Funday Times

A series by Gaveshaka in association with Studio Times
A Hindu style Buddhist temple
King Narendra Sinha, who ruled from Kandy for 33 years (1707-1739) was the last of the Sinhalese kings. He married a princess from Madura in India but she bore him no children. After his death the throne passed over to the queen’s brother Sri Vijaya Rajasinha. He had come from Madura and was a Hindu. However, after he became king, he became a Buddhist and did a great deal to promote Buddhism during his short reign of eight years. He took initial steps to reestablish the Order of monks by bringing monks from Pegu, Arakan and Siam.

The next king, Kirti Sri Rajasinha had an eventful long reign spanning 33 years (1747-1780) and is hailed as one of the most just and religious monarchs of the Kandyan era. He was also from Madura and was the previous king, Sri Vijaya’s brother-in-law. By the time he ascended the throne, Buddhism had declined and the king resolved to restore it to its pristine glory.

He made contact with the King of Siam and arranged to get down monks to restore higher ordination in Sri Lanka. He saw to it that devotees had facilities to go on pilgrimages to sacred places of worship and arranged for festivals where Buddhists could participate. The Esala Perahera in Kandy took its present form with prominence being given to the sacred Tooth Relic under his patronage. Earlier it was an annual procession organized by the Hindus giving prominence to Hindu customs.

Among the shrines erected by King Kirti Sri in the suburbs of Kandy is a rather unusual shrine referred to as Galmaduwa, seen in the picture. As the name indicates, it is a building made of stone. The eminent British District Judge of Kandy who later became a judge of the Supreme Court, A. C. Lawrie refers to this temple in the first volume of an exhaustive publication named ‘A Gazetteer of the Central Province of Ceylon’. He calls it the Galmaduwa Gedige Vihare, also Galapita-ambe Vihare and describes it as “a very curious building built in the style of a Tamil Hindu temple.”

He relates a popular tale that while the shrine was being built, King Kirti Sri heard of the discovery of a cave at Degaldoruwa and stopped the work at Galmaduwa. It is said that the building was never used as a temple but offerings had been made in a small vihara seen beside it. It is believed that the small temple had been built by the villagers since they could not raise sufficient funds to complete the main ‘gedige’ but also needed a temple as a place of worship. A feature of the Galmaduwa is the ‘gopura’ or the tall tower seen clearly in the picture. While the lower storey is built out of stone, the upper storeys are of brick and stone. It is in seven diminishing stages with the base measuring 60 feet square. Around it is a rectangular stone work with arches.

As for the political environment during this period, the Dutch invaded Kandy in 1763 during the time of Governor Baron von Eck and held it for a few months. The 8000 strong battalion suffered severely from famine and sickness while they faced occasional attacks from the Sinhalese. The death of Martin Rein, the commander stationed in Kandy, from fever created chaos among the Dutch soldiers most of whom began to come down to Colombo. There was further confusion among the Dutch with the sudden death of Governor van Eck. His successor Iman Willem Falck (1765-1785) put an end to the war with Kandy by signing a treaty with King Kirti Sri on 14 February 1766.

The treaty was greatly in favour of the Dutch who secured absolute possession of not only those portions of the coast which they held before the war, but of the whole sea coast round the island.

Meanwhile, the British were gaining ground in India where they had broken the power of the French and established themselves as the principal European power in the country. The Dutch, however, were still their greatest rivals in the trade in the East and the British thought it advisable to take Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then called). In 1762 the British governor of Madras sent John Pybus to King Kirti Sri to offer him help in his war against the Dutch. The king was pleased and consented to a treaty of alliance but the British took no further steps in the matter.

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