Rajayatana Cetiya in Nagadipa
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The Sihala-vathuppakarana, the earliest extant book in Sri Lanka illustrates
this event in a different perspective. The Buddha, it states, saw the
impending struggle of the Nagas through his divine eye and set out for
Nagadipa out of compassion for the warring Nagas. The dispute, in this
instance, was over a throne made of red sandalwood and not a gem-set throne.
A tree deity presiding over a patali tree grown in the Jetavana Grove
removed it and held it over the Buddha’s head as a shade on this
journey. Two sections of the Nagas, namely, Tala Naga (Nagas living on
land) and Samudra Nagas (Nagas living in the sea) were at war over that
red sandalwood throne. The Buddha appeared before them and inculcated
fear in them by creating the effect of pitch darkness. At this terrible
sight all Nagas got frightened and lay down their arms. No preaching of
a sermon in this instance is recorded. There is also no reference to how
the dispute was settled. There is no mention of offering the throne to
the Buddha as noted in the previous story. The deity planted the tree
brought with him in the spot where the Buddha alighted from the sky on
this trip to Nagadipa. Since then this place became popular as the Patali
Cetiya after the name of the tree planted by the deity.
Both these stories, however, appear to have been based on the same theme.
The name of the tree featured in both versions such as kiripalu, Rajayatana
and Patali is attributed to the trumpet-flower tree. The Sinhala name
of this species is Palol.
King Bhatika Tissa (143-167) built the Palu-da-ge where the Kiripalu
tree took its roots. King Aggabodhi II (571-604) constructed the Unnalomaghara
for the Rajayatana Cetiya or Palu-da-ge cited in historical records.
Out of the three main places visited by the Buddha on his sojourns in
Sri Lanka only two have been identified with certainty. They are Mahiyangana
and Kelaniya. The very site patronised by the Buddha at Nagadipa has not
been identified even tentatively. The small island called by the pilgrims
as Nagadipa is ruled out since no tangible evidence there is forthcoming.
Archaeological excavations conducted in the Jaffna peninsula have brought
no clues towards any identification.
The following notes are addressed to make an attempt in this respect.
It is noticeable that the Tamil pronunciation of some of the Pali and
Sinhala words shows variations. The Pali term Unnaloma (Forehead hair
of the Buddha) in the term Unnalomaghara built by Ahhabodhi II cannot
be pronounced properly in the Tamil tongue. This particular term has been
subjected to changes in Tamil. As a result this word would have been pronounced
as Nallur through the process of word assimilation. Once the word Nallur
was thus formed it assumed a new meaning, i.e. good village. These considerations
would probably lead to identify the place now known as Nallur in Tamil.
According to the Kayilamalai, Puvaneya-paku, chief minister of Vicaya
Kulankan built the temple of Kantakuvami at Nallur in 948 A.C. The Tamil
Malai (narative) literature contains myths and legends in abundance. Historical
facts in them are scanty. Puvaneya paku, would have been presumably a
historical figure who was commissioned to build a kovil at Nallur in 948
A.C. Puvaneya-paku must have cleared the Buddhist site of the Rajayatana
Cetiya ruins and put up his new kovil over it.
It is the usual practice of ancient builders to erect their new constructions
on the same spot where earlier buildings stood. The present kovil structure
at Nallur could be but one example of this exercise.
Recent history records that the Nallur kovil was a work of Sapumal Kumaraya
who later became the king of Kotte with the throne name, Bhuvanekabahu
VI. It is wrong to say that he built a kovil there but he only rebuilt
the Rajayatana Cetiya which had been erased to the ground by the previous
builders.
A formula called Kattiyam which is still recited in the pujas at the
Nallur kovil mentions the name of Sri Sanghabodhi Bhuvanekabahu with his
queens, Gajavalli and Mahavalli. This Bhuvanekabahu is no other than Sampumal
Kamaraya for, he carried the epithet Sri Sangabodhi. He was the yuvaraja
in Jaffna under king Parakramabahu VI. Being a Buddhist there is no reason
why he needed a Hindu Kovil in his area of authority.
Ruthless pillage of the Portuguese in their campaign of destruction
of religious buildings opposing their religion had many victims mainly
along the coastal belt in Sri Lanka. The Rajayatana Cetiya rebuilt by
Sapumal Kamaraya could be a classic example of a Buddhist vihara destroyed
by the Portuguese