Sri Lanka Holidays: the land of delights

Sri Lanka Holidays: the land of delights

Sri Lanka Holidays: the natural beauty wrapped in a tropical island; the man made beauty steeped in the great heritage of the ancient island.

Sri Lanka is an ancient island.

Sri Lanka Holidays provide you a tour de grand of an ancient island steeped in 2551 years of great history. While on the touring holidays of Sri Lanka Holidays, you will view, see, observe, witness & experience the heritage of ancient Sinhalese civilization of Sri Lanka. The triple cornerstones of the heritage of the Sinhalese, rainwater reservoir, Buddhist temple & Buddhist stupa never cease to enlighten the tourists of Sri Lanka holidays.

While the Sri Lanka Holidays tourists on Sri Lanka Holidays would enjoy the sights & sounds of Sinhalese cultural heritage, the seven UNESCO world heritage sites (Cultural) (WHS) of the ancient island provide an ideal opportunity to reap the maximum benefit of Sri Lanka Holidays within a minimum duration of time. The reason being the compact nature of the island makes it  possible to travel from one main attraction of Sri Lanka Holidays to another within few hours. While UNESCO World Heritage Sites of whole ancient kingdoms Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa takes a day for each one of them, both Golden Dambulla Rock Temple, & Sigiriya Lion Rock Citadel could be enjoyed within a single day.

Then again amidst all these attractions of Sri Lanka Holidays are thousands of ancient rainwater reservoirs & hundreds of temples & stupas. Among those numerous attractions, several  monumental constructions & edifices takes the pride of place: Golden Dambulla Rock Temple (Rangiri Dambulu Temple) & Abhyagiri stupa built by King Wattha Gamini Abhaya(104-75 BC); Mirisavatiya Dagaba & Golden Sand Stupa (Ruwanweli dagoba) built by the hero of the nation King Duttha Gamini(205-161BC)following the epic battle of SriLanka; Jethavanarama stupa & Minneriya rainwater reservoir built by King Mahasena (AD 276-303); Kala wewa rainwater reservoir built by King Dathusena (AD459-477), father of the builder of Sigiriya Lion Rock citadel, Sea of Parakrama rainwater reservoir built by King Parakrama Bahu the great (AD1153-1186 ).

As regard the history of Sri Lanka, its authenticity is amply borne out by archeological, epigraphical & numismatic evidence which corroborates supplements & clarifies the wealth of information recorded in The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka, The Mahavamsa

Having said that Sri Lanka is an ancient island, we must hasten to add Sri Lanka is not only an ancient island but also a tropical island too.

Sri Lanka is a topical island.

Sri Lanka Holidays offers all the beauty of a paradise tropical island: pristine beaches of  Western Coastal Belt (season: October to April) or Eastern Coastal Belt (season - April to September) with marine life; sanctuaries, the national wildlife reserves vibrant with wildlife & birdlife. Among the most loved wildlife reserves are Minneriya National Park, Kaudulla National Park, and Wagamouwa National Park close to the UNESCO world Heritage site (cultural) of Polonnaruwa. Ruhuna Yala National Park & Bundala National Parks are within easy access from the prime beach resorts of the Southern coastal belt.

Then again you may leave the beaches & the plains of the lowlands only to commence your journey to the Central Highlands at Kandy the gateway to Central Highlands, you are right in the midst of Mediterranean climate. Then again Kandy is the Royal City of Sri Lanka during the medieval period & cultural capital of Sri Lanka even to date. Touring Kandy onwards during Sri Lanka Holidays to the Central Highlands you will be experiencing the salubrious climate of Sri Lanka Holidays hill stations. Then again hill stations are not simply of the climate. They are of the British colonial heritage of Sri Lanka Holidays: Hatton, Nuwara Eliya, Horton Plains, Haputale, Ella, Diyatalawa, Bandarawela & Badulla of vast hills of seamless tea plantations, the origin of the finest tea in the world, Ceylon Tea commemorate the colonial heritage of the island of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, as Portuguese captain Edward Barabrosa tried to name in 1815, is truly a “Land of Delights”. The Portuguese had already settled with the name, Celao, the origin of the name, Ceylon. We reveal for you to revel Sri Lanka Holidays.

