Kelaniya - most important temple in the area of Colombo
all 20 slide show images by courtesy of Mr. Günter Schönlein from Germany
|
The temple of Kelaniya is the most important Buddhist sanctuary near Colomvo far and wide. The adjacent Vibhishana shrine is a Ramayana site and is thereby sacred to Hindus, too. The Buddhist temple is famous for its murals, which are partly in the Kandyan style, partly painted by Sri Lanka’s artist Solias Mendis.
|
The Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya is the most venerated sanctuary in Sri Lanka’s western coastal plains. It attracts more pilgrims than any other temple in this major settlement area of Buddhist Sinhalese. It is said that praying once in Kelaniya will erase all sins. The temple festival of Kelaniya, celebrated annually since 1927, has become the largest religious event in the area of Colombo. The so-called Duruthu-Perahera, culmiating at the January full-moon day, commemorates the legendary visit of the Buddha to this place. As a site that sanctified by the the Buddha himself, Kelaniya is one of the 16 most revered shrines in the country. The temple building in its current form dates back to the colonial period. However, the shrine looks back on a much longer history.
Besides our overview section for your quick information,
you can also find a detailed descriptions, by clicking the blue tabs "location" or "history" or "temples" or "murals" below...
you can also find a detailed descriptions, by clicking the blue tabs "location" or "history" or "temples" or "murals" below...
What to see at the Kelaniya temple
|
The stupa (dagaba) of Kelaniya marks the spot where the Buddha is said to have been seated on a bejewelled throne on his third visit to the island. The throne is believed to be contained in the stupa.
|
|
The main temple building of Kelaniya is called Viharage (Viharagaya). The exterior walls are decorated by friezes of elephants (Gajas) symbolising fortitutude, dwarfs (Gansas) supporting wealth, and geese (Hamsas) spreading the teaching of the Buddha.
|
|
The gnomes are known as Ganas in Hindu mythology, too. They are helpful and cheerful being amusing themselves and others with musics and acrobatics. The postures of Ganas at the Kelaniya temple are extraordinarily funny.
|
|
The interior of the temple building has a reclining Buddha in the right hand chamber. The central hall is decorated with 19th century murals imitating the Kandyan style and traditional themes of Kandy paintings, Jataka "birth stories" from the Buddha's previous lives in particular.
|
|
The most famous paintings of Kelaniya, however, are the magnum opus of Sri Lanka's most famous Buddhist artist of the 20th century, Solias Mendis. They illustrate important scenes from the island's Buddhist history.
|
|
Close to the stupa and the Buddhist main temple is a shrine visited by Buddhists and Hindus alike. It's dedicated to Vibhishana, who according to the Indian Ramayana became king of Lanka as a result of the epic battle and is venerated as guardian deity of the region of Kelaniya.
|
|
The eastern main gate of the Kelaniya temple is said to have inspired the Hagenbeck brothers to create an iconic Jugendstil gate of their zoological garden near Hamburg in Germany.
|
Kelaniya (pronounced "Kaelania", the "ae" being stressed) is only eight kilometers northeast of Colombo downtown, near the main road A1 to Kandy. Kelaniya is situated on the north bank of the Kelani Ganga. The springs of the Kelani river are at the foot of Adam's Peak, it runs through the deeply cut valley to Avissawela and flows into the sea at Colombo. The river is named after the city and not the other way around. Asministatively, Kelaniya belongs to Gampaha District, not to Colombo District, Nonetheless, it’s commonly regarded as a suburb of the capital on the opposite side of the river.
Hindu legends surrounding Kelaniya
There is an abundance of old legends associated with Kelaniya. It‘s probable that it had been a sanctuary already in the pre-Buddhist period, namely a place of Vibhishana worship. A temple for this deity is still included in the monastic compound.
Vibhishana is sometimes considered to be the specific guardian deity of the west of the island. Though a member of the pantheon of the highest four gods of the island in the Gampola period, deities often associated with the four quarters, Vibhishana was not one of the main deities of the Sinhalese in earlier periods, when Kataragama, Natha, Upulvan and Saman were venerated as the highest fods. Rather, Vibhishana is a deity held in higher esteem among Hindus. He is also worshiped in India and Southeast Asia as one of the main characters of the Indian national epic Ramayana. Vibhishana is the brother of Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. He disapproves of Ravana‘s kidnapping of Rama's wife Sita and is therefore repudiated by his brother Ravana. Vibhishana then joins Rama and provides invaluable services for his campaign to free Sita due to his profound local knowledge on the island of Lanka.
|
Vibhishana - a memorable characterVibhishana is an interesting and remarkable character of the Ramayana, insofar he does not fit well into this epic‘s common pattern of being either a good or bad person. His criticism of the abduction of another man’s wife and his friendship with the divine hero Rama, of course, make him a positive figure. Despite of this, the taint of disloyalty to his family sticks to him. Vibhishana is considered a kind of traitor, who delivers his home to invaders. His treason has not prevented him from receiving divine honours among the Sinhalese population, though he is a demonic kind of deity, not payed homage to out of love for him but to reassure him, loyality being helpful to avoid his anger. Vibhishana worship is not known across the entire island. It’s a regional cult in the Kelaniya area. According to local legends, Vibhishana moved the capital of the island from the mythical Alakamanda in the highlands to Kelaniya. However, the Ramayana epic of Valmiki, though telling the story of Rama coronatiing Vibhishana as the island’s new king after the demise of Ravana, does not make any mention of these names as Lanka’s capitals. |
Buddha's visit to Kelaniya
The most famous legend that established the sacralitiy of Kelaniya is the one already mentioned in the intro above: Buddha himself is believed to have visited Kelaniya. He did so on his third trip to the island, in the eights year after his enlightenment, on the invitation of King Maniakkitha. After his stay in Kelaniya, the Buddha proceeded to Adam's Peak, where he left his footprint "Siri Pada", and then to Digavapi and Anuradhapura.
Buddha giving his sermon to the demons in Mahiyangana, painted by Solias Mendis
King Maniakkitha of Kelaniya was not a human being. The term in the given in the Mahavamsa is "serpent king". Like God Saman, guardian of Adam's Peak, Maniakkitha once attended the Buddha's sermonin Mahiyangana on his first visit to the island. This event is shown on one of the paintings by Solias Mendis in Kelaniya. Listening to the Buddha was the first step on the path to enlightenment for Maniakittha. He on this oocasion invited the Buddha to his capital Kelaniya.
