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TEMPLE OF TOOTH (DALADA MALIGAWA)
The Temple of Tooth houses the most important part of Buddha relics, the sacred tooth of the Lord of Buddha. The tooth was said to be taken from the flames of Buddha's funeral pyre in 543 BC and was smuggled into the island during the 4th century AD, hidden in the hair of princess. The tooth was moved from place to place, up and down Sri Lanka from Anuradhapura , the first place, eventually to Kandy .
The Temple of Tooth started constructing in 1687 and finished in 1782. It is an imposing pink-painted structure, surrounded by a deep moat. The octagonal tower inside the moat was built to house the important collection of Ola (palm-leaf) manuscripts however this section was heavily damaged by the 1998 bomb blast. Person wearing shorts is not allowed to enter in this temple and shoes must be removed before entering.
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This dagoba is unusual. It is not round like those found in most parts of the island, but shaped like a heap of paddy. The history of the temple dates back to over 2,500 years. It is believed that Buddha visited here and preached from a jewelled chair to warring factions on the futillity of fighting. The original dagoba was said to have enshrined the chair but was later destroyed by South Indian invaders.
The reclining Buddha and the Buddha in meditative pose are two important statues here, but it is possible to spend hours just looking at the extraoridinary frescoes depicting the life of the Buddha and important events in the island's history.
There is the story of King Kelanitissa who boiled a Buddhist monk alive in oil because he suspected him of trying to pass a love letter to the Queen. The angry gods raised tidal waves and the King was told that the only way to appease the gods was to sacrifice his daughter to the sea. the King obeyed the wishes of the wise ones; the seas calmed and the daughter who was swept out to sea on a boat landed at Kirinda. King Kavantissa of the south married her and she became the mother of perhaps the best known of the island's kings, Dutugemunnu.
The temple is a hive of activity on the full moon of January, when hundreds of elephants and thousands of dancers parade the strets during the Duruthu Perehera festival.
MAHIYANGANA RAJA MAHA VIHARAYA.
This Cetiya (stupa) was built during the lifetime of Lord Buddha enshrining the lock of hair given by Him to God Saman an the occasion of His first visit to Sri Lanka , 9 months after attaining enlightenment. It is the first ever stupa to be constructed in Sri Lanka .
It was enlarged by Arhat Sarabhu to a Cetiya 12 cubits high after receiving and enshrining the collar bone relic of the Buddha taken from the funeral pyre. The son of King Devanampiyatissa's brother, for greater protection, covered it over and made it thirty cubits high. King Dutugemunu -(161-137 BC). dwelling there, while fighting the invading forces of the Tamits, enlarged it to eighty cubits high. It was subsequently rebuilt by Vijayabahu 1 (1055-1110 CE) and restored again during modern times.
THE SRI MAHA BODHIYA
The Sri Maha Bodhi Tree is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world (2,200 years). It is the right branch of the very tree beneath which, at Buddha Gaya in North [India, Lord Buddha gained enlightenment, and was brought to Sri Lanka in the 3rd Century BC by Princess Sanghamitta, sister of the Arhant Mahinda, who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka.
RUWANVELISAYA ( Anuradhapura )
Commonly referred to as the Maha Stup.A, wbrk on it was commenced by King Dutugemunu and completed by King Sadda Tissa (137-119B.C.) For the relic enshrinement ceremony Arahants came from. all Buddhist countries at the time, which included India , Kashmira , Persia , Alexandria . OF the 6 dronas (a certain measure of capacity), of 'the bodily relics of Lord Buddha, one drona of sacred relics is ensbrined here. The Cetiya is 338 feet high.
MIHINTALA RAJA MAHA VIHARA ( Anuradhapura )
Situated 8 Miles from Anuradhapura , Mihintale is the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka . It was here that in the 3rd Century BC. Arhant Mahinda met King Devanam Piyatissa who was out hunting, and converted him to Buddhism.Mihintale became the abode of Arhant Mahinda and 3,000monks. The Mihintate rock is honeycombed with shrines and caves where the monks lived. A stairway of 1840 wide steps leads from the bottom of the rock to the summit.
The Sela Catiya, The Kantahka Cetiya, Ambasthale Dagoba, Maha Seya endikatu Dagoba are all in this temple complex.
The Urna Lome, the sacred hair relic between the eyebrows, is said to be enshrined in Sela Cetiya.