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Sri Lanka History

Sri Lanka Holidays: latest edition of Mahawamsa

Tour The Land of Delights with Riolta Lanka Holidays (My Sri Lanka Holidays), Sri Lanka. Total Holiday Experience awaits you in the beautiful tropical island of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Holidays presents the publisher's brief narration on the latest edition of Mahavamsa, for the benefit of those tourists of Sri Lanka Holidays.  The great chronicle of Sri Lanka from chapters one to thirty seven was edited with an annotated new translation with prolegomena by Dr. Ananda W. P. Guruge. ISBN-955-20-8963-8

The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka Mahavamsa Chapters one to thirty-seven Ananda W. P. Guruge

Sri Lanka has a unique heritage with its fascinatingly colorful history maintained in an unbroken written record extending beyond two thousand five hundred years.With an exceptionally rare historical sense, the island nation has preserved its memory of the varying vicissitudes through which its peoples have endeavored to safeguard its spiritual & cultural identity.

Of its many works of history, the Mahavamsa remains the most inspiring & enduring. Its first thirty-seven chapters, reflecting the first eight hundred years of nation-building was written by the historian-poet Mahanama(1), with remarkable skill in historiography & literary expression, in the sixth century CE in Pali verse. Updated & expanded from time to time, the Mahawamsa, the non-stop historical epic of Sri Lanka, is an integral part of the universal heritage of humanity.

So was it recognized since its first translation into English in 1837 by George Turner & the next in 1912 by Wilhelm Geiger. Reflecting the vast progress made in archeological & epigraphically research & the exploration of corroborative supporting evidence from world literature, a new translation & an in-depth study became a felt national need. Dr. Ananda W. P. Guruge, the internationally renowned scholar in Asian History, with special expertise in Buddhist studies & Sri Lankan history & culture, responded to this need in 1989 with  his annotated new translation with prolegomena.

Godage International publishers (Pvt.) Ltd. is privileged to publish this revised new edition, on a renewed demand for this scholarly treatment of the most important source of Sri Lanka’s ancient history.END

Footnotes by bunpeiris

(1) Historian-poet Mahanama, a Buddhist Bhikshu (priest) was an uncle of King Dhatusena of Anuradhapura, the builder of great rainwater reservoir “Kala Weva”. It was King Dhatusena’a son King Kashaypa ( AD 479- 497)  who built Sigiriya Lion Rock Citadel.

Sri Lanka Holidays wish to impress upon all the visitors to the ancient Sri Lanka that the new translation of Mahavamsa is a must read. 

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: BIG BUDDHA and LITTLE I

Sri Lanka Holidays Big Buddha and Little I: my inspiration from Buddhism 

Tour The Land of Delights with Riolta Lanka Holidays (My Sri Lanka Holidays), Sri Lanka. Total Holiday Experience awaits you in the beautiful tropical island of Sri Lanka.

Robert Knox, escaping in 1679 from a long captivity among the Sinhalese, had brought home stories of “a world of hewn stone pillars” which he had passed during his flight through Anuradhapura. His narrative was printed in 1817. Nearly a century & a half after Knox’s journey, a pioneer officer, Lieutenant Mitchell Henry Fagan of the 2nd Ceylon Regiment, forcing his way through almost impenetrable undergrowth in 1820 had come face to face with a colossal statue gazing out at him from the foliage: Gal Vihara.

A colossal figure of Buddha cut from a granite wall was most serenely gazing at him from out of the foliage. "I cannot describe what I felt at that moment," he wrote. Neither could I when I first saw the great statues at the tender age of 8. It was like dream that you dream when just about to wake up. And you wake up with the dream & still on a cloud. But the upright Big Buddha most definitely smiled at me. Am I dreaming? No, Big Buddha smiled again.