Sri Lanka's gem throne for the Buddha, painted by Solias Mendis
Maniakittha also plays a role in the story of the Buddha‘s second visit to the island. The founding legend of Kelaniya is initimately connected to this event. When the Buddha on his second visit was preaching on Nagadipa - which is meant to be Jaffna Peninsula - Mahodara and Chulodara were among his hearers. These two Naga kings were fighting over the gem throne of Lanka and waging war against each others. King Maniakkittha of Kelaniya was among those siding with Mahodara. The Buddha managed to convince the rivalling parties of the futility of their dispute, whereupon they left the throne to only him, the Buddha. The Buddha, however, left the throne on the island, since the argument was settled. On his third visit, on which he was accompanied by 500 disciples, the Buddha then took his seat on the said gem throne, the former object of the dispute, in order to give his sermon in Kelaniya. This event is also illustrated by Solias Mendis. The stupa of the Kelaniya temple is said to have been built just at this site, containing the throne. A king named Yatala Tissa is said to be the founder of this sanctuary for the Buddha‘s throne in the third century BC.
Viharamahadevi's place of birth
|
There is another famous legend surrounding Kelaniya, which is told in the Mahavamsa in connection with the birth of the chronicle’s main protagonist, namely the national hero Dutthagamani. His mother, Vihara Mahadevi, is a princess from Kelaniya. Her father was King was Kelani Tissa. In the course of a love affair between his wife and his brother, the king cruelly executed the abbot of the temple, who was innocently suspected of having conspired with the couple. This brutal injustice incensed the gods so much that they churned the sea causing a flood wave against Kelaniya. In order to avert the flooding of the kingdom, King Kelani Tissa was forced to sacrifice his beloved daughter. He released Vihara Mahadevi on a boat and left her to the floods, a scene depicted in another of Mendis‘ paintings. However, the princess survived, her boat was washed ashore in the very south of the island. Local legend has it that this occured at Kirinda Beach. Vihara Mahadevi then was married to Kakavanna Tissa, the king of the southern kingdom of Rohana, who named her Vihara Mahadevi, which literally means "Monastery Grand Goddess", because she stranded at a monastery. She gave birth to his son Duthagamani, who later on became the conquerer of Anuradhapura.
Vihara-Mahadevi boarding the golden vessel, painted by Solias Mendis
|
It is said today that Kelaniya has only been so close to the sea since that enormous flood. The story of the courtly affair and a devastating flood, after 2004, has been interpreted by many as a tsunami more than two thousand years ago.
The story of Vihara Mahadevi is told in Chapter 22 of the Mahavansa (Mahawamsa):
"Now in Kalyani the ruler was the king named Tissa. His younger brother named Ayya-Uttika, who had roused the wrath (of Tissa) in that he was the guilty lover of the queen, fled thence from fear and took up his abode elsewhere. The district was named after him. He sent a man wearing the disguise of a bhikkhu, with a secret letter to the queen. This man went thither, took his stand at the king's door and entered the king's house with an arahant who always used to take his meal at the palace, unnoticed by that thera. When he had eaten in company with the thera, as the king was going forth, he let the letter fall to the ground when the queen was looking. The king turned at the (rustling) sound, and when he looked down and discovered the written message he raged, unthinking, against the thera, and in his fury he caused the thera and the man to be slain and thrown into the sea Wroth at this the sea-gods made the sea overflow the land; but the king with all speed caused his pious and beautiful daughter named Devi to be placed in a golden vessel, whereon was written 'a king's daughter', and to be launched upon that same sea. When she had landed near to (the) Lanka (vihara) the king Kakavanna consecrated her as queen. Therefore she received the epithet Vihara." cited from: https://www.budsas.org/ebud/mahavamsa/chap022.html |
Kelaniya in historical times
The legends mentioned above could be a reminder that this region, which is in quite a distance from the Sinhalese heartland (the cultural triangle), came into contact with Buddhism not via Anuradhapura but directly, in fact through contacts with Indian merchants and monks arriving with them. In the time of Dutthagamani there are said to have been 500 monks in his mother's hometown.
Kelaniya and the Kelani River mark the juncture between the dry zone cultivated by the Sinhalese and the almost uninhabited wet zone. Historically, Kelaniya was probably one of the first Sinhalese settlements dating from around 500 BC. Within the settlement are of these Indo-European immigrants, it became the only significant city near the wet region and the major trading centre for over two millennia. Kelaniya was somewhat the southern capital of Dakkhinadesa province, which later on was usually reigned by the heir to the throne, the Uparaja.
Like other remote principalities, Kelaniya was only loosely incorporated into the Anuradhapura kingdom, maybe even completely independent at times. Kelaniya was the main trading port in the southwest due to the navigable and protected mouth of the Kelani Ganga. In this respect it was forerunner of today's Colombo in ancient and medieval times. Colombo, due to its closer proximity to the sea, owes its importance only to the fact that it was the most important fortification of the European colonialists.
Kelaniya and the Kelani River mark the juncture between the dry zone cultivated by the Sinhalese and the almost uninhabited wet zone. Historically, Kelaniya was probably one of the first Sinhalese settlements dating from around 500 BC. Within the settlement are of these Indo-European immigrants, it became the only significant city near the wet region and the major trading centre for over two millennia. Kelaniya was somewhat the southern capital of Dakkhinadesa province, which later on was usually reigned by the heir to the throne, the Uparaja.
Like other remote principalities, Kelaniya was only loosely incorporated into the Anuradhapura kingdom, maybe even completely independent at times. Kelaniya was the main trading port in the southwest due to the navigable and protected mouth of the Kelani Ganga. In this respect it was forerunner of today's Colombo in ancient and medieval times. Colombo, due to its closer proximity to the sea, owes its importance only to the fact that it was the most important fortification of the European colonialists.
The chronicles have it that Anuradhapura‘s King Voharika Tissa decorated the temple of Kelaniya with jewels and paintings in the 3rd century AD. Nothing is preserved, because the South Indian Cholas looted and damaged the temple in the 11th century.
