BUDDHISM IN THE UDARATA KINGDOM

Aik TC SG

July 28, 2015, 5:53 pm The Island KAMALIKA PIERIS

Udarata took on the responsibility of protecting Buddhism when the Maritime Provinces went under Christian rule in the 17th century. The Tooth relic was brought to the capital city, by Wimaladharmasuriya I and the king became its custodian. The major places of traditional worship such as Anuradhapura, Mahiyangana, Sri Pada were in Udarata territory and Udarata kings took responsibility for their maintenance.

There was a deep loyalty to Buddhism in the Udarata. Knox (1659-1679) observed that Udarata inhabitants had a ‘Budu Ge’ in their garden, where they ‘lay flowers, food and candles every morning’. The public made regular pilgrimages to Anuradhapura to worship at the Sri Maha Bodhi. Knox said ‘pilgrims set up tents around the Tree, there are dancers and jugglers, and the women dress in their best. Ceremonies are always in the night, and last three or four days till the full moon.’ People gifted land to temples. Pahalavela kumbura was offered to Atkande vihara by Teliyaskatuwe lekam and Maddumaya (Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1933). Temples such as Hanguranketa potgul viharaya, Mahiyangana vihara and Alu vihare, Matale held annual peraheras.

Udarata had ‘rock cut’ viharas, with the stupa hidden inside a cave and attention centering on the image house. Selected temples from different parts of the kingdom were elevated to Raja maha viharas. The five great Raja maha viharas were Medawala, Gangaramaya, Dambulla, Ridi and Degaldoruwa. Royal endowments and private donations made these temples very rich. Villagers also built temples. Damunumeya vihara was built by the prominent villagers of the Damunumeya village, in Hanguranketa. Naranvita vihara was built by the villagers in the reign of Narendrasinha (1709-1739).

Udarata made a major contribution to Buddhism by re-establishing the upasampada which had died out in the 16th century. Burmese bhikkus brought upasampada in 1597, 1602 and 1697, but a permanent upsampada only came in 1753 when Thai bhikkus arrived and helped to create the Siyam Nikaya. This Nikaya claimed unbroken succession from Anuradhapura‘s Maha Vihara, since the Thai bhikkus came from the ‘Sihala sangha’ of Siam.

Malvatu and Asgiriya were made the centres of the Siyam Nikaya. Each had a Mahanayake, appointed by the king, with two anunayakes. Kirti Sri Rajasinha (1747-82) then placed all temples in the island under Malwatu and Asgiri. Malwatu was given control over the solosmasthana (Anuradhapura) Sri Pada, Ridi vihara and all temples in the Maritime Provinces. Asgiri had Polonnaruwa, Mahiyangana, Mutiyangana and Dambulla temples. The Mahanayakes, assisted by a committee representing the main monasteries within each division, had supervisory powers over the monasteries and bhikkus under their control. Impious monks were expelled, succession issues examined. ‘In few parts of the world is the establishment of religion more regularly organized than in Ceylon,’ said Davy in 1821.

Velivita Saranankara, (1698-1778) sangharaja of Siyam Nikaya played a major role in the Buddhist revival. He ensured that Siyam Nikaya produced well trained, disciplined bhikkus by establishing training centers with set syllabuses and study guides. The bhikkus emerged with a sound knowledge of Buddhism and a sound training in preaching. They returned to their temples and did good work. Abeyawardana (2004) notes that Tumpane, Weligodapola, Kalatuwawa, Dunkumbura, Miningamuwa, and Gurudeniya and other village temples, were given preaching halls and tampita viharas.

Siyam Nikaya produced scholarly bhikkus. Saranankara laid great stress on correct grammar. Grammars and dictionaries were prepared. Bhikkus acquired a sound knowledge of Pali, Sanskrit and Sinhala and developed very good composition skills. Some won special praise for this. They also acquired knowledge of astronomy, poetics (chandas alankaraya), medicine, astrology, and law (artha nithi sastraya). Those who came from the Maritime Provinces went back to their temples and began a literary and religious revival there, centering on Matara.

