
"Later this land was handed over to a mission by the Dutch," says Anuruddha Thera. "They cut off the Bo-tree and built a church on that place," He added. To date, the main temple of the Kotte Vihara does not have a Bo-tree.

Mural	Painting of a mudliyar

The area with the Bo-Tree is situated a few metres away from the main temple. C.M. de Silva states in his book 'Antiquities of the Kingdom of Kotte', "The Rajamaha Vihara is the meeting point of thousands of devotees from all parts of the neighbouring towns and villages.
The perehera of the temple is viewed with a spirit of devotion and happiness evoking a sense of national pride is perpetuation a historic event of the bygone days of Kotte." Explaining further he wrote, "The Rajamaha Vihara in Pita-Kotte was constructed by Sri Parakramabahu VI about the year 1415. For the upkeep of the temple, considerable lands yielding and the King had endowed adequate income. Under the Portuguese rule the temple was reduced to ruins and for nearly one and a half centuries the palace was under the jungle."
According to the Department of Archaeology, there is no other place in the country like Kotte, where most of the ancient buildings, artefacts, and ruins were lost.
The chief incumbent of the temple, humbly requests the public to present voluntarily whatever the artefact they have, which is related to the history of the temple. It would be a social service for the betterment of the future generations.

Planning Your Big-Day

Wedding is one of the most important occasions in a person’s life. Not only have the couple, but also all the family members and the relatives from both the sides get together to plan this grand event. Usually preparations begin at least a year before the big day.

Booking the hotel, the florist, the photographer and the beautician needs to be done way before the big day. When it comes to these things, everyone has their favourites and ideas. Obviously, the couple has their own dreams about their wedding and their parents have another set of dreams. If all these dreams match together, all of you are lucky, however, most of the times it is something very unlikely to occur.

Then begins the conflict; the bride and the groom and the parents, conflicts go on. Sometimes it is said, that the bride will be able to understand the real personality of the groom only during this wedding planning period.

Now not only the groom, parents and in-laws can also put a certain amount of pressure when planning this event.They are the ones who do the spending most of the time. Therefore, they expect to run the show according to their wishes to a certain extent especially since they are the ones who know family traditions.

Sometimes objections can arise when the couple wants to do something out of the ordinary. The tragedy of this is that these conflicts, which arise at this point, can prevail throughout. Therefore, the best thing is to avoid conflicts as much as possible. However, it is easier said than done.

The first step in your wedding planning is deciding on the type of the wedding you want. Express those ideas among everybody. Communicate with the fiance, family, in-laws and anyone else who is involved in the planning. This is essential. When you have open discussions about planning, it helps avoid conflicts and all will have an enjoyable time.

Let everyone express his or her ideas. Then choose the best and the most suitable idea out of all. Be patient with everybody. Have some flexibility. Be open to different ideas. If an idea brought by a family member, does not tally with the theme you have selected, politely say so. If the idea is extremely good, try if you can modify it according to the theme. Show that you are making an effort to listen to their ideas. Respect everyone’s views. Make them feel welcomed for the planning sessions.

It is very important fact to take note of your budget. No one wants financial problems as soon as they start a new life. Therefore, spending a fortune on your big day is not a wise thing to do. When deciding on the budget, be practical and realistic. Communicate this budget among everyone who is involved. Then before coming up with an idea they themselves have something to think and something to restrict them.

Another conflict arising point is when it comes to choosing the bridesmaid, the bestman, the flower girls, and the page boys. Many of the relations and close friends will want to take part in the wedding. However, choosing the best people is in your hands. Rejecting others who are willing to take part should be done with care.

Organising a wedding cannot be done single handedly. There should be friends and relatives around the couple for their help. Therefore, make them understand your requirements and get their cooperation. Lastly, through your communication abilities and flexibility you can avoid conflicts and have a smooth and a conflict free wedding. Plan ahead and let everyone follow the plan through discussions.