Since then, for a decade, I had been traveling yearly with my maternal grandfather who used to take all his relations & friends numbering around 30 for pilgrimage of fortnight at his expense on yearly basis during his prosperous days. Imagine 4 a.m.Lakshpatiya, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, late 1960s, young & old relations & friends all in full swing, pilgrim mode, spellbinding stories of village serpent medic Grand uncle Romeal (still tall and as straight as an arrow in Clint Eastwood style), Pol mal (coconut fronds), Ebert Silva passenger bus, Buddhist Homage Gathas (Thunyam sarane), large metal cauldrons & large clay pots, stuff & goods, baskets & sacks, dhal & dry fish, spices & local Palm honey sweets … How do you begin to write, how do you end writing ... I have no idea.
My father had been warning my maternal grandfather against excessive advertisements. Headstrong & flamboyant to the boot, my maternal grand father had a devil may care attitude & paid scent respect to book keeping. Somebody had been following his two page advertisements in newspapers, musical advertisement at 11 am on Radio Ceylon: Aswaya gone tik tik. (then kids hit song Come’n Let’s ride the horse) Kumara Shanthiya (meaning Blessings to the Prince in Sanskrit) sure-fire Ayurvedic medication syrup of infants, toddlers, the tender young for all stomach upsets. The high flying stalwart was destined, most unfortunately, to have his wings clipped.
Another decade later, the greatest spoil sport of all time, Department of Inland Revenue of Ceylon made Ayu. Dr. Prangige Silmon Peter Peiris Gunaratne of Sri Vijaya Oushada Shalwa (Shri Vijaya Medical Hall, next to Vijitha Cinema, Ratmalana,Sri Lanka) bankrupt. How the mighty have fallen! Like an enormous tree that gave shade to all who came. My flamboyant philanthropist grandfather who had a couple of 1 Shri licence plate British made Austin Cambridge cars & a sizeable property of lands & houses lost all.
Another decade later when I remarked I would love to set up luxury tour operations to draw in foreign tourists to show off my land & name the tour package Peter Peiris Fortnight, my father chuckled that my maternal grandfather would turn in his grave: his was charity pilgrimage with no pretensions of comforts at all; my dreams were of luxury travel with a view to profit. All the same, it’s a fair deal, I take my country to them, or rather bring them to my land, I argued. I reveal for them to revel.
In time, My grandfather was to provide me the inspiration to compose 108 web page website on Sri Lanka with great emphasis on the numerous Buddhist cultural attractions of the Island.
Unlike the German tourists, the British tourists seek for touring holiday packages with cultural orientation. After all it was them who rediscovered the lost cities ofAnuradhapura, Polonnaruwa & Sigiriya.

I am still striving to get a steady stream of British tourists. Everything will be fine in another couple of years: Riolta Lanka Holidays presents Peter Peiris Fortnight. We reveal for you to revel. Tour the ancient island of Sri Lanka with Sri Lanka Holidays.

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: AN INVITATION

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: AN INVITATION

This is an invitation to an IT Professional with a definite bent towards Sinhalese Nationalism with no apologies. A newly incorporated Inbound Tour Operator Company based in Sri Lanka invites a Straight Arrow to their team.

We are in haste following an initial chat on a possible partnership with a large scale luxury tour operator based in U.K., who would be commencing operations to Sri Lanka in the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010.

We are: Key Members (partners) at present

A Travel trade professional: former employee of GSA of on-line Airlines (Hometown; Moratuwa, western coastal belt of Sri Lanka)

A Professional  Accountant: former employee of a Shipping Agent (Hometown: Bandarwela, Central Highlands of Sri Lanka)

A  Holidays Professional:  a former Senior Tour Consultant of one of the top 5 tour operators in Sri Lanka.(Hometown: Kandy, medieval royal city of Kandy, gateway to Central Highlands)

You are (our 4^th partner): Now, we ask for a lot

(a)   Sinhalese Buddhist citizen of Sri Lanka or a Resident (Sinhalese Buddhist) in United Kingdom steeped in our Sinhalese Buddhist Heritage

(b)   IT Professional with a University degree

(c)   No nonsense straight talk Straight Arrow who can rise up to the occasion & dare to speak defending our land, our nation & our faith

(d)   Wiling to invest in our incorporated company

You are invited to email bunpeiris@gmail.com ASAP.

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: REVEAL

we reveal for you to revel

Riolta Lanka Holidays

We Reveal For You To Revel

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Hilton Hotel Colombo, Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS:Riolta Lanka Holidays

Riolta Lanka Holidays (Pvt.) Ltd.

www.RioltaLankaHolidays.com

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS:The girl next door, across the Palk Straits

Priyanka

Condemn me to hell, but not yet.  Lord, first, Grant me one day in Paradise! Is that too much to ask? 

Sumithra from Madurai, India, Queen of King Veera Parakrama Narendrasingha (A.D 1706- 1739) of Kandy, Sri Lanka cried out to her lover Adigar Daskon or Gascoigne while he was being taken to the executioner.

With the intimacy struck on the promenade

Did you not draw the nectar

Offered from my mouth, with a rejoicing heart?

