Anuradhapura: The city of Anuradha (Part II)
By Ama H. Vanniarachchy
Anuradhapura is considered the longest-lasting capital city on the island. When Anuradhapura was the capital of Sri Lanka, the island witnessed its golden era, in many aspects. Anuradhapura, while serving as the capital city of Sri Lanka, was the centre of Theravada Buddhism and the Sinhala – Buddhist civilisation and culture that has lasted till to date in the island.
Ancient Rajarata and Ruhunu Rata
During the time of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, the northern plain on which Anuradhapura was located was referred to as Rajarata (the land/country of the kings). Thus, the civilisation that was centred at Anuradhapura and then Polonnaruwa was referred to as the Rajarata Civilisation.
Rivers were the ancient land borders that marked the boundaries of ancient administrative divisions of Sri Lanka. The Mahaweli River was one of the major boundaries that would demarcate the boundaries of ancient Sri Lanka’s administrative divisions. The northern part of the Mahaweli River was Rajarata and the southern part was the Ruhunu Rata.
As Prof. Chandra Wickramagamage writes in Rajarata Praveniya the term ‘Rajarata’ was in use for an administrative division until the end of the 12th century. The provinces located north to Anuradhapura and the ancient Dakkina Deshaya (modern-day North Western Province) were part of the ancient Rajarata administrative division.
He further states that the term ‘Rajarata’ referring to an administrative division was not practically in use after the demise of the Rajarata Civilisation or after the collapse of the capital city Polonnaruwa. This was because the Sinhala capital was shifted towards the Northwest of the island.
Since then, the ancient Rajarata has been referred to as the Pihiti Rata or the land/country where the civilisation’s major eight religious and most sacred eight places were located, such as the Sri Maha Bodhi tree, Lovamahapaya, Ruwanweliseya, Thuparama, Mirisawetiya, Abyagiriya, Lankarama, and Jetavanarama (Atamasthana).
Prof. Wickramagamage also says that the administrative divisions; Ruhunu, Maya, Pihiti came into use after the end of the 12th century, with the demise of the Rajarata civilisation.
Modern-day Jaffna Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Polonnaruwa districts, and parts of Batticaloa and Kurunegala districts belonged to the ancient Pihiti Rata.
Historical records, archaeological remains, coins, and inscriptions as well as folklore clearly suggest that during the time Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa were capital cities in Sri Lanka, the entire island (except for a few instances where invaders were in Anuradhapura or Polonnaruwa) was under the rule of the king of Rajarata. This practice continued until the Kingdom of Kandy, which was the last kingdom of Sri Lanka.
Anuradhagrama and an Indo – Aryan prince
Anuradhapura was established as a village by an Indo – Aryan prince named Anuradha in the 6th century or the 5th century BCE, who arrived in the island with Vijaya. This group is the first known Aryan group that migrated to the island and settled. Following Vijaya, three more large Arayan groups migrated to Sri Lanka. Vijaya was probably the name given to him meaning, the ‘Victorious One’ as he was successful in sustainably establishing himself as the first King of the Sinhala Kingdom and establishing his dynasty as the first known royal dynasty or the ruling family of Sri Lanka.
Vijaya’s name is believed to be Sinhala; thus, his descendants were known as the Sinhalese or the Sinhala people. He ruled in the Thambapanni kingdom from 543 to 505 BCE, located in the modern-day Puttalam District. His capital is known to be Upatissagrama. Upatissagrama was founded by a minister of Vijaya, Upatissa.
Anuradha, another minister under Vijaya’s newly-established kingdom of Thambapanni, founded a village on the banks of the Malwatu River. It was named after him, Anuradhagrama – the Village of Anuradha. Little did he know that this little village of his, would one day become Sri Lanka’s greatest city, a great urban centre of which the glory would spread across the contemporary world, and would become the hub of a glorious civilisation and that not only the city but an entire civilisation as well would be named after it. Minister Anuradha laid the foundation stones of a great city and civilisation that would last more than 1,500 years.
The second Aryan group that migrated to Sri Lanka was the group of princesses and royal maidens who arrived on the island to be brides to Vijaya and his ministers.
The third was the arrival of Prince Panduvasudeva, the son of King Sumitta (brother of Vijaya). Panduvasudeva ruled Sri Lanka as King Panduvasudeva from Upatissagrama (504 – 474 BCE).
The fourth and the last known Aryan group to migrate to Sri Lanka was a group of Shakyans including Princess Baddhakachchana. They were close blood relations of the Siddhartha Gautama Buddha and it is said that they arrived as they were escaping the Shakya Kingdom to avoid the execution they were facing in their homeland.
Princess Baddhakachchana had a brother named Anuradha. Prince Anuradha also settled in Anuradhagrama, where he built a palace and a tank.
Malwatu Oya: The river that gave life to a civilisation
Minister Anuradha and other ministers of Vijaya chose fertile river banks to establish villages. Anuradha chose Malwatu Oya which flows through the North Central Province. It is said to have originated at the Ritigala and Inamaluwa hills. The 162 km long river, which is the second longest river in Sri Lanka, flows towards the northwest and enters the sea at Arippu in Mannar, at the Gulf of Mannar. Malwatu Oya is known to be a seasonal river. The river basin covers an area of 3,284 square kilometres. Tributaries of the Malwatu Oya are known to be the Kanadara Oya, Maminiya Oya, Kadahatu Oya, Kal Oya and Narivili Oya.