At the end of the 12th century, the illustrous Polonnaruwa-king Nissanka Malla undertook one of his many pilgrimages to Kelaniya. Afterwards, it is said to have been one of the many places devastated by King Magha, who was of East Indian origin. The first of the Sinhalese kings of the Dambadeniya period, Vijayabahu III, who himself resided further southwest than all his predecessors, restored the prestigious Kelaniya temple in the 13th century. The most important king of Dambadeniya, Parakramabahu II, also contributed to the adornment of the Kelaniya temple. During this transition period of desolation of the original civilization centers Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, when the main settlement area of the Sinhalese shifted to the wet zone in the south west, Kelaniya almost naturally gained increasing importance.
At the end of the 12th century, the illustrous Polonnaruwa-king Nissanka Malla undertook one of his many pilgrimages to Kelaniya. Afterwards, it is said to have been one of the many places devastated by King Magha, who was of East Indian origin. The first of the Sinhalese kings of the Dambadeniya period, Vijayabahu III, who himself resided further southwest than all his predecessors, restored the prestigious Kelaniya temple in the 13th century. The most important king of Dambadeniya, Parakramabahu II, also contributed to the adornment of the Kelaniya temple. During this transition period of desolation of the original civilization centers Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, when the main settlement area of the Sinhalese shifted to the wet zone in the south west, Kelaniya almost naturally gained increasing importance.
Looting of the Kelaniya temple by forces of the Chola empire, painted by Solias Mendis
|
Destruction of the Kelaniya temple by the Portuguese, painted by Solias Mendis
|
Kotte period and Kalyani Sima in Burma
This process culminated at the end of this period, that corresponds to our late Middle Ages. Not surprisingly, the temple was promoted by the most important Kotte king, Parakramabahu VI (1412-67), as his residence Kotte is only a few kilometers south of Kelaniya. In the 15th century, Kotte became the most important kingdom in Sri Lanka alongside Jaffna. The kings of Kotte chose Kelaniya as the location of their summer palace in Kelaniya. The beauty of the place is praised by contemporary poems, the so-called Sandeva Kasyas. It was during the Kotte period that Kelaniya also won an international reputation as a centre of Buddhist learning.
|
The significance ot the Kelaniya Buddhism for the Theravada school in the 15th century can be seen from the following event: In 1424 and in 1476, monk delegations from Cambodia and Thailand and from Burma came to Kelaniya to study Theravada Buddhism more thoroughly or to renew their higher ordination to introduce new lineages in their countries of origin. The event of utmost significance for Burmese Buddhism is not recorded in the chronicles and documents of Sri Lanka but in those of Burma (Myanmar). One of the most important historical sources for Burmese history are inscriptions named after their location, the Kalyanithein monastery in Pegu (Bago). The name of this monastery, "Kalyani", is one of the common spellings of the Sinhalese "Kelaniya" in Pali, the sacred language of Theravada Buddhism. The founder of the said monastery in Pegu was an important Burmese king known as Dhammacheti. This king, descended from the Mon people, had been a monk who helped Queen Shin Sawbu to escape from the then Burmese capital, Ava. In Pegu, she ascended the throne in 1453. However, she decided to retire to monastic life at the Schwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon (Yangon) and transferred power to her closest advisor, the monk Dhammacheti. He left the order - which does not result in a loss of prestige in Burma - and as king he considered a comprehensive reform of the Buddhist order to be his major task and achievement. In the history of Buddhism, kings have repeatedly emerged as "cleaners" of the Sangha from grievances, they modeled themselves after the great Indian emperor, Ashoka. The reform of the Dhammacheti is one of the most famous examples of this tradition of „cleansing the order“. Many Burmese monasteries had become almost secular institions at that point in time and many monks were doing business and were engaged in astrology, which is violation of the canonical Vinaya rules of the Buddhist Order. The chain of succession is only considered valid if the monks who witnessed the ordination had led a regular religious life up to the time of the ordination ceremony of a new member of the order. This could raise doubts concerning the validity of higher ordinations, in case of rumours that one of the witnesses had previously violated monastic rules. Dhammacheti himself belonged to a smaller group of monks, a reformed order with stricter regulations, which was founded around 1200 in Pagan (Bagan) by the monk Chappata (Sapada, also known as Sagata), who had renewed his ordination in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, this Burmese order was named "Sinhala Order" after the country of origin of the line of ordination.
|
Kalyani tradition in Lower BurmaIn the early months of 1476, Dhammacheti sent 22 monks on two ships to Sri Lanka in order to reorganize the entire monastic tradition of the Mon-dominated southern Burma. The destination of the ships was the port of Kelaniya. In July of the same year a large ceremony was held in Kelaniya and the guests from Lower Burma received a new ordination. For this purpose, a floating pavilion had been built in the Kelani River to define the Sima (borders) of the place of the ceremony unambiguously. After the monks reordained in the Sinhalese lienade had returned to Pegu, the new monastic rule set up by them was named after the place of origin, "Kalyani". The report, composed in both the local Mon and the sacred Pali laguarge, was laid down on ten stone tablets languages in the said monastery Kalyanithein (also known as Kalyanisima in Pali). All Burmese monks were invited to be re-ordained here in Pegu. Although the Kingdom of Pegu, dominated by the Mon, was conquered and devastated by the Burmese in 1539 and 1551, Dhammacheti's religious reform prevailed throughout Burma. Today, all Burmese monks attribute their ordination to the Sinhalese line of succession established in Kelaniya in 1476. 
Kalyani ordination ceremony on rafts, painted by Solias Mendis
|
Kelaniya's significance in the colonial and post-colonial period
After Bhuvenaikabahu VII, then king of Kotte, was murdered in his palace in 1550, Don Juan Dharmapala, who had been baptized by the Portuguese and converted to Catholicism, ascended the Sinhalese throne. It was during his reign that the most severe persecution of Buddhism occured in Sri Lanka's history. The temple lands of Kelaniya, forming the monastery's economic base, were confiscated and transferred to the Franciscans. In the following years, the temple building was destroyed by the Portuguese, who during this period anyway vandalized almost all historical sanctuaries in the entire area under their control.
Although the Dutch were more moderate in their religious policies, they issued an edict in 1682 that prohibted even worshiping the ruins of the temple. When in 1689 the King of Kandy asked the Dutch rulers of the lowlands, who has been allies against the Portuguese, to be allowed to rebuild the Kelaniya temple, the Christian governor replied negatively: "In the struggle between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light God's cause must prevail over that of the Devil ". It was not until 1767 that the Kandy king Kirthisri Rajasingha was able to have restoration works carried out.