Today are you on a hasty journey my lord?

Oh! Daskon are you sacrificing

Your life for my sake?

Her Gallant, Adigar Gascoigne wouldn’t be outwitted even while being taken to the gallows. Once again he declared his boundless love to his lover with class. A real classy bugg…..

With Kamala, not enjoying any sensual pleasures

In the day of yore

The one with twenty eyes, sacrificed his ten heads. (1)

All pleasures of your heavenly touch

When I have enjoyed

What’s  it to sacrifice my one head for you?

Very true, Gascoigne, what's in a life, unless you are in with the love of your life & fire of your loins?

(2) Translation of poems from Sinhala to English by Premasiri Mahingoda

(1) That’s a definitely a reference to King Ravana of Sri Lanka who abducted Queen Sita of Lord Rama of India ( Mythological epic, Ramayana) King Ravana wasn't as fortunate as Adigar Gascoigne. King Ravana talked the talk with ten heads but still couldn't walk the walk with Queen Sita (Kamala).  Adgiar, the most fortunate, talked the talk & walked the walk with Queen Sumithra. So it's time to die? Sure, like hell! 

Tour the ancient island of Sri Lanka with Riolta Lanka Holidays: enjoy Sri Lanka Holidays, the total holiday experience.

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Ancient Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS:
Ancient Sri Lanka

