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This
article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’,
the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history
The building of Lovamahapaya
King Dutugemunu was simply shocked when he noticed that the spear
could not be removed. It was a miracle that no one could pull
it out. The king kept guard around the place, where the spear
was planted and went back to the palace. He met the Great ‘Theras
and discussed what had happened. Thereupon, the king and the Theras
decided that a ‘dagaba’ should be built there. In
a span of three years, the building of the ‘stupa’
was complete.-
The ‘stupa’ and the ‘vihara’ (shrine)
had to be offered to the Bikkhus (monks). A grand ceremony was
organized for this purpose. According to the ‘Thupavamsa’,
a hundred thousand bikkhus and ninety thousand bikkhunis (nuns)
were invited for the ceremony. Mahavamsa too, confirms this. Alms
were offered to all of them. The king was reminded of a mistake
he had made on an earlier occasion by partaking of a certain curry.
He saw to it that the same kind of curry was prepared and served
to everybody. The king then declared that he built this ‘Vihara’
as an act of expiation. So it was named ‘Mirisaveti Vihara’
and offered to the Sangha (monks).
The king had constructed a huge building here. It had given accommodation
to hundred-thousand monks and ninety-thousand nuns. After completing
all this, the king relaxed for a while. It is only then, that
he got the chance of reading a strip of gold, on which King Devanampiyatissa
had inscribed a message. It reads thus.- “One
hundred and forty years hence, a heroic prince named Gemunu, a
son of King Kavan-Tissa, will unify the entire country. He will
do immense service to Buddhism. He will construct a ‘chetiya’
named ‘Swarnamali’, which would be about 180 feet
in height and a Brazen Palace, which will have nine storeys”.
King Dutugemunu uttered a cry of joy, after reading the forecast
written by King Devanampiyatissa.
-
Now, the king was determined to fulfill this request. First of
all he started work on the huge palace. It was about 150 feet
in length, (breadth) and height. In its nine storeys, it had hundred
rooms on each floor. It was a massive building, which was entirely
covered with plates of copper. Hence its name ‘Lovamahapaya’.
-
The consecration of the Brazen Palace was another big ceremony.
A lot of monks were invited and for seven days consecutively,
there were alms-givings. The ground floor of this palace was for
the novice monks. The second was for the monks who had learnt
the ‘Thre-pitakas’ (Baskets of Dhamma). The 3rd, 4th
and 5th were for the Theras who had attained three stages in Arhanthood.
The top three floors were for the ‘Arhants’.
-
Once this ceremony was over, the king had a ‘Bodhi Puja’
to the ‘Sri Maha Bodhi’. When he was surveying the
area around the Bodhi, he came across another inscription of King
Devanampiyatissa. It said that he had marked that place for the
erection of ‘Ruwanweli Chetiya’. The king started
work on that. Here, he never wanted anybody to work for nothing.
Even when there were volunteers offering their services, the king
paid them.
-
Now, there was a real reason for paying for all these services.
Gems, jewels, silver, gold and even the materials needed to make
bricks and tiles, for this stupa are supposed to have appeared
miraculously. The king started work on the Chetiya on a ‘Vesak’
full-moon day, after having a pirith ceremony. On the day of commencement
of work, the entire city of Anuradhapura had a festive atmosphere.
By
Halaliye Karunathilake
Edited and translated by
Kamala Silva
Illustrated by
Saman Kalubowila |