The Malwatu Oya and its tributary rivers nourish the land where they flow and supply water to many hundreds of small, medium, and giant tanks and channels across the area.
Anuradha constellation
The Mahavamsa says that the city was built on the Anuradha constellation or Anuradha Nekatha, which is an auspicious time in astrology. According to Hindu astrology, the literal meaning of Anuradha is ‘following Radha’. The Anuradha constellation is placed after Vishakha, the birth star of Goddess Radha. In astrology, this nekatha is described as a powerful and auspicious one, and work and constructions built on this constellation are said to be successful, long-lasting, and sustaining.
Pandukabhaya’s Anuradhapura: Anuradhagrama becomes Anuradhapura
The next stage of Building Anuradhapura is attributed to the time of King Pandukabhaya (437 – 367 BCE).
In A Concise History of Ceylon book, Prof. Senarath Paranavitana, and C.W. Nicholas write that Prince Pandukabhaya did not want to settle in Upatissagrama which was the capital of his ancestors and previous kings Vijaya (Sinhala), Upatissa, Panduvasudeva, and Abaya as he and his mother had unpleasant memories around Upatissagrama. Therefore, he marched towards Anuradhagrama with his victorious army, where his grandfather Prince Anuradha lived. Anuradha handed over his village to Prince Pandukabhaya. Pandukabhaya made Anuradhagrama not only his place of residence but also his administration centre and the new capital city of the island.
The Mahavamsa and other ancient Pali and Sinhala chronicles describe in great detail the planning and development of Anuradhagrama by Pandukabhaya and how he upgraded the village into a more developed city. According to the chronicles, it was Pandukabhaya who first built a ‘city’ in Anuradhapura, while he was living in the old palace that was given to him by his grandfather Anuradha.
The first irrigation work in Anuradhapura
The first recorded tank in Anuradhapura was constructed by Prince Anuradha. It is said that he built a tank and built a palace in the southern direction of this tank.
The second and third recorded irrigation work was by King Pandukabhaya. He purified the royal Sesath (Chathra or royal umbrellas) of his uncle, the former king Abaya, at a lake named Swayanjatha Wila at Anuradhapura and held his coronation using the water of this lake. Later, he dug the lake further, deepened it, and filled it with water. As his coronation was held using the water of this lake, the lake was named the Jaya Wewa (the Victorious tank). Historians say that this tank has not yet been identified.
He also built the Abaya Wewa (Abaya tank) in Anuradhapura, which is considered the first record man-made tank in Sri Lanka. Today, this tank is also known as Basawakkulama in Tamil, a distorted version of its original name.
Pandukabhaya tightens the security of his new city
Pandukabhaya also tightened the security of his newly-built city by appointing his uncle, former king Abaya, as the Night Guardian of the City. This position is known as Nagaraguttika in Sinhala. It is said that from that time onward, there was a night guardian in the capital city.
The Chandala village and Chandala cemetery
The Mahavamsa further explains that the king allocated a separate area in the city for the Chandalas (Sadol caste) who were engaged in the cleaning tasks. He had assigned 500 chandalas for the task of city cleaning, 200 for garbage cleaning, and 150 for carrying corpses in the city. Another 150 were assigned to guard and maintain the cemetery. He arranged a settlement for the Chandalas towards the northwest of the cemetery. On the northern side of the Chandala village, the cemetery of the Chandalas was built. Further north of this cemetery, between two small hills, houses for the Veddas were built.
Pandukabhaya assigns various Yakka leaders places to settle in the city
Pandukabhaya settled the Kalawela Yakkha who helped him, on the east side of the city and Chithraraja Yakka at the lower end of the Abaya tank. The Yakshi at Dimbulagala (Dumrakgala) who was the wife of a powerful Yaksha leader Juthindhara was allowed to live within the premises of the king’s royal palace.
Pandukabhaya builds various religious places in Anuradhapura
The maid who helped the infant and young prince Pandukabhaya is said to be born as a Yakshi after her death; hence the king had built a shrine in her name at the South gate of the city. What we understand here is that Yakka worship was a cult in ancient pre-Buddhist Sri Lanka and our ancestors believed that a person would be born as a Yakkha or Yakshi after death. These beliefs still prevail among the Sinhalese as well as the Veddas.
The other Yakkas and Yakshi mentioned in the story of Pandukabhaya should be understood as descendants of the Yaksha tribe that lived in Sri Lanka during the time of the arrival of the Indo – Aryans. Pandukabhaya ascended the throne with the help of these native tribes as well as his own Indo – Aryan people and established a new civilisation in the country, centring Anuradhapura as the hub of this new native Indo –Aryan Sinhala Race. Hence, King Pandukabhaya is a significant king in the course of Sri Lankan history.
It is also said that the king paid tribute and sacrifices to these Yakka leaders who helped him during his dark days. It is not clear if the chronicle says that he paid tribute and sacrifices to living tribal leaders or to dead ancestors. Perhaps it was both.
In the north direction from the Vedda village, till towards the Gamunu Tank, the king built ashrams for various hermits. Towards the east of the city cemetery, the house of the Jothiya Niganta (Jain) was built. Giri Niganta and various other Nigantas, Pashandas, and Shramanas resided in this area of the city.
The king also built a shrine (devala) for Kumbanda Niganta. Around 500 families of various beliefs were given houses in the area that was located towards the west of the Niganta residences. A Paribrajakarama was built in between the area of Gamunu Tank and Jothiya Niganta’s house. A house for the Ajiwakas was also built by the king along with a house for the Brahmins.
To be continued…