The waterlords of ancient Sri Lanka
Quote Unesco Courier, Jan 1985: Dr. Ananda Guruge
"LET not a single drop of rain that falls on this island flow into the ocean without first serving humanity.' This was the governing principle of a massive water resources development programme undertaken by one of the greatest kings of ancient Sri Lanka, Parakramabahu I (1153-1186). The king's record was impressive. The Sri Lankan Chronicle, the Culavamsa which was written in the Buddhist canonical language Pali, enumerates his works both as a provincial ruler in western Sri Lanka and later as the monarch of the whole country: he either built or restored 163 major reservoirs (called "tanks' in Sri Lankan usage), 2,617 minor tanks, 3,910 irrigation channels, 328 stone sluices and 168 sluice blocks, besides repairing 1,969 breaches in embankments. Among the reservoirs he built was the tank at Polonnaruwa, called on account of its size the Sea of Parakrama. With an area of 3,000 hectares and an enclosing embankment fourteen kilometres long, it irrigated nearly 10,000 hectares.
The resulting improvement in the conservation and distribution of water brought about an expansion of cultivated land. Consequently, during his reign the production of rice increased to the point that Sri Lanka exported so much of it to neighbouring countries that the country is said to have become known as the granary of the east.
In executing this vast programe, King Parakrama Bahu the Great was fulfilling one of the most important royal duties laid down by tradition. The obligations of kings were conceived as serving the two-fold interests of the nation: the material and spiritual, expressed in Pali as loka-sasana-abhivuddhi. Under the first category came the two fundamental duties of defending the nation against external and internal threats to its security, and the conservation and management of water resources to promote rice cultivation. Included in the second category of duties was the sustenance of Buddhism through the promotion of monastic institutions and the construction of impressive edifices. Every Sinhala monarch who is rated great in history has excelled in all or at least two of these three functions.
King Mahasena, who constructed the Minneriya tank in the fourth century, was actually deified by the people, and in a temple on the lake bund he still receives homage from local cultivators who seek his help in growing successful crops. When the fifth-century king Dhatusena was asked by his rebellious son Kahsyapa to reveal where the royal treasures were hidden, he led his captors to Kala Weva, a lake with a circumference of ninety kilometres which he had constructed. Taking a handful of water, he said, "This, my friends, is the whole of my wealth.'
These constructions involved a very high level of technological knowledge and skill. Perennial rivers were dammed with stone barrages and diverted kilometres away from their courses. Seasonal streams were dammed in stages to form a series of reservoirs along the valleys. The earthen embankments of these reservoirs extended from a few hundred metres to fifteen kilometres and in some places were eighteen metres high. The Jaya-Ganga, an irrigation channel aptly called the Victory River, was a masterpiece of engineering ingenuity. Still functioning today, it is over eight kilometres long with a uniform width of twelve metres. To minimize silting and erosion of banks, its gradient for the first thirty kilometres is an imperceptible 1 in 10,000. It connects two river systems and maintains adequate water supplies in a series of interlinked tanks which irrigated over 46,000 hectares of rice-fields.
Though little is known of either their techniques or the tools they used, the skills of the ancient Sinhala engineers in hydrodynamics as well as surveying and levelling were of a very high order. The stone sluice gate with its control well, called in Sinhala the Biso-kotuva, was a remarkably effective apparatus which displays a full understanding of water under pressure. It regulated the speed and the quantity of water issued to the fields and thus protected both the channel and the fields from erosion and flooding. It also prevented a reservoir from being tapped to its last drop by eager cultivators in times of drought, to the detriment of the survival of man and beast. Similarly, a stone spill or flood escape was constructed to a required height, often some kilometres away from the sluice gate, to safeguard the embankments from the heavy pressure of suddent rain or flood water.
Many a modern engineer has been baffled by the sophisticated designs on which these reservoirs and channel systems were constructed. It is known that the Dutch engineers of the eighteenth century and their British counterparts in the nineteenth failed to understand the design of the giant tank near Mannar on the northwestern coast. Only in recent years, when the tank was restored in conformity with the original design, was it found that levelling by the unknown engineer of the past was vastly superior to that attempted by modern engineers.
The origin and early development of a Sinhalese science of water resources are not easy to trace. The earliest recorded instance of the construction of a reservoir dates to the founding of the Sinhala kingdom in the sixth century BC. But whatever the source of their technological knowledge, the Sinhalas won wide recognition for their skills in irrigation. Pliny's account of the Sri Lankan embassy to Rome in 45 AD to the court of the Emperor Claudius refers to the artificial lake near the capital, Anuradhapura. Though couched in mythological terms, the reference in the Kashmirian history Rajatarangani to Lankan experts who helped Jayapida to drain a lake sometime around the eighth century records a possible case of technical assistance.
A complex system of rules and regulations on the management of water has been operating in Sri Lanka since ancient times. Not only did it prescribe how water was to be distributed and used, it also assigned responsibilities for the upkeep of tanks and channels. Until driven to obsolescence by the advent of the monetary economy in recent times, these regulations were upheld through a process of co-operative self-help, and the tradition persists in remote villages.
The royal duty to develop water resources and thus provide life blood to rural Sri Lanka and its multi-faceted culture has been carried on by the Government of the country ever since political power was vested in national leaders in the 1930s. In a massive effort to regenerate the rural settlements of the Dry Zone in the north central and southeastern regions of the island, over 3,000 reservoirs of varying sizes together with their channel systems have been commissioned into service and vast stretches of new rice-fields have been brought under cultivation.
The Senanayaka-Samudraya (the Sea of Senanayake, so named in commemoration of the first Prime Minister of independent Sri Lanka, who was an indomitable pioneer in restoring ancient water resources and establishing new villages) vies with the Sea of Parakrama of 800 years ago. The most impressive effort in this direction is the current programme to divert Mahaveligana, the island's longest river. This multipurpose project which, besides producing electricity and controlling floods, will bring thousands of hectares under cultivation, symbolizes the persistent belief of Sinhalese that the glory of their nation lies in the village with its lake, rice-fields and temple.
Photo: The great artificial lake of Anuradhapura in the north of Sri Lanka, with a monumental stupa, Ruwan Weli Seya, in the background. The kingdom of Anuradhapura (2nd century BC-10th century AD) created a remarkable irrigation system which was the basis of its prosperity. 

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: The Giant’s Reservoir

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: The Giant’s Reservoir

From Anuradhapura, I returned to the west coast, following the line of the River Malwatu-Oya, the ancient Kadamba, which flows into the Gulf of Mannar, north of Aripo. Within a few miles of the coast our party passed, at Taikum, the immense causeway of cut granite, two hundred & fifty yards in length, & upwards of fifteen feet high, by which it was attempted to divert the waters of the river into the canal, that was designed to supply the Giants’ Tank. None of the great reservoirs of Ceylon have attracted so much attention as this stupendous work. The retaining bund of the reservoir, which is three hundred feet broad at the base, can be traced for more than fifteen miles, & as the country is level, the areas which its waters were intended to cover would have been nearly equal to that of the lake of Geneva. At the present day the bed of the tank is the site of ten populous villages, & of eight which are now deserted. Its restoration was successively an object of solicitude to the Dutch & British Governments, & surveys were ordered at various times to determine the expediency of reconstructing it. Its history has always been a subject of unsatisfied inquiry, as the national chronicles contain no record of its founder. A recent discovery has, however, served to damp alike historical & utilitarian speculation; for it has been ascertained that, owing to an error in the original levels, the canal from the river, instead of feeding the tank, returned its unavailing waters to the channel of Malwatu river.

