Pottuvil - Sri Lanka's widest stretch of sand dunes
Pottuvil, also spelt Pothuvil or Poththuvil, is a coastal town in Ampara District close to Arugam Bay. Like Arugam Bay, it has become a popular surf destination after the civil war. Pottuvil’s coast is the widest stretch of sand dunes in Sri Lanka, partly covering the Mudu Mahavihara archaeological site.
Pottuvil is a predominantly Muslim town in the south of the Ampara District of the Eastern Province. The A4 east coast road from Batticaloa turns inland here to Monaragala.
Pottuvil has anything but an interesting cityscape to offer, but a very extensive and undeveloped or overcrowded dune landscape that forms the northern end of the popular beach resort of Arugam Bay. In the northern part of the town and the dune fields, there is accommodation of a higher standard than in Arugam Bay.
Pottuvil Beach competes with Kirinda for the claim to be the landing site of Vihara Mahadevi, who was launched into the sea on a boat by her father, the King of the West, she was intended to be abandoned and sacrificed to appease the raging ocean. But the princess washed up in the southern kingdom of Rohana. She then was married by the local king Kavantissa and became the mother of Dutthagamani and Saddhatissa, who later on became the Sinhalese national heroes by conquering Anuradhapura. On the east coast it is believed that the princess’ boat was stranded in Pottuvil and that Vihara Mahadevi's wedding to the king took place in nearby Lahugala. This new name, given to her upon arrival, reminds us that her boat landed on a beach with a temple. And this temple, as people know in the Eastern Province, is the ancient temple of Pottuvil.
Pottuvil has anything but an interesting cityscape to offer, but a very extensive and undeveloped or overcrowded dune landscape that forms the northern end of the popular beach resort of Arugam Bay. In the northern part of the town and the dune fields, there is accommodation of a higher standard than in Arugam Bay.
Pottuvil Beach competes with Kirinda for the claim to be the landing site of Vihara Mahadevi, who was launched into the sea on a boat by her father, the King of the West, she was intended to be abandoned and sacrificed to appease the raging ocean. But the princess washed up in the southern kingdom of Rohana. She then was married by the local king Kavantissa and became the mother of Dutthagamani and Saddhatissa, who later on became the Sinhalese national heroes by conquering Anuradhapura. On the east coast it is believed that the princess’ boat was stranded in Pottuvil and that Vihara Mahadevi's wedding to the king took place in nearby Lahugala. This new name, given to her upon arrival, reminds us that her boat landed on a beach with a temple. And this temple, as people know in the Eastern Province, is the ancient temple of Pottuvil.
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Sandwiched between the settlement and the dunes is the city's main art-historical attraction, the Mudu Mahavihara (also spelled Mudhu Mahavihara or Moodu Maha Viharaya). It is an ancient monastery complex that was originally much larger than today's ruins of only small area size. A large part of the old monastery is likely to have been buried under the dunes. In the dune field itself you can only see a modest dagoba and a few stumps of columns and fragments of brick walls.
At the western foot of the dunes is the Mudu Mahavihara image house, which is well worth seeing. An image house, also called a statue house, is a temple for worshiping a Buddha statue. The Pali name for image house is Patimaghara, the Sinhalese name Pilimage. Through a smaller vestibule at the entrance side in the east visitors enter an approximately square room for the statue, which is wide enough to be able to ritually transform the statue.
At the western foot of the dunes is the Mudu Mahavihara image house, which is well worth seeing. An image house, also called a statue house, is a temple for worshiping a Buddha statue. The Pali name for image house is Patimaghara, the Sinhalese name Pilimage. Through a smaller vestibule at the entrance side in the east visitors enter an approximately square room for the statue, which is wide enough to be able to ritually transform the statue.
In Pottuvil’s Pilimage there is not just one statue, but a group of three, fortunately all of them are still in situ. The number three is nothing unusual in itself. An ensemble of three can already be seen in one of the oldest known Pilimages, the Picchamal Vihara in Medirigiriya, and in the Polonnaruwa period groups of three statues were even the norm. But such groups of three usually consist of three statues in a row, parallel side by side, all facing equally toward the entrance. In the Pottuvil pilimage, however, they stand in a triangle so that the two accompanying figures have their backs half turned to the entrance and their faces looking towards the main statue.
In this way, the figures seem to communicate with each other. However, one should think less about a small discussion group than about the smaller side figures paying homage to the central one.
