SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: An Introduction to Mihintale

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: An Introduction to Mihintale, Sri Lanka

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Although the ruins, intact or renovated monuments of monasteries consisting of stupas & temples at Mihintale cannot be compared to glorious ancient monuments at Anuradhapura, Mihintale by its own right is a must visit Sri Lanka Holidays attraction. While the shaded village with mango trees is pleasant, the setting of the numerous ancient Buddhist stupas & a multitude of monuments, reached by 1840 steps of amazing stone cut stairway shaded with frangipani trees leading to the rocky hills, is simply gorgeous.

Quote Major C. M. Enriquez, F.R.G.S 2/20 Burma Rifles: Ceylon Past & Present

Mihintale (The age of Mahinda)
Of all ancient sites, Anuradhapura alone has preserved unbroken a Buddhist record from the days of Asoka until our own. So much of romance, such great & beautiful monuments, such intricate history, & above all an antiquity so tremendous, are positively staggering. Its oldest lake, the Basawak Kalama, was constructed five centuries before the birth of Christ. Its oldest pagoda, the Thuparma, built in B.C. 307, is not only the most ancient monument in Ceylon, but the oldest surviving building in the whole of India. And here grows the oldest historic tree in the world, the subject of hoary legends. Yet, thanks to the Mahawansa, a wealth of detail survives. The approximate dates of many ruins, the story of their inception, the history of their construction, are preserved: & in addition to these cold facts, there remain pictures of individuals, & piquant touches of human nature, that make the dead generations live for us again.

The word ‘Anurdhapura does not mean ‘City of Ninety Kings,” as is popularly supposed. It is derived from Anuradha, a certain constellation of stars, under which the city was founded. The site is said to have been chosen by King Pandukabhaya in 457 B.C., though it did not become the seat of Government till a century later. With the exception of a brief interlude in favour of Sigiriya, it remained the capital of Ceylon until finally abandoned in A.D.769.

The early history of Ceylon is so closely connected with its monuments, that it is impossible to tell it without reference to them: & the first to be considered are those at Mahintale, 8 miles distant from Anuradhapura. They come first because they are associated with those earliest events which, in 307 B.C. led immediately to the rise of Sinhalese culture-namely, the advent of Mahinda, the apostle of Buddhism, sent to Ceylon by his father, King Asoka. Mahinda on his arrival at the capital found King Tissa absent, & proceeded to follow him. The meeting took place on the hill that has since been called Mihintale after the illustrious missionary: & it was here that he spoke those memorable words: ‘In compassion for thee, Maharajah, we have repaired hither.”

Tennent considers that Mihintale is the oldest place of mountain pilgrimage in Ceylon- older even than Adam’s Peak. A liter of ruins bespeak the reverence with which the site was regarded from the earliest times….
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Such is the multitude of tourist attractions of Sri Lanka, Mihintale, a prime cultural site has no place in the traditional 7 nights tour packages of the tour operators in the island of Sri Lanka. However, Mihintale is covered in the 15 nights tour package of Riolta Lanka Holidays.
Look forward for a detailed article on Mihintale during your web visits to Sri Lanka Holidays.