Above is an excerpt from the work, Ceylon, An Account of the Island by James Emerson Tennent, London, Great Britain, 1859.

Correction to the reference on The Giant’s Tank

Quote Dr. Ananda Guruge

Many a modern engineer has been baffled by the sophisticated designs on which these reservoirs and channel systems were constructed. It is known that the Dutch engineers of the eighteenth century and their British counterparts in the nineteenth failed to understand the design of the giant tank near Mannar on the northwestern coast. Only in recent years, when the tank was restored in conformity with the original design, was it found that levelling by the unknown engineer of the past was vastly superior to that attempted by modern engineers.

Unquote Unesco Courier, Jan 1985: Dr. Ananda Guruge

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Sinhalese influence abroad:

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Sinhalese influence abroad.

The spread of Buddhism

Following is an excerpt from the book “Ceylon Past & present” by C. M. Enriquez

The introduction of Buddhism into Sri Lanka in the third century B.C. was an event that has profoundly influenced the destinies of Southern Asia. A philosophy so wise, so benevolent, has never failed to mitigate the natural ferocity of the human animal: & if, instead of curbing passion, it has sometimes produced a sort of fatalism that is only because men have adopted it merely in the letter & not in the spirit. For centuries it has been misunderstood & misinterpreted by priest & layman alike. That has been the fate of other revelations also: but Buddhism, as it left the Master’s lips, must have been a clear & simple appeal that arrested immediate attention. Otherwise it could not have inspired such wide-spread response. To-day, through the fog of ignorance & superstition, we hear but an echo of that message: yet, it is sufficient to have “made our Asia mild.”

In India, Buddhism did not long survive the death of King Asoka. Having succumbed to the hostility of the Brahmans, it soon degenerated into crude Shamanistic devil worship, & in that form was introduced into Tibet & China. In that form also it first reached Burma, Siam, & Cambodia

It is this that lends significance to the fact that the lamp of pure Hinayana Buddhism was lit in Sri Lanka by Mahinda in 307 B.C., & that in spite of flickerings, it has continued to shine (though now dimly) for all the world to see. In that 1^st century B.C. the Law, which hitherto had been passed down orally for four hundred years, was committed to writing by order of King Wattha Gamani Abhaya at the Rock temple of Aluwihare, Matale, & from that time Sri Lanka has been the source which many countries have derived their religion, & at which they sought information & instruction from time to time.

Once of the first countries to receive Buddhism (at least partially) from Sri Lanka was Southern Burma, which in the early centuries of our era was inhabited by a Mongoloid race, called Mon. Their capital at Thaton was one of the gates through which, at a very early date, & before the dawn of authentic history, Burma received the literature, architecture & pure southern Buddhism. Thaton now 20 miles from the sea, was then a port of a country known as Ramayana. Ramayana included Thaton, Hanthawaddy, Muttama (Martaban), & Kuthein (the modern Pathein or Bassein). It is popularly believed that Asoka sent the missionaries Sona & Outtara to Thaton in 306 B.C. There is, however, no proof at all that Buddhism was introduced so early, or until the beginning of our era. The adoption of this myth by authoritative writers illustrates the danger of an uncritical acceptance of legend. The mission to Burma or Suvannabhumi which term, by the way, embraces the whole coast from Hanoi & Malaya to Bassein) is indeed mentioned in Mahavamsa (Chapter X11) & on that venerable authority has been accepted by men like Bigandet & Forchhammer. But, as Duroiselle has since pointed out, the Sinhalese of A.D. 500 could not read Asoka’s edicts: & those edicts, so precise & exact in detail, are now found to contain no reference whatever to the supposed mission to Burma. We may, however, accept the fact that a missionary, or missionaries, came to Burma at some early period, & probably from Ceylon, but not till long after Asoka’s time.

Buddhism was probably introduced into Burma orally: & there by another popular legend to the effect that the written text was brought from Ceylon in A.D. 400 by Buddhaghosa. One of the caves at Aluwihare, as we have sen, is dedicated to him, & Burmese pilgrims are fond of visiting it. Unfortunately, even Buddhaghosa’s mission to Burma is now questioned; but in any case, the Lopburi inscription show that Mons (better known as Talaings) wrote & used Pali & Sanskrit words in the 6^th & 7^th centuries A.D.