Under the rule of the British, who, in the Kandy Convention of 1815, had formally pledged to protect Buddhism, the full reconstruction of the traditional temple near the new capital Colombo began only in the late 19th century. The present appearance of the temple reflects the styles of the colonial period. The rebuilding of the temple is a manifestation of the Buddhist modernist or revivalist movement of the time. Since 1880, the first two western visitors showing appreciatons for Asian religious traditions, visited the island. Henry Steel Olcott and Madam Blavatsky, the founders of the Theosophical Society, played a major role in the Buddhist revival.
Despite the Sinhalese (or South Asian) themes of the temple‘s works of art, the colonial character of the building cannot be overlooked today. The main sponsors of the rebuilding project were the Wijewardenas, particularly Helena Wijewardena, born Weeransingha, who was the daughter of an arrack renter and the wife of Don Philip Tudugala Wijewardena, a timber and sand merchant for constructions in Colombo. Helena Wijewardena is mother of Don Richard Wijewardana, the most important press baron of then Ceylon, grandmother of Junius Richard Jayewardene, president from 1978 toll 1989, great-grandmother of Ranil Wickramasingha, three times prime minister. Her son Don Charles promoted a nationalist version oft revivalism in the early years of independence. It was Helena Wijewardena, too, who commissioned the artist Solius Mendis to decorate the interior. He crafted the famous Kelaniya paintings from 1932 to 1946.
Under the rule of the British, who, in the Kandy Convention of 1815, had formally pledged to protect Buddhism, the full reconstruction of the traditional temple near the new capital Colombo began only in the late 19th century. The present appearance of the temple reflects the styles of the colonial period. The rebuilding of the temple is a manifestation of the Buddhist modernist or revivalist movement of the time. Since 1880, the first two western visitors showing appreciatons for Asian religious traditions, visited the island. Henry Steel Olcott and Madam Blavatsky, the founders of the Theosophical Society, played a major role in the Buddhist revival.
Despite the Sinhalese (or South Asian) themes of the temple‘s works of art, the colonial character of the building cannot be overlooked today. The main sponsors of the rebuilding project were the Wijewardenas, particularly Helena Wijewardena, born Weeransingha, who was the daughter of an arrack renter and the wife of Don Philip Tudugala Wijewardena, a timber and sand merchant for constructions in Colombo. Helena Wijewardena is mother of Don Richard Wijewardana, the most important press baron of then Ceylon, grandmother of Junius Richard Jayewardene, president from 1978 toll 1989, great-grandmother of Ranil Wickramasingha, three times prime minister. Her son Don Charles promoted a nationalist version oft revivalism in the early years of independence. It was Helena Wijewardena, too, who commissioned the artist Solius Mendis to decorate the interior. He crafted the famous Kelaniya paintings from 1932 to 1946.
Vidyalankara Pirivena
The Vidyalankara Pirivena was founded in Kelaniya as early as 1875. It was the first higher Buddhist educational institution, a major achievement and from then on a driving force of Buddhist modernism and nationalism. It were mainly Buddhist laymen – instead of clerics – who were engagd in this process. They borrrowed organisational structures and educational systems based on western patterns as effective means to ward off Christian missionary efforts that threatened to christianize the soceity from top to bottom sooner or later. In fact, the modern Buddhist movement succeeded in counteracting Christian proselytising strongly and sustainably. The ever increasing number of newly founded Pirivenas played an important role in this Buddhist revivalism process. They turned out to be attractive for elites, whereas the traditional monastic educational system of village schools, although being quite effective in educating the rural population, remained without influence in the administrational and business communities. The Pirivenas expedited intense scientific studies of basic texts of Buddhism in particular. Until then, the elites had only adapted to the British in terms of language and habits, and also more and mote in terms of practiced religion. With the Buddhist revivalist movement, however, an increasing number of Sinhalese intellectuals learned to appreciate Buddhist traditions as equally advanced or even superior when compared to biblical teachings. This also reinfored – and in turn was reinforced by – an anti-colonial independence movement. The Buddhist renaissance in Sri Lanka is contemporary to the Congress movement in India, but unlike in the Indian Congress Party, it was not secularly defined but religiously reinforced. Due to its centuries-old tradition and its location near the capital, Kelaniya became a hub of this revivalist movement of Buddhism. In addition to the founding or the Vidyalankara Pirivena, the reconstruction of the temple is a visible sign of the spirit of the time.
Administrationally, the Buddhist training center founded as Vidyalankara Pirivena was not attached to Kelaniya temple. The Pirivena was granted university status by the government of Bandaranaike in 1959. It was one of the first universities teaching science in Sinhala. Vidyalankara Universitywas renamed University of Kelaniya in 1978. The religious status, however, has not gone lost. Many monks of monasteries in all parts of the country still study this university.
Administrationally, the Buddhist training center founded as Vidyalankara Pirivena was not attached to Kelaniya temple. The Pirivena was granted university status by the government of Bandaranaike in 1959. It was one of the first universities teaching science in Sinhala. Vidyalankara Universitywas renamed University of Kelaniya in 1978. The religious status, however, has not gone lost. Many monks of monasteries in all parts of the country still study this university.
Buddharakkhita, chief monk of Kelaniya, ordered the assassination of then Prime Minister Bandaranaike
A side effect of Buddhist modernism was the politicisation of religion. On the one hand, lay people increasingly concerned thzemselves with Buddhist scholarship, many of them having an anti-colonialist and anti-Christian agenda. On the other hand, monks got more and more involved in daily politics, particularly after independence. Although the monastic rules prohibit involvement in state affairs and favour detachment of worldly mattes and conservative religious leaders in Sri Lanka formally adhered to these basics, some monastic associations with a Sinhalese nationalistic agenda were formed on the occasion of election campaigns. The most infamous example of this development was a case connected to Buddhist activities in Kelaniya. Understandably, this case is gladly reported.
