SRI LANKA HOTLINE
Tel: +94 11 522 00 00
Fax: +94 11 522 00 30
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ANURADHAPURA INFORMATION
Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization.
The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malvathu Oya.
Founded in the 4th century BC, it was the capital of the Anuradhapura Kingdom until the beginning of the 11th century AD. During this period it remained one of the most stable and durable centers of political power and urban life in South Asia. The ancient city, considered sacred to the Buddhist world, is today surrounded by monasteries covering an area of over sixteen square miles
(40 km²). Anuradhapura is also significant in Hindu legend as the fabled capital of the Asura King Ravana in the Ramayana.
The city's popularity grew both as a ritual centre and as the administrative centre, a large population was attracted to the city for permanent settlement. Thus the living facilities were improved to accommodate the expanding population. King Vasabha constructed many ponds which were fed by a network of subterranean channels which were constructed to supply water to the city. Tissa and Abhayavapi tanks were built, the Nuwara weva was built and the Malwatu Oya was dammed to build the Nachchaduwa wewa which was 4408 acres (17.84 km²) in size.
In the sacred city of Anuradhapura and in the vicinity are a large number of ruins. These have not been identified properly and many have been destroyed either by Tamil invaders or by vandals. Neither the tourists nor the pilgrims had paid much attention to these ruins and information regarding this is meager. Although Avukana is not situated in the sacred city of Anuradhapura, the pilgrims never fail to pay homage to this statue.
The capital of the Rakshasa King Ravana in the Hindu epic Ramayana (The Epic of Lord Rama) is said to be situated in Anuradhapura. The capital was burnt down by legendary Rama devotee Lord Hanuman before the epic war. A popular legend among the Hindus says that a layer of ash is still to be found anywhere that you dig in Anuradhapura.
With the introduction of Buddhism, the city gained more prominence and the great building era began. The Mahavansa states that King Kutakannatissa built the first city wall to a height of seven cubits with a moat in front of the wall. This fortification was further enlarged by raising the wall a further 11 cubits to 18 cubits by King Vasabha. The king also added fortified gatehouses at the entrances of which the ruins can be seen to date. The Mahavamsa also states that soothsayers and architects were consulted in the construction.
The great building era was when vast monastery complexes and some of the tallest buildings in the ancient world were built. The Jetavanaramaya dagoba of the city is still the highest brick structure in the world.
The Maha Vihara was centered around the orthodox Theravadins. This was founded by King Devanampiya Tissa in 249 BC. The heterdox Mahayanists founded the Abhayagiri Vihara. King Mahasena (275-310 BC) built the Jetavanaramaya located in between the Maha Vihara and the Abhayagiri Monasteries.
The city suffered much during the earlier South Indian invasions, and was finally abandoned by AD 1017. It was the capital of the country continuously from the 5th century BC to AD 1017.
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Alphabetical Listings of Hotels in Anuradhapura |
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