Buddhism in Sri Lanka has survived, without a break, since its introduction. But, as we have seen, it was beset with heresies at an early date: & the Anuradhapura period was filled with disputes between the orthodox Hinayanists priests & the heretical ones of Mahayana, who were ready & anxious to adopt any sort of slack or subversive doctrine. Nearly all these innovations tended towards the relaxation of priestly discipline. The Mahayanists, or as they were called the Dhammaruci, were a strong party with rich endowments; & in the reign of King Mahasen (A.D.275-302) they so far excelled, that the orthodox priests fled from the capital in a body. The King, who had pandered to the heretical priests, now returned to the old faith-possibly in deference to public opinion. Disturbances of this kind were probably semi-political, & their importance may be inferred from Fa Hien’s estimate that in the 5^th century the priests numbered from fifty to sixty thousand. These early disputes are significant because they seriously weakened Buddhism, & the taint of indiscipline remains to this day. Even now, the priests of Burma & Sri Lanka do not all observe their vows of celibacy.

Ambitious voyages were made across the Indian Ocean at a very early date. In Java, Hinduism was introduced in the first century of our era, but in the 5^th century Buddhism took root-Buddhism of the Hinayanists type, which we may suppose was of Sinhalese origin, since it came to Java from Sumatra. Sumatra, we know, from the writings of the Chinese historian Chao Ju, had a colony in Sri Lanka

This Hindu-Buddhist civilization expressed itself in the great temples of Brambanan & Boro Bodeo, & left a deep & lasting impression on the history, literature & society of Java. In the 5^th century also, we find Fa Hien visiting Sri Lanka; & Chinese pilgrims studied, & copied book, in the island of Sri Lanka for next two hundred years. Cambodia received Hinayana Buddhism much later. Whatever Mahayanists forms it may originally have possessed, were submerged early in our era by Hinduism. The Khmer reached the zenith of their power under Jayavaraman 111. The royal city of Angkor Thom was completed about A.D. 900; & in the 10^th century Buddhism superseded Hinduism. The great temple of Angkor Vat probably dates from the beginning of the 12^th century. But here we must return to Sri Lanka.

During the Dravidian invasions that had culminated in the abandonment at Anuradhapura, Buddhism had suffered so severely that indeed it had been almost extinguished. When King Vijayabahu (A.D.1071) had expelled the enemy, restored the capital at Polonnaruwa, he found the priesthood so depleted that it was impossible to conduct the authorized forms of ordination. In this difficulty he turned to Burma, where the religion had recently undergone one of the most remarkable revivals in its history.

Fourteen years previously (A.D.1057) Anawratta (Burmese Napoleon) having ascended the throne, raided the old Talaing capital at Thaton, carried off books, priests, & architects & then proceeded to turn his Burmese capital at Pagan into a great Buddhist metropolis. Anawratta had none of the finer Buddhist sentiments, but he developed the fanaticism of a convert; & he soon turned his attention to the degraded Shamanistic priests who, before this revival had flourished at Pagan. They were called Ari, & they had much the same pretensions as the Dhammaruci of Sri Lanka. The Ari had probably been introduced from Bengal in the 6^th century, & were occupying themselves with sorcery, alchemy & animal sacrifice. Among their immoralities, they even claimed the right of jus primae noctis, or violating brides, & it is probably this that brought down upon them the wrath of Anawratta. He suppressed them: but unfortunately this persecution only scattered them over the country, or drove them underground.

These abuses-notably the jus primae noctis- continued up to the 13^th century amongst certain priests in Siam, Laos, & Cambodia, & are believed still to exist amongst the Hkamti Shans of Burma. According to Harvey’s History of Burma. According to Harvey’s History of Burma, they were exercised by the Myothugyis of Popa (Central Burma) up till three generations ago. Like King Mahasen of Sri Lanka, King Alaungsithu of Burma continued to countenance the heresy, which was still largely political; & the Ari suffered no further check till the religious movement under King Dhammacheti in the 15^th century, & until a hundred years later King Hsinbyu Shin prohibited intoxicating offerings & bloody sacrifices. The last direct mention of the Ari occurs in the 14^th century, when, at Pinya (Ava), they are represented as soldier=priests. But in Burma, as in Sri Lanka, the old spirit survives, & is at the bottom of half the lawlessness & depravity amongst certain sections of the priesthood.