The then 35-year-old Mapitagama Buddharikkhita, chief monk of the Kelaniya temple since 1947, ideologically and financially supported the newly founded party of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike prior to the 1956 parliamentary elections. The campaign was carried out under the slogan "only Sinhalese". The aim was to replace English language by Sinhala within state institutions and in official documents. But as a side effect, this created conflict with Tamil elites who until then were dominant in the administration. Most of them were well-versed in English but not at all in Sinhala. An estimated 20 per cent of the Buddhist clergy of Sri Lanka joined the chief monk of Kelaniya and participated in the campaign. This turned out to be a deciding factor in the election results in favour of Bandaranaike, as the monks using village temples as communication platforms were effective in mobilising rural Sinhalese people. A particular concern at that point in time was the fact that Roman Catholics were significantly overrepresented in management positions and rumour spread their intention was a sale-out of then Ceylon to the USA.
After their election victory, the future Bandaranaike cabinet pointedly paid a visit to the temple of Kelaniya and the prominent chief monk even before the state opening of parliament. Initially, the new government implemented of the Sinhala-only policy. But as this led to violent conflicts with the Tamil minority, Bandaranaike moderated his policies and signaled courtesy to the Tamil parliamentary leaders. In response to this acdcommodation, in 1958 Buddhist journalists were going on the streets to demonstrate the slogan "Sri Lanka for Buddhists". There were also some riots. The Viharadhipati of Kelaniya Rajamahavihara, this is to say the chief monk of the Kelaniya temple, Mapitigama Buddharakkhita, now publicly blamed Bandaranaike to be betraying the Sinhala Buddhist majority. The government reacted by banning monks from participating in election campaigns. Furthermore, chief monk Buddharakkhita in person was publicly reviled for profiteering. In fact, Kelaniya had become the richest temple in the country under his chairmanship. His reputation was even more severely damaged when rumours were spread about a love affair he was said to have with a female, the then Minister of Health.
In 1959, the Kelaniya chief monk hired the drug-addicted monk Talduwa Somarama to murder Prime Minister Bandaranaike. The monk was promised to receive a great reward after quickly being amnested. On September 25, 1959, the drugged monk shot the Prime Minister on the veranda of his house, Bandaranaike died one day later. Mapitagama Buddharakkhita, the chief monk of Kelaniya, was sentenced to death by the court, as he was found guilty to have ordered the assassination. Later on, the verdict which was converted to a life imprisonment. The monk died in prison in 1967.
The then 35-year-old Mapitagama Buddharikkhita, chief monk of the Kelaniya temple since 1947, ideologically and financially supported the newly founded party of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike prior to the 1956 parliamentary elections. The campaign was carried out under the slogan "only Sinhalese". The aim was to replace English language by Sinhala within state institutions and in official documents. But as a side effect, this created conflict with Tamil elites who until then were dominant in the administration. Most of them were well-versed in English but not at all in Sinhala. An estimated 20 per cent of the Buddhist clergy of Sri Lanka joined the chief monk of Kelaniya and participated in the campaign. This turned out to be a deciding factor in the election results in favour of Bandaranaike, as the monks using village temples as communication platforms were effective in mobilising rural Sinhalese people. A particular concern at that point in time was the fact that Roman Catholics were significantly overrepresented in management positions and rumour spread their intention was a sale-out of then Ceylon to the USA.
After their election victory, the future Bandaranaike cabinet pointedly paid a visit to the temple of Kelaniya and the prominent chief monk even before the state opening of parliament. Initially, the new government implemented of the Sinhala-only policy. But as this led to violent conflicts with the Tamil minority, Bandaranaike moderated his policies and signaled courtesy to the Tamil parliamentary leaders. In response to this acdcommodation, in 1958 Buddhist journalists were going on the streets to demonstrate the slogan "Sri Lanka for Buddhists". There were also some riots. The Viharadhipati of Kelaniya Rajamahavihara, this is to say the chief monk of the Kelaniya temple, Mapitigama Buddharakkhita, now publicly blamed Bandaranaike to be betraying the Sinhala Buddhist majority. The government reacted by banning monks from participating in election campaigns. Furthermore, chief monk Buddharakkhita in person was publicly reviled for profiteering. In fact, Kelaniya had become the richest temple in the country under his chairmanship. His reputation was even more severely damaged when rumours were spread about a love affair he was said to have with a female, the then Minister of Health.
In 1959, the Kelaniya chief monk hired the drug-addicted monk Talduwa Somarama to murder Prime Minister Bandaranaike. The monk was promised to receive a great reward after quickly being amnested. On September 25, 1959, the drugged monk shot the Prime Minister on the veranda of his house, Bandaranaike died one day later. Mapitagama Buddharakkhita, the chief monk of Kelaniya, was sentenced to death by the court, as he was found guilty to have ordered the assassination. Later on, the verdict which was converted to a life imprisonment. The monk died in prison in 1967.
Kelaniya Buddhist Temple
The Kelaniya Monastery is located on a mound near the Kelani River. The entire temple area is surrounded by a procession avenue, where the annual large pageant of the Duruthu Perehara festival is held. The hill forms a rectangle that is oriented in a north-south direction. On the north and west and south side are the main streets of the city of Kelaniya, whereas the eastern avenue runs along the river. Temple and city centre are situated within a loop of the river, the temple marking the highest elevation of the natural hillock. The monastery with a large preaching hall is on the southern half of the hill, the pilgrimage sites cover the northern half.
Though most visitors enter the temple compound from the west, where the main car park is located, the ceremonial access is from the east, as usual at Buddhist and Hindu temples. Two convoluted arches at the top of the staircase on the eastern side mark the official entrance of the temple. They date from the colonial period, but their exoticism must have fascinated a famous animal trader from Germany, John Hagenbeck, who spent a large part of his life in then Ceylon. The iconic Jugendstil entrance gate of his brother’s zoo near Hamburg, erected in 1907, is said to have been inspired by the gates of the Kelaniya temple.
Kelaniya Bo-tree terrace
On the northern part of the hill, which is seen first when arriving from Colombo, are the temple’s three most important Buddhist buildings for devotees and travellers alike. The three edifices symbolise the three treasures of Buddhism, to which taking refuge is the creed of a Buddhist. The so-called Triratna (three jewels) are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, the enlightened being, his teaching and his Order of Monks and Nuns. The white stupa on the northernmost platform stands for the Buddha, as it is a giant reliquary. The Bo tree terrace, the southernmost of the three buildings, is a symbol of the Dharma, the law of the world and the eternal wisdom of salvation, as it was under a tree that the Buddha found enlightenment and supreme knowledge. In the vicinity of the Bo-tree, which is surrounded by an ancient fence, there are numerous burning candles, lighted by pilgrims. The lights symbolise the transmission of the Buddha's teaching, penetrating and dispelling darkness, in all directions of the world.
|
|
The Buddhist Order, the Sangha, is represented by the large image house stands in between stupa and tree terrace. The image house, also called statue house in English, is the main shrine of Kelaniya. Other places of worship on the hill include the aforementioned Vibhishana Temple, which is a Hindu Devale, and a copy of the Holy Footprint the Buddha left on Adam's Peak.
