Embekka Devalaya (temple)

There are many historical monuments that reveals the Sri Lankan heritage in the hill capital and the temple of Embekka is very special because it owns some of the greatest carvings in Sri Lanka. the temple is situated in the central province.

There is a small village called "Arathtana" which was, many moons ago in Sri Lanka, well known for its dancers and drummers. In this village lived a drummer who had a skin disease. He tried every possible treatment to rid himself of his problem, but none of them worked. Every medicine failed to cure him. He decided to go to the "temple of Katharagama", a temple in the southern part of Sri Lanka. This temple was built for the god of Katharagama. He went there and asked the god of Katharagama to cure his illness, promising to worship the temple annually. Then his illnesses were cured, and he kept his promise to Katharagama for many, many years.

It was a long, tiresome journey to the south and finally the time came when he knew his body could no longer make the trip. For the last time he traveled to the temple and praised the god that he could no longer continue his annual ritual, as he was too old. The sad drummer returned home and that night, the god of katharagama spoke to him in his dreams. He made a prediction. The god said, "in few days, a miracle will happen! You must go there and perform your traditional drumming!" As predicted by the god the miracle happened.

There was a flower garden known as Embekka, which belonged to the wife of King Wickramabahu- Queen Henakanda Bissobandara. When the gardener was working in the garden he tried to remove a "Kaduru" tree from the garden. When he cut it a stream of blood began to flow from the tree. The drummer heard of this miracle and so went to the flower garden to perform the rituals as he was ordered to do by the god. He built a small temple out of tree branches around the tree. It has been called the "Embekka Devalaya" ever since.

After some days the king of "gangasiripura", "gampola" king Wickramabahu, was informed about the event. The king ordered to build a three story building in the land. He gave land and elephants as gifts to the temple. His queen's jewelry was also given to the temple as a gift. Since then the temple of embekka is worshiped by thousands of people every year. They say, even today, the drummer's ancestors' perform rituals in the temple.

How the village got its name.

There are many stories about this village. There is an ancient game known as "ankeliya" performed for the goddess of Paththini. There was a playground in this village where they performed this game annually. This village had a horn, used to play the game. And this was a big horn. In sinhala "ann" or "anga" means the horn. They say "bekka" for big. Earlier they called the village "An+bakka", which means 'the big horn'. The word "an+bakka" has changed to "Embekka", as we know it today.

There are total of eight buildings built for the temple of Embekka. Six buildings are in the inner temple, and two of them outside. The structures that are inside the surrounding wall are known as the 'inner temple'. The structures that are outside the wall are known as the 'outer temple'.

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya of the Polonnaruwa Ancient Kingdom

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya is a square buiding with fine rock cut railing g going all around lying the Dalada Maluwa area of the ancient kingdom of Polonnaruwa. This building has been built by king Nissanka Malla (1187-1196).

The most important feature of this building is the shape and the carvings of the stone pillars. These pillars are carved in the shape of a lotus stem and are curved in three places. The top of the pillars take form of a lotus flower. On the center is a small Stupa. The whole building is surrounded by a fence made out of stone.

Distance from Polonnaruwa – 3.1 km (6 minutes)

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya is a unique and ancient structure situated in Polonnaruwa. By definition a mandapaya is a pillared structure which is open on all four sides and has a roof which protects the person inside from the sun. Nissanka Latha Mandapaya was built by King Nissanka Malla who ruled the kingdom of Polonnaruwa from 1187 to 1196. It is located near the western entrance of the Dalada Maluva which is the area that contains the most sacred and oldest monuments of the city of Polonnaruwa.

Inside the Nissanka Latha Mandapaya

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya is built on an elevated stone platform with many stone pillars around it. At the center of the platform stands a small stupa made of stone which has been partly destroyed along with time. As per the inscriptions on a stone nearby, the Nissanka Latha Mandapaya was used by King Nissanka Malla to listen to pirith which is the chanting of Buddhist scriptures.

Fa Hien Cave

LOCATED IN THE VILLAGE OF Yatagampitiya in Sri Lanka, Fa-Hien Lena (also known as Pahiyangala Cave) is the largest cave on the island, and one of the largest natural rock formations in all of Asia. The cave was also the site of a remarkable archaeological discovery that dug up human skulls dating back about 37,000 years—the remains of one of the region’s oldest prehistoric human settlements.

Surrounded by tropical greens, the mammoth cave measures 200 feet long, with an entrance 175 feet high and 160 feet wide, and sits 400 feet above sea level. There are areas inside the cave which are over 400 feet high. As archaeological research is still being conducted, many of the cave’s natural tunnels have been blocked. Aside from research, the cave is also the home of a Buddhist temple. A local monk used a heavy stone tool to clear the cave entrance and level the ground. Visitors to the cave are greeted by the temple’s 40 foot long reclining Buddha statue.

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

Sri Dalada Maligawa (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex which houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and is a UNESCO world heritage site partly due to the temple. The temple which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha is one of the holiest shrines in the entire Buddhist world.

History

The Sacred Tooth of Lord Gautama Buddha is preserved in Kalinga, India.The Kalinga king Guhasiva in the 4th century AD sends the tooth relic to Sri Lanka with Prince Danta and Princess Hemamala in order to prevent its possession by his enemies who made war.The tooth relic is received by the then King Meghavanna in Anuradhapura and enshrined in a 3rd century holy edifice.

The tooth relic became a symbol of status denoting the right to ascend the throne, and later kings in the kingdoms of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Dambadeniya built temples for the relic close to the royal residences.In the era of the Kotte Kingdom, the temple of the tooth was situated in the toyal city – Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte.

With the rise of the Kingdom of Kandy the Tooth of Lord Buddha was brought to the city, where it was housed in a two story building by the King Vimaladharmasuriya I. The building did not survive the ravages of time.The tooth relic was taken into hiding during the Portugese Invasion in 1603. It was brought back to Kandy by King Rajasingha II almost half a century later, and rehoused in a building identical to the former building.The current temple of the tooth was built by King Vira Parakrama Narendra Singha in the early 1700s. There was further construction on the moat and octagonal structure by the later King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha.

The Temple of the Tooth suffered damage and had to be repaired due to various civil wars in the late 20th century.