Thus we see how natural it was for King Vijayabahu the first to relight the torch of Sinhalese Buddhism from Burma. In return he sent to that country a ‘duplicate’ of the Tooth which was landed at Lawkananda near Pagan. King Anawratta met it in state, placed it on an elephant; & where the elephant stopped, enshrined the relic in his now famous Shwezigon Pagoda (stupa). So we have a direct connection between Polonnaruwa & Burma’s celebrated shrine-the Shwezigon. At both capitals an orgy of stupa building was about to break out.

King Vijaya Bahu’s successor, King Parakrama Bahu the great (A.D. 1153-1180), was also a revivalist; & under his patronage Buddhism resumed its ancient sovereignty in Sri Lanka. Like Anawratta just a century before him, he dealt summarily with the heresy, & as far as can be ascertained, this is the last heard of it in Sri Lanka. However, Hindu influence had greatly increased, & not at leas two shrins at Polonnaruwa are frankly Hindu. Traces of this Hinduism are also evident at Pagan. At the end of King Parakrama Bahu the Great’s reign, or soon afterwards, King Narapatisithu of Burma (A.D.1173-1210) sent a priestly mission tom Sri Lanka. It was headed by Uttarajiva who took with him a young monk called Chapada. Chapada remained ten years, & returned to Burma ‘well equipped to teach the Law.’ His Sinhalese training is immediately apparent from the small stupa (the Chapada) which he built when he got home to Pagan. Above the dome is the characteristic box-like structure of Sri Lanka.

We have now to turn to Siam where, according to tradition, a form of Mon or Talaing Buddhism had been introduced at Lampan. It was spread thence to Northern Siam by Princess Cham Thewi of Lawo (Lopburi) in the 7^th century. Lopburi was first a Mon, & then a Khmer capital; & in Ayudhayan (Siamese) times was a summer residence of Siamese Kings. The Siamese, it should be understood, are a slow growth out of Shan & Khmer elements, which only assumed shape in the 13^th century during the decay of Angkor. Southern Buddhism was not introduced till the 14^th & 15^th centuries, when much priestly intercourse between Sri Lanka & Northern Siam is on record.

In about 1730, Buddhism, having been once more nearly extinguished during the Dutch & Portuguese wars, we find Sri Lanka again so depleted of priests that application had to be made to Burman. This was I the reign of the Sinhalese king Koondasala. A few years later a Burmese King, Hsinbyu Shin (A.D. 1763-1765) built a distinctly Sinhalese Stupa, the Hsin-mya Shin at Sagaing (Upper Burma). It is a stupa, surmounted by the characteristic ‘box’ of Sri Lanka; the whole structure being supported by a fresco of elephants. It is very evidently a small-scale replica of the Ruwan Weli Seya at Anuradhapura-or was, until a misdirected restoration in about 1920 destroyed its original design.

This marks the close of direct Sinhalese influence abroad. Troubles at home had overwhelmed Sri Lanka, & the now feeble Government had been chased from one capital to another by the maruading Dravidian invaders from Southern India. Indirect relations, however, continue to this day; & Sri Lanka, the ancient, the vulnerable, is still looked by all Buddhist nations as their Spiritual Home, just as the nations of Europe look to Rome.

There is, after all, noting in the least bit extraordinary in all the intercourse which we have here described between Sri Lanka & her neighbours. We are apt to suppose that the high seas were impassable before the advent of P. & O. & Biby. But formerly there were other routes & other means, sufficient at least for adventurous, in days when time was less consequence, & men had not yet learned to travel de luxe.

The crazy sailing ships we still see leaving Trinco for Madras, Rangoon & Moulmein, are merely the descendants of ancient dhows whose crews had learned, centuries ago, to avail themselves of the calm winds of the Bay. Just as to-day I & Maung Ba Kye (my Burmese servant) are taking back to Burma a leaf of the Sacred Sri Maha Bodhi Tree at Anurdahpura, a picture post card of Thuparama, & a book full of incoherent notes, so have Burmese, Chinese, Javanaese, Siamese, & Malays carried away impressions of Sri Lanka since the days of Chapada & Fa Hien. There is nothing new in it, nothing wonderful. But possibly those leisurely adventurers of old were better travelers than ourselves. Perhaps their observances were less superficial.