Kelaniya - stupa
Though modern, the bright white stupa in Kelaniya is remarkable. Compared to the hemispherical shape of most other stupas in Sri Lanka, the silhouette is clearly more conical. This stupa is Sri Lanka’s most significant example of a stupa in the so-called rice-pile form, known as Dhanyaka in ancient texts composed in Pali language. This form used to be quite common in ancient times. But when the stupas were restored, they were almost always converted into the so-called bubble form, the hemispherical dome. The rice-pile shape can claim to be the most authentic one. When his followers asked for a visible sign for venerating him, the Buddha is said to have answered: “Just build a heap of sand, like rice that everyone needs”.
|
|
The Kelaniya stupa now measure 28 m in height, with a diameter of 30 m at the base. According to the founding legend of Kelaniya (see tab “history”), the stupa rises above the golden and jeweled throne of the Buddha, which had previously been the throne of the island rulers. It is the place where the Buddha preached his sermon in Kelaniya.
In the northwestern corner of the stupa terrace is a statue of Vihara Mahadevi, Dutthagamani’s mother, who had been a princess from Kelaniya before getting married in the south of Sri Lanka. The statue is a gift of Thai monks, placed here in 1990.
In the northwestern corner of the stupa terrace is a statue of Vihara Mahadevi, Dutthagamani’s mother, who had been a princess from Kelaniya before getting married in the south of Sri Lanka. The statue is a gift of Thai monks, placed here in 1990.
|
photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein
|
Kelaniya - Viharage
The image house containing a large recumbent Buddha is the major place of worship in the temple compound. In Kelaniya, the Pathimagara (image house) is also called Viharagaya or Viharage, which translates to nothing else than a “monastery house” The exterior of the entire building is decorated with three relief bands, the lower one showing earth-bound elephants and the upper one flying geese, the Hansas (also transcribed “Hamsas”).
|
|
The frieze in the middle is the most remarkable one of these three levels of reliefs. The dwarfs depicted here are so-called Ganas, the mythical guardians of the earth's treasures and thus symbols of fertility and wealth.
|
|
|
Gana friezes are a very common theme in India’s religious art and popular in ancient Sri Lankan decorations of sanctuaries, too. The earliest examples are found in Mihintale and the longest ancient frieze of this kind is from the Polonnaruwa period (12th century), namely at the Tivanka statue house in the very north of Polonnaruwa. Ganas are depicted as playing instruments and dancing and making fun. At the Kelaniya image house, there are myriads of various humorous illustrations of the gnomes’ playful activities. They differ in their faces and postures. Some do handstands or perform other acrobatic movements.
Kelaniya - interior of the Viharage
The Viharage is divided into an older main building with three large rooms and a younger annex in the west, which has corridors and narrow cult niches. The octagonal roof of the western part of the shrine is based on models from the Kandy period.
The main entrance of the entire building is in the east, the visitor crosses a roofed porch. There is a large moonstone in front of the entrance is imiting pre-Kandyan styles.
The main entrance of the entire building is in the east, the visitor crosses a roofed porch. There is a large moonstone in front of the entrance is imiting pre-Kandyan styles.
photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein
The small staircase is flanked by Gajasingha figures. Gahasinghas (also transliterated “Gajasinhas” or “Gajasimhas”) are mythical creature combining the bodies of two animal species. The name says it all, “gajas” are elephants and “singhas” are lions. Both animals represent trength. Gajasinghas have been replacing the crocodile-like Makaras as decoration of the stair balustrades since the Polonnaruwa period.
Entering via the main gate from the east, the first and central hall of the Viharage is also the oldest part of the edifice. This middle hall is the largest room. Basically, it is identical with the first temple built in the 19th century. Today, it forms a kind of large vestibule, from which one can enter the various other vestibules and shrine rooms, which are located in the more recent attachments of the edifice. The doors of the main prayer hall containing the reclining Buddha are flanked by large guardian figures, the Dvarapalas. They are depicted as demons, serving an apotropaic purpose of deterring evil from entering the shrine.
The dark central hall is decorated with Sitara paintings from the 19th century, being the lowland variant of Kandyan paintings. The typical themes of Kandyan style murals can be studied here: the temptation of Buddhas by Mara (Mara Yuddha), blossoms as borders, various Buddhas and places of worship, and the narrative series of scenes illustrating canonical Jataka stories.
|
|
The southern wall has seven horizontal rows of paintings. The uppermost is a frame of garlands, continued on the other walls of the vestibule. The second row depicts the so-called Solosmasthanas, sixteen Sri Lankan pilgrimage sites that the Buddha sanctified by his presence. The following four rows below illustrate Jataka stories from the Buddhist canon Tipitaka: Mahasilava Jataka resp. Telapatta Jataka. The fifth row shows a part of the Sama Jataka, that begins on the west wall. Next is Mahakanha Jataka and the attack of Mara. The sixth row has the most famous of all canonical Jataka, the story of Prince Vessantara. The bottom band again is mainly decorative and has the motif of the Purnaghata vessel several times.
The red background and the lack of spatial depth is typical of Kandy paintings. All people are shown side by side at the same height. The scenic sequence corresponds to the course of action within the Jataka stories. The classic Kandy paintings of the highlands date from the 18th century, the paintings from Kelaniya were created only after the middle of the 19th century, when the oldest part building was erected.
|
|
The ceiling of this large central room shows beautiful geometric patterns, which should not be overlooked when entering the room with those rich decorations at the walls. A would seem natural, the ceiling paintings represent the sky. The panels of the two central waffle-slab segments have figurative representations of the nine planet gods and the twelve signs of the zodiac , the so-called Rashis.
photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein
Two doorways lead from the central vestibule into the shrine room to to the right. This northern extension of the building contains the main idol of worship. Above the doors, that are flanked by the abovementioned Dvarapalas, are typical Makara Toranas, with a group of celestial atop this arch.