ALUVIHARA
This rock monastery en route to Dambulla is supposedly the place where Buddha's teachings were first recorded on the old Pali leaf-manuscripts. But most people are attracted to the scenes that vividly depict the cruel punishments that lie in store after death for all those who have sinned in this life. So beware!
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ADAM'S PEAK
Many thousands devotees make the arduous climb up the peak during the season that spans December to May to worship the imprint of Lord Buddha's foot, which he reportedly left on the peak on a visit to the island during his lifetime, 2500 years ago. Muslims and Christians on the other hand believe the footprint was left by Adam, hence the name, Adam's Peak .
The climb up to the peak begins at night; groups of pilgrim's climb together in the cold, singing prayers as they toil up the steps. At dawn the spectacle of the mountains shadow across the western plains makes the climb worthwhile. Full moon days attract more devotees than usual.
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ST. ANNE'S SHRINE, TALAWILA.
St. Anne's Talawila, is one of the most ancient Christian Shrines of Sri Lana. Its origin is convered in the midst of tradition. There are two accounts of it, the most popular of which says that a European trader, traveling in a ship dedicated to St. Anne, was shipwrecked off the coast of Talawila in the early half of the 18th century. As the place where they managed to land was inhospitable, they were looking out for a place of rest. They espied a large banyan tree at a distance. Thither they went together with the statue of St. Anne which they had in their possession. This image, they deposited in the tree. The Master of the ship vowed to return and build a church if his business prospered. The European trader obviously met with success as he desired, and kept his word by building a church at the place where the statue of St. Anne had been deposited.
As the number of pilgrims from all parts of Sri Lanka flocking to the Shrine kept on increasing, the necessity for a larger church was felt. In 1837, the foundation for a new church was laid by Padre Catean but the major part of the work was left for Padre Neronha to complete. Both these Fathers were Goans from the Oratory founded by Ven. Fr. Joseph Vaz the Apostle of Sri Lanka. In the year 1848, the Shrine came under the administration of the OMI Fathers. The Shrine owes much of its spiritual and temporal progress to two great Oblates: Fr. Theophilus Andrew Melizan (Later Bishop) and Mgr. Christopher Bonjean (Later Archbishop of Colombo). Since 1939, the Shrine has been administered by the Diocesan Clergy of the Chilaw Diocese. Its first Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Edmund Peiris, spared no pains to make the Shrine a radiating Centre of Catholic spirituality not forgetful of material improvements to it. The present Bishop of Chilaw, Rt. Rev. Dr. F. Marcus Fernando, opened a convent of Rosarian Nuns at the Shrine.
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ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH – Kochchikade
St. Anthony's Kochchikade is one of the best-known Churches in the Archdiocese of Colombi, both to Christians and non-Christians. Declared as a national shrine within the Archdiocese it is a Church that always has devotees seeking the assistance of the Saint. The site on which the Church was built brings into focus both the difficulty the people had to preserve their faith during the persecution by the Dutch East India Company which ruled the Maritime Provinces and the conviction of the people in their religion. The origin of the Church is accorded to Fr. Antonio. He was a companion to Joseph Vaz and had been assigned to minister to the religious needs of the Catholics in Colombo . He resided in a small house near Philip Neri's Church in Pettah and whilst working as a labourer during the day, in the nights he held service for the faithful. One day on hearing that the Dutch soldiers aware of his residence were coming to arrest him, Fr. Antonio fled towards Kotahena. Some fishermen recognized him. The erosion of the sea, which prevented them from drying their nets, and promised him protection, if he could intercede from his God forth sea to recede, frustrated them. The priest surrounded by the fishermen and the soldiers who had by then arrived, prayed and the sea receded. The Dutch soldiers reported the incident to the Governor who gave the priest the land. He built on it a small hut and since the priest was from Cochin , the land was referred to as the place in which the Cohin had a shop hence the name Kochchikade. The present Church according to the Historical Sketch given by DJB Kuruppu was blessed on the 1st of June 1834 , 'This Church is a material link with the past. The little mud hut put up by Fr. Antonio lasted till 1806, when it was enlarged. In 1822 the statue of St. Anthony was brought from Goa and placed in the altar of the small chapel. This is the statue that is venerated and though the altar on which it rests today is the side altar, it was the original altar of the old Church. It stands on the very spot sanctified by the miracle to which the origin of the statue is due."
The deep affection people have for the Churc is such that when Governor Macallum wanted to acquire the land for the Port, the Colombo Port Improvement Commission recommended against it saying "The Church is held in peculiar veneration by the native Roman Catholic population, not only of the western littoral but of the whole Island . It is visited daily by numerous pilgrims-there is specially a large attendance on Tuesday."