This main statue is a Buddha, somewhat weathered but completely preserved and with an almost ornamental-looking robe fold. Unlike in Medirigiriya and Polonnaruwa, the secondary figures are not Buddhas, but Bodhisattvas (saviours in Mahayana Buddhism), recognizable by their high crowns of hair. Like other Boshisattva statues, they do not wear the monk's robe, nor are they bare-chested, but have a tight-fitting shirt. In addition to the hair crown, the wearing of necklaces and belts is typical of Bodhisattva representations.
Actually, most of the larger-than-life statues in the ancient kingdom of Rohana, which was the southern settlement area of the ancient Sinhalese civilization, are Mahayana Buddhist-inspired Bodhisattvas and not actually Buddhas. And the motif of the Buddha flanked by Bodhisattvas is also familiar from other archaeological sites in southern Sri Lanka, for example from Buduruwagala. Nevertheless, it remains unusual for a group of three Buddhas and Bodhisattvas not to be placed next to each other.
Usually, whenever two Bodhisattvas accompanying the Buddha, those two are Maitreya, called Metteya in Pali, and Avalokiteschwara, often revered as the deity Natha in Sri Lanka.
Since the end of the civil war, Pottuvil has again been a popular destination for Sinhalese, who like to combine their social weekend trips with a religious pilgrimage. Pottuvil, as the site of Vihara Mahadevi's landing on an attractive dune coast, lends itself to this combination of religious practice and leisure enjoyment. Accordingly, a newer Buddhist shrine with a colourful image house and a Bo-Tree terrace can now be seen on the grounds of the Mudu Mahavihara.
Hindu Tamils also travel to Pottuvil as pilgrims at times. The Pada Yatra, the traditional pilgrimage route from Jaffna to Kataragama along the entire east coast of the island, passes through Pottuvil. During the civil war, these traditional pilgrimages were severely restricted, but up to 10,000 pilgrims still traveled during those years. The pilgrimage with fixed stops begins 45 days before the start of the Kataragama festival in Jaffna and reaches Pottuvil about a week before the festival opens.
The dunes of Pottuvil do have their vegetation, including trees that provide some shade. Surprisingly, the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which the Sinhalese call Kohomba, grows on the sandy ground. Neem is native to the dry regions of South Asia, but is now also planted in other parts of the world. The wood is known for its antiseptic active ingredients, which have been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.
In this way, the figures seem to communicate with each other. However, one should think less about a small discussion group than about the smaller side figures paying homage to the central one.
This main statue is a Buddha, somewhat weathered but completely preserved and with an almost ornamental-looking robe fold. Unlike in Medirigiriya and Polonnaruwa, the secondary figures are not Buddhas, but Bodhisattvas (saviours in Mahayana Buddhism), recognizable by their high crowns of hair. Like other Boshisattva statues, they do not wear the monk's robe, nor are they bare-chested, but have a tight-fitting shirt. In addition to the hair crown, the wearing of necklaces and belts is typical of Bodhisattva representations.
Actually, most of the larger-than-life statues in the ancient kingdom of Rohana, which was the southern settlement area of the ancient Sinhalese civilization, are Mahayana Buddhist-inspired Bodhisattvas and not actually Buddhas. And the motif of the Buddha flanked by Bodhisattvas is also familiar from other archaeological sites in southern Sri Lanka, for example from Buduruwagala. Nevertheless, it remains unusual for a group of three Buddhas and Bodhisattvas not to be placed next to each other.
Usually, whenever two Bodhisattvas accompanying the Buddha, those two are Maitreya, called Metteya in Pali, and Avalokiteschwara, often revered as the deity Natha in Sri Lanka.
Since the end of the civil war, Pottuvil has again been a popular destination for Sinhalese, who like to combine their social weekend trips with a religious pilgrimage. Pottuvil, as the site of Vihara Mahadevi's landing on an attractive dune coast, lends itself to this combination of religious practice and leisure enjoyment. Accordingly, a newer Buddhist shrine with a colourful image house and a Bo-Tree terrace can now be seen on the grounds of the Mudu Mahavihara.
Hindu Tamils also travel to Pottuvil as pilgrims at times. The Pada Yatra, the traditional pilgrimage route from Jaffna to Kataragama along the entire east coast of the island, passes through Pottuvil. During the civil war, these traditional pilgrimages were severely restricted, but up to 10,000 pilgrims still traveled during those years. The pilgrimage with fixed stops begins 45 days before the start of the Kataragama festival in Jaffna and reaches Pottuvil about a week before the festival opens.
The dunes of Pottuvil do have their vegetation, including trees that provide some shade. Surprisingly, the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which the Sinhalese call Kohomba, grows on the sandy ground. Neem is native to the dry regions of South Asia, but is now also planted in other parts of the world. The wood is known for its antiseptic active ingredients, which have been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.
