Funday Times

This article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history
The Demise of King Valagamba
1. The Buddha statue carved out of rock at the Dambulla temple is wonderful. It’s about 47 feet long. There are carvings inside the temple, which help to captivate the devotees. In the Rajamaha Viharaya there are more than ten Buddha statues. In another temple, there are two huge Buddha statues, depicting two impressive postures.

2. On the walls of the caves are beautiful paintings. They depict various incidents in the life of the Buddha. In addition to these, there are paintings showing the arrival of King Vijaya and the historic battle between Dutugemunu and Elara. Though the other temples are comparatively small, the Buddha statues and paintings are almost similar. There is an important inscription too. It is only in Dambulla that one could see so many Buddha statues carved out of stone at one single site.

3. Another religious centre erected by King Valagamba is the ‘Ridi Viharaya’ of Ridigama, in the Kurunegala district. The last few years of Valagamba’s rule were not quite good for the country. There arose a severe drought and with that a very unfortunate period. This drought was so widespread that it is believed that it spread as far as India. The famine that followed the drought is named the ‘Baminitiya famine’. There was no rain for a long period. The trees were all withered. The sun became hotter by the day. The fields were ruined. The land was parched. Rivers and streams dried up and there was a severe scarcity of food.

4. Accompanied with the scarcity of food was an outbreak of disease. The people were left helpless. Some of them died of either starvation or diseases. Animals too could not stand the severe drought and most of them died. Even Buddhist monks who were living in temples in this area fell victim. The few who survived left the temples and went to distant places to save their lives. Some had gone as far as India.

5. Lots of people migrated to distant areas. No religious rituals were observed. Life came to a standstill. All these years Buddhism was taught by the teachers to the next generation of monks and so it came down, by word of mouth. With the learned monks falling prey to the drought, disease and famine, religion too suffered a setback.

6. Fortunately a few priests who were well-versed in the ‘Tripitaka’ (the 3 baskets) had fled to Malayarata, which was not affected by the drought. These priests were learned monks from the Maha Vihara.
They realized the danger that was going to affect the relgion and discussed ways and means of protecting the ‘Dhamma’. They decided that the ‘Dhamma’ should be written down if it is to be protected.
So they assembled in Aluvihare in Matale.

7. The ‘Tripitaka’, which had been studied in Pali was written down on Ola leaves and the monks wrote supplementary information in Sinhala. They were sponsored by a provincial leader. Rev. Kunthagala Tissa, who was instrumental in getting the Dhamma recorded in books, left to his cave in Dimbulagala when the writing was over. When King Valagamba heard of this, he went in search of the priest and met him. The area around the cave was cleared and it was made a religious centre.

. ‘Pirivenas’ were built in Dimbulagala and they were gifted to this priest. The king appointed lay devotees to care for the monks who resided there. He also set apart a number of fields and villages for the maintenance of this temple. The king too accepted that committing the Tripitaka to writing was a significant event in the history of Buddhism. King Valagamba who became king for the second time in 89 BC, passed away in 77 BC. He is respected as a great king of Sri Lanka.

By Halaliye Karunathilake
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by
Saman Kalubowila

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