The giant reclining Buddha occupies almost the entire north wall of the next room (photo), which is actually the main shrine of the statue house just due to this cult image.
The walls of this shrine are decorated with depictions of Arahants, the Buddhist saints, who are distinguished by the fact that they have attained nirvana. Most of them don’t show individual characteristics. This schematical pattern is typical of Kandyan style depictions of Arahants. The two iconographic features of Arahants are a lotus in one hand and a halo. Aureole is also familiar from Christian art, but actually this design of representing saints is of Asian origin. Below the rows of Arahants, representations of Hindu deities can be seen between the doors. From left to right, there are Ganesha, who is otherwise rarely depicted in Buddhist temples, a four-armed Shiva as Maheschwara, also uncommon in Buddhist art, the four rulers of the world regions Dhatarattha, Virulhaka, Virupakkha, Vessavana with entourage, and the guardian of the Holy Foot, Saman, with his elephant, finally the local god of Kelaniya, Vibhishana.
Opposite the main shrine containing the Reclining Buddha is another hall attached. It’s on the left hand side when entering the central vestibule. This southern hall is adorned with paintings of Solias Mendis from the 1930s. At the top, a series paintings illustrates the Buddha's three visits to the island of Sri Lanka.
|
|
A small staircase leads from the main hall to the western part building, which is a later addition. It now serves as a kind of cult niche with a circumambulatory, similar to the combination of Garbhagriha and Pradakshinapatha in Hindu shrines or the layouts of large image houses in the Polonnaruwa period.
|
|
Walls and ceilings of the new building are decorated with floral design similar to arabesquea. It is only when you take a closer look that you see that the plant parts form lions and monsters, teeth and paws being highlighted, and that there are also animal depictions intertwined in the tendrils, particularly geese (Hamsas), which carry Buddha's teaching through the air to all parts of the world.
Vibhishana Devale
A shrine for the veneration of a deity is intergrated in the compound of the Buddhist Kelaniya temple. The god worshiped here is Vibhishana, the guardian deity of the Colombo region. Though not all Buddhist monasteries permit shrines dedicated to deities within their precincts, it is quite common that Sinhalese Buddhist pay tribute to some gods known from Hindu mythology. Buddhism is a path to salvation. Gods can not help on this way from the world to Nirvana, but they can be involved in worldly affairs. Monks usually do not pray to gods, but laymen ask for help from the gods for everyday life. The shrines of those deities venerated by Sinhalese Buddhists are usually called Devalayas or Devales, which literally translates to "god's house". In contrast, the common name of Tamil shrines is Kovil in India and Sri Lanka alike. There are some instances of Tamil Brahmin priests serving at Sinhalese Devales. There are no Brahmins in the Sinhalese caste system, almost all Brahmins in Sri Lanka are Tamils. The Sinhalese priests at most Devales are called Kapuralas. This is also the case at Kelaniya's Vibhishana shrine. The Vibhishana Devale is open for offerings and worship throughout the day, till late evening. In recent years, it has attracted Ramayana pilgrims from India.
Apart from the designation "Devale" and the service of a Kapurala instead of a Brahmin priest, there is another hint that this shrine is mainly Sinhalese, though it attracts increasingly large numbers of Hindus, too. Vibhishana was usually not worshipped by Hindus. This may come to a surprise, as many characters from the Ramayana - such as Hanuman and Lakshmana - play an important role in the religious life of Hindus in India and Southeast Asia alike. Nevertheless, a specific Vibhishana cult is only found in Sri Lanka, though not in Kelaniya exclusively. Most probably, the largest and most important Vibhishana shrine stood in Kotte, which was the Sinhalese capital in the 15th and 16th century (and now again the official Sri Lankan capital, under the ancient name of "Kotte-Jayawardenapura"). Like many other non-Christian temples in the coastal plains of Sri Lanka, this state temple of the Kotte kingdom was destroyed by the Portuguese. It probably stood at the spot where now the Archaeological Museum of Kotte is situated. Vibhishana had not only more shrines dedicated to him, he also plays a role in Sinhalese literature and art, even prior to the Kotte period.
Apart from the designation "Devale" and the service of a Kapurala instead of a Brahmin priest, there is another hint that this shrine is mainly Sinhalese, though it attracts increasingly large numbers of Hindus, too. Vibhishana was usually not worshipped by Hindus. This may come to a surprise, as many characters from the Ramayana - such as Hanuman and Lakshmana - play an important role in the religious life of Hindus in India and Southeast Asia alike. Nevertheless, a specific Vibhishana cult is only found in Sri Lanka, though not in Kelaniya exclusively. Most probably, the largest and most important Vibhishana shrine stood in Kotte, which was the Sinhalese capital in the 15th and 16th century (and now again the official Sri Lankan capital, under the ancient name of "Kotte-Jayawardenapura"). Like many other non-Christian temples in the coastal plains of Sri Lanka, this state temple of the Kotte kingdom was destroyed by the Portuguese. It probably stood at the spot where now the Archaeological Museum of Kotte is situated. Vibhishana had not only more shrines dedicated to him, he also plays a role in Sinhalese literature and art, even prior to the Kotte period.
Kelaniya paintings by Solias Mendis
Solias Mendis is the most important Sinhalese painter from the late colonial period. He is an exponent of the Buddhist Renaissance. The Buddhist rvival movement was mainly focused on new research and interpretation of classical Buddhist texts and exploration of archaeological and religious sites. But in the course of this search for models from the pre-colonial past, Buddhist painting of the time was more than illustration of religious stories. Solias Mendis deliberately tried to take up the great painting tradition of Anuradhapura, though very little is preserved from that early period. His style clearly breaks with the highly schematic art of Sitara paintings of the Kandy period, in favour of align themes and techniques with ancient models. This is also a reason why his works focus on the Buddha’s life and national history, instead of Jatakas or astrological signs. More importantly, that's why he used natural colors from the forests of Sri Lanka, obtained from flowers, roots, and barks. His compositions have threedimensional spatial depth. Of course, this is owed to European models, too. In terms of style, however, prototypes were also found in South Asia, namely in more recent paintings in Bengal and South India.
Public adoration of the artist experienced is an Indian tradition, too. Such impressive skill could not be explained other than as inspired by Sarasvathi, the Indian goddess of artisans. Solias Mendis’ high reputation in Sri Lanka can be seen in the use terms such as “painter of painters” or “incomparable master” to express high esteem for his work. Due to his personal life, Mendis is almost revered as a kind of saint. He donated his few savings to Dr. Malalasekara, the president of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, which formed an institutional basis of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist Renaissance. Mendis’ condition for the donation was the foundation of a home for the blind. This goal is intimately connected with the good deeds presented in canonical Jataka stories, in one of which King Siviraja sacrifices his eyes to a blind beggar who is the future Buddha. The asylum for the blind named after King Siviraja accordingly. The idea of the artist was to be become beneficent also for those too whom he could not bring joy with his paintings.
Buddhaghosa - classical commentaries
Some larger murals highlight scenes from the life of the Buddha and also from the island nation's history. For example, one of those prominent paintings shows Buddhaghosa handing over three copies of his main work Visuddhimagga to the monks of the Mahavihara Order in Anuradhapura.
Buddhaghosa was a monk of – most probably - South Indian origin, who lived and spend many years in Sri Lanka in the fifth century to study in the Mahavihara in Anuradhapura, where most of his classic works were composed. For Buddhaghosa is considered the greatest scholar of Theravada Buddhism. Actually, he is both the classic systematic theologian and the main commentator in the Pali tradition. He is the author of almost all standard commentary on almost all parts of Buddhist scriptures. Most commentaries of a later date are in fact sub-commmentaries referring to the works of Buddhaghosa. For his Pali commentarties, Buddhaghosa translates earlier Sinhala comments and arranged them somewhat more systematically. It is said that his Pali comments were so convincing that the earlier Sinhala writings were subsequently thrown away. Indeed, hardly any of them have survived. Buddhaghosa's first main work, however, is the Visuddhimagga. There is a similar story concerning the purpose of his work. It is said to have beenh composed in order to test the intellectual skills of Buddhaghosa before committing the commentary work to him. Formally, the Visuddhimagga is a description of the path to salvation to Nirvana in seven steps. However, it offers a systematic and conceptually differentiated presentation of the entire Buddhist teaching and is still considered to be the paradigmatic outline of Theravada philosophy.
Buddhaghosa was a monk of – most probably - South Indian origin, who lived and spend many years in Sri Lanka in the fifth century to study in the Mahavihara in Anuradhapura, where most of his classic works were composed. For Buddhaghosa is considered the greatest scholar of Theravada Buddhism. Actually, he is both the classic systematic theologian and the main commentator in the Pali tradition. He is the author of almost all standard commentary on almost all parts of Buddhist scriptures. Most commentaries of a later date are in fact sub-commmentaries referring to the works of Buddhaghosa. For his Pali commentarties, Buddhaghosa translates earlier Sinhala comments and arranged them somewhat more systematically. It is said that his Pali comments were so convincing that the earlier Sinhala writings were subsequently thrown away. Indeed, hardly any of them have survived. Buddhaghosa's first main work, however, is the Visuddhimagga. There is a similar story concerning the purpose of his work. It is said to have beenh composed in order to test the intellectual skills of Buddhaghosa before committing the commentary work to him. Formally, the Visuddhimagga is a description of the path to salvation to Nirvana in seven steps. However, it offers a systematic and conceptually differentiated presentation of the entire Buddhist teaching and is still considered to be the paradigmatic outline of Theravada philosophy.
Saranankara - Kandyan reform of the Order
In the front hall of the western annex is a large painting by Solias Mendis depicting King Kirthi Sri Rajasingha of Kandy handing over the ivory fan, the insignia of dignity of a chief monk, to the new head of the entire Buddhist Order on the island. Saranankara was the monk introducing a new ordination line from Thailand for the purpose of a monastic reform, thereby becoming the founder of the Syam Nikaya, the Siamese order, which is the oldest of the great Nikayas still existing in Sri Lanka.
Sanghamitta - arrival of the Bo-tree
Small chapel-like rooms branch off in all directions from the corridors of the said western extension. In the southwest corner there is such a shrine with another famous mural painted by Solias Mendis. It depicts a ship landing at the shores of Sri Lanka. A nun on the ship carries a sapling of the Bo-tree, a gift from India’s emperor Ashoka to King Devanampiya Tissa, who can be seen advancing the ship through the ocean to welcome and receive the holy tree as early as possible- The sapling is then transferred to Anuradhapura in a large procession.
The nun Sanghamitta, daughter of the Indian emperor Aschoka, arrived on the island for two reasons. Ashoka had given her an offshoot of the tree from Bodhgaya, under which the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. But he only did so after her long urge to go on a mission trip. She not only brought the sapling to Sri Lanka but also founded the order of the nuns on the island, just as her brother Mahinda had established the order of monks in Sri Lanka a year earlier on. Nuns are called Bikkunis, monks are Bikkhus. The ordination line introduced by Sanghamitta has not survived. But today there are consecrated Bikkhunis in Sri Lanka again. Their re-ordination from East Asia is now recognized by most of the monastic Orders in Sri Lanka. The commemoration day for Sanghamitta’s arrival in Sri Lanka is the winter solstice.
Hemamali - arrival of the Tooth Relic
Another major event in the island’s Buddhist history is the later arrival of a relic that in the course of the centuries became even more venerated than the Bo-tree, namely the Tooth Relic, now kept safely in the temple of the same name in Kandy. Originally, it was brought to Anuradhapura, too, half a millennium after the arrival of the Bo-tree. Legend states that after the demise of the Buddha, his canine was preserved in Kalinga. But when Kalinga was threatened by Hindu troops. King Guhasiva instructed Princess Hemamali and her husband, Prince Dantha, to smuggle the relic to Sri Lanka secretely. She had kept hidden the sacred tooth in her hair, when she finally arrived on the island during the reign of King Sirimeghavanna in the early 4th century AD. Tellingly, it was the Abhayagiri monastery, the even larger rival of the older Mahavihara monastery, which was appointed custodianship of the newly introduced relic. Solias Mendis’ Kelaniya painting depicting Hemamali and her husband, with an aureole only surrounding the relic in the increased head of hair, has inspired several later illustrations of the same event, particularly those found in the Tooth Temple in Kandy.