The first three Vaduga kings, starting with Vijaya Rajasinha, have not been given sufficient credit for reviving Buddhism in the island. The argument that they were secretly Hindu, and only gave lip service to Buddhism cannot be sustained. They had studied Buddhism and they were practicing Buddhists. They guarded the tooth relic, gave gifts to the Dalada Maligawa and held public exhibitions of the Tooth relic. They participated in religious festivals such as the Katina pinkama and netra mangalya. They went on pilgrimage to Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Mahiyangana and Sri Pada. They built new temples, renovated old temples and re-dedicated temple lands. The temple projects were supervised by the chiefs of the area.

Dewaraja says the credit for preserving Buddhist texts must go to the Vaduga kings. A 1755 sannasa records a grant of land to goldsmith Ratnavalli for transcribing Buddhist texts onto gold plate. Culavamsa confirms this grant. The kings revived the upasampada and oversaw the birth of the powerful Siyam Nikaya. The Kandy Esala perehera originally consisted only of dewale pereheras. Dewales were never considered equal to temples, and temples kept their distance from dewales. But Kirti Sri added a Dalada segment to the Esala perahera and the public now believe that the Dalada Maligawa has four dewales attached to it.

According to Culavamsa, the queens of Vijaya Rajasinha also became Buddhist and did much for the religion. The two brothers of Kirti were said to be ardent Buddhists. The gifts made of gold given by Kirti Sri’s mother can still be seen in the Dalada Maligawa, said Dewaraja Sri Wickreme’s mother and sister had attended the ceremony which marked the completion of Alut vihara and the queen mother had donated some of her lands to the temple, added Dewaraja.

The king retained a firm hold over the temples. He appointed the first incumbent to newly built or restored viharas and was the final arbiter of disputes regarding the incumbencies of viharas. Selected monks were given supervisory control of all the monasteries in a disavani. Vehalle Dhammadina was made head of the ‘temple ridden’ Sabaragamuwa disavani in 1751. Dewaraja observed that this monk would have been a check on any ambitious plans of the disava. The newly restored Dambulla vihara incumbency was given to Potuhara Ratanapala in 1780 to be continued in pupillary succession. This monk was a loyal supporter of the king and had protected the tooth relic during the Dutch invasion of 1766.

The kings also kept a vigilant eye on private donations to the sangha. All private offerings of land, called ‘pidavili’, required the permission of the king. Only the king could declare those lands free of royal service and transfer them to the temple. The king’s permission was also sought when a high official planned to build or restore a temple. In 1766 Pilimatalauwe, disava of Satara Korale built a fully equipped vihara in Dodanvela and informed the king.

Buddhists in the Dutch controlled Maritime Provinces looked to Udarata for guidance in Buddhism. Sitinamaluwe Dhammajoti, from Tangalle, was one of Saranankara’s earliest pupils. The temples and monasteries of the south were affiliated to Malvatte vihara by Kirti Sri, and from then on, the chiefs of these temples went to Udarata to receive their appointments. Once there, they stayed on to participate in ecclesiastical courts, and to discuss pupillary succession, monastic discipline and land matters. From 1765, higher ordination was given only at Malwatte. Kirti Sri, and thereafter Rajadhi, came to be regarded as the protectors of Buddhism in the Maritime Provinces.

The Udarata kings used Buddhism to assert their position over the Dutch controlled Maritime Province. Wimaladharmasuriya II (1687-1707) sent a demand for the rebuilding of the dagabas in the south, return of temple lands and freedom of worship to Buddhists. In 1750 Udarata monks asked to visit Kelaniya. This was refused so they asked to visit Sri Pada through Galle and Matara. This was also refused.

Kirti Sri (1747-82) used Buddhism to made incursions into the Dutch territory. The chief priests of the maritime temples, strong supporters of Kirti Sri, also had great influence over the mudaliyars and Buddhism was used as the rallying cry when Kirti Sri invaded Dutch territory in 1761. Kirti Sri made a grant of land to Mulgirigala vihara in 1761. He also renovated and endowed Kelani vihara and sent artists to paint frescos there. These frescos appear on the walls of the Ot pilimage, Raja pilimage, Ran pilimage, Sri Maha Bo ge, and corridor between Ran and Raja pilimage.