Above the Main Altar the statue of St. Anthony is surrounded by traditional motifs designed in brass and on either side are circular plaques representing the Sun and the Moon.
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KATHIRKAMAM MOSQUE (Kataragama)
is amply testified by the thousands of Muslim pilgrims who go there annually even from distant places far beyond the shores of blessed Serendib. A simple yet powerful Mosque & Shrine there are intimately associated in quranic and pre-quranic lore with Hazarat Khizr (alai), 'The Green Man', identified with the mysterious servant of Allah and holy teacher of prophet Musa (Moses) spoken of in the Holy Quran (Sura Khalf 'The Cave'), is believed to be the discoverer of the Ma'ul Hayat or Water of Life
The heart of the 'Khizr region' of Serendib, therefore is none other than Kathirkamam or Khizr-gama as the place is also known among Sri Lankan Muslims, many of whom, remarkably, claim to have seen the ancient living prophet Hayat Nabi (Arabic: 'living prophet') or Khizr himself. To this day, the reputed site of the Ma'ul Hayat in Kathirkamam is occupied by an old Islamic house of prayer also known as Khizr Maqaam or 'the (spiritual) station of al-Khizr.'
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MUNNESWARAM KOWIL - Chilaw
The Munneswaram temple, dedicated to Lord Ishwara, is reminiscent of other celebrated and renowned temples like Koneswaram and Thiruketheeswaram, in which, three Sivalingams are enshrined.
Munneswaram has preserved its sylvan charm and enchantment, with the scenic surroundings _ with vast acres of paddy _ and hemmed in by tanks, which irrigate all farming and cultivation there.
Looking back to the festival legend of this glorious Hindu shrine, Munneswaram is regarded as one of the oldest Hindu temples in the island. And it has a strange origin; and according to legend, Rama, after slaying Ravana, was returning to India with Sita in his "Air chariot,'' when, impulsively, a desperate feeling of guilt gripped him.
Lord Siva, according to legend, had pointed to a place north of the Mayavan Aru (Mee Oya), and told him to enshrine the relic. And Rama built the temple at the exact spot, which is now known as Munneswaram. The festival, too, is obscured in antiquity, and according to legend, one full-moon night, in the month of Nikini, a sage who was meditating under a banyan tree looked up and saw the goddess Amman , the mother of Skanda, who granted him his wishes.
He asked her to bless all the pilgrims assembled there for worship, and ever afterwards, that August night, a great festival was held in memory of the meeting of Agastiar, the sage and Amman , and is continued to the present day.
All amenities are provided for the satisfaction of pilgrims. At the conclusion of the festival, the hamlet of Munneswaram reposes once again to tranquillity and dormancy.
TIRUKONESWARAM KOVIL – Trincomalee
One of the oldest kovils in this country, Koneswaram temple, as it is popularly called, was rebuilt , on Swami Rock, on the site of the earlier one, which was zealously destroyed by the Portuguese in the 17th century. The remains of the old temple still lie on the sea bed., with the exception by drivers and installed in the new temple in the 1960's.
SEETHA AMMAN KOVIL
7 km on the Nuwara Eliya – Bandarawela Road , bordering the Hakkgala District Nature Reserve, is the area called Seetha Eliya, where a quaint little devala is found by the side of the road at a slightly lower elevation by a stream.
The Devala “Seetha Amman Kovil” is the only one in Sri Lanka (or maybe in the whole world) dedicated to Seetha, Queen of Rama of the famous Indian Epic called Ramayanaya. According to the epic, Ravana, King of Sri Lanka, abducted Seetha and brought her here in his wooden flying machine “Dandu-Monara”. She was kept in hiding in the 13 palaces of Ravana; until her lover Rama came here with an army of monkeys (lead by Hanuman, the Monkey-God) and rescued her. In the Devala are the statues of Seetha, Rama, Hanuman, and Lakshmana, represented as gods. Seetha Eliya is the area where she used to go for bathing. A cave on the summit of Hakgala is believed to be one of the hiding places, and the Nature Reserve is believed to be the “Ashok Vanaya” of the Ramayanaya.
MARI AMMAN KOVIL
This ancient Hindu temple is dedicated to the worship of Mariamman, the goddess who embraces the force of the earth and the fire of the chakra. Her devotees are urged to let go of any links and worldly concerns. She is worshipped for cures of lethal diseases and she has even a place of worship in Antwerp .
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