Anuradhapura ancient city tour with Travandgo tours

The Meghagiri Vihara is now commonly known as Isurumuniya Vihara or Isurumuniya and lies near Tissa Wewa of Anuradhapura. But the original Isurumuni Vihara is located few hundred metres away is now called Vessagiri Vihara. When this viharaya was discovered it would have been thought it to be the Isurumuniya mentioned in ancient texts even though no inscription’s has been found. Later when archaeologists found the real Isurumuni Viharaya few hundred meters away (with inscriptions identifying its name), the name Isurumuniya was already taken and and the site was called Vessagiriya.

Vessagiriya is located few hundred meters left to the current Isurumuniya on the old Anuradhapura-a-Kurunegala road. This temple complex is located in and around 3 beautiful bolder formations spread across a large area in front of the Tissa Weva. On one these is a remains of a dagaba.

Remains of 23 caves with drip ledges which the monks used can be seen on two of the rock formations. Remains of many buildings had been found from around the site, among which there were remains of an image house (pilima geya), dagoba and refectory (monk’s dining room). Bricks recovered from the dagoba had Sinhalese characters belonging to the 10th and 11th centuries.

After bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Mahinda Thero in 250 BC Emperor Asoka in India sent his daughter Theri Sanghamitta to the island with a branch of the Sacred Bodhi obtained from the main stem of the bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya under which Buddha attained enlightenment. King Tissa received the sapling and planted it at the present site in 249 BC. Taking this information to account today (in 2022) the Sri Maha Bodhi tree is exactly 2272 years old. Thus this tree is considered the oldest living tree in world in the recorded history.

Mirisawetiya Dagaba has been built by King Dutugamunu (161-137 BC) and this belongs to Mahavihara Complex. King Dutugamunu is the great king who defeated the Tamil invaders who ruled the country for 30 years and brought the country under one ruler.

On the seventh day of the re-establishment of Anuradhapura as the Capital of Lanka after defeating Elara, the Indian invader who ruled Anuradhapura for 55 years, the King proceeded to the Tissa Wewa followed by a state retinue to celebrate an aquatic festival maintaining a custom observed by his predecessors.Kings attire and his imperial sceptre (kunta) which had a scared relic of Buddha inside, was kept at a place close the Tissa Wewa. When he returned to his surprise the sceptre was it was stuck to the ground and no one could retrieve it. So the king seeing this miracle decided to erect a stupa on that spot to enshrine the sceptre itself.

The Ruwanweli Maha Seya, also known as the Mahathupa (the Great Thupa) is a stupa (a hemispherical structure containing relics) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Two quarts or one Dona of the Buddha's relics are enshrined in the stupa, making it the largest collection of his relics anywhere.[1] It was built by Sinhalese King Dutugemunu in c. 140 B.C., who became king of Sri Lanka after a war in which the Chola King Elāra (Ellalan) was defeated. It is also known as Swarnamali Seya, Svaṇṇamāli Mahaceti (in Pali) and Rathnamali Seya.

his is the first stupa to be built in the country after the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Built in the time of king Devamnampiyatissa (250BC – 210BC) this was a stupa as well as an Aramic complex (monastery). “As Contemporary with Asoka ” (says Mr. Fergusson, in his History of Indian and Eastern Architecture ), “it belongs to the most interesting period of Buddhist history, and is older, or, at least, as old as anything now existing on the continent of India” (Smither and Wikramagamage, 1993).

Abhayagiri stupa belongs to the aramic complex of Abhayagiriya Viharaya which was constructed in the reign of King Vattagamini Abaya (commonly known as King Valagamba) in the 1st Century BC.

Today, the main attraction of this aramaic complex is the massive Abayagiri Stupa which stands at 74.98 meters to the tip of the damaged spire. It is the second largest stupa in the island today. According to the 5th century traveler Chinese monk Fa-Hsien’s descriptions, this stupa has been 400 feet (122 meters) in height and has been decorated with gold and silver and studded with all kinds of jewels. There also has been a 20 foot (6.1 meters) high Buddha statue made out of green jade.

Although no monument has been clearly discovered which belongs to the period before Arahath Mahinda’s visit to the island in 3rd century BC, the chronicles record that the earliest form of Buddhist Architecture in Sri Lanka was the Mahiyanganaya and Girihadu Seya. Accrding to chronicals they have been built well before the parinirvana of Buddha in 543 BC.

It is obvious that any elevated terrace requires a flight of steps to reach the surface level above. The steps of ancient buildings were individual stones cut in to shape. A pole or railing is required to hold and provide ease to the climb. Through the passage of time this rail would have developed into an abacus now known Korawakgala decorated with depictions of artistic stone carvings on it. This also provided the stability to the stone steps and stopped any erosion. However, it seems that this stony rail structure did not contain any structural support itself to avoid a sudden collapse or a slide towards its front. .

Lying between the gigantic Abhayagiriya Stupa and the Kuttam Pokuna (Twin Ponds) belonging to the ancient Abhayagiri Monastery, Samadhi Statue is considered one of the greatest works of sculptural art of the early period of Anuradhapura era. It is thought to be done during the 3rd or the 4th century. It is made out of dolomite marble and stands 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) in height. This statue was found in the present location in 1886 fallen to the ground with damages to the nose. It was then erected and the nose was reconstructed unsuccessfully. In 1914, it was found damaged by treasure hunters and re constructed again which still was eye sore.

Kuttam Pokuna or the twin ponds are another hydrologic engineering marvels of the ancient Sri Lanka. These two ponds belong to the Abayagiri aramic complex and probably been used by the monks for bathing. The origins of these ponds are not known but it is thought to have been built during the reign of King Aggabodhi I (575-608).

During the reign of king Gothabhaya (253-266 AC) a disagreement took place between the monks of Maha Vihara Monastery and the Abhayagiri Monastery regarding a Vetulya doctrine. The king Gothabhaya took the side of the Maha Vihara and banished 60 monks who had turned in the Vetulya doctrine from Abhayagiri Monastery. One of the disciples of the banished monks called Sangamitta thero decided to avenge the bikkus of Maha Viharaya. He came back to Sri Lanka and gained the favour of king Gothabhaya (253-266 AC) and was entrusted to teach his two sons prince Mahasena and Prince Jetthatissa. After their father’s death, the elder son prince Jetthatissa who was a supporter of the Mahavihara monks became the king and reigned for 10 years (266-276 AC). In 276 Mahasena (276-303) succeeded to the throne and he persuaded the king that the Mahaviharians laxed discipline and the monks of Abhayagiri vihara preached the true doctrine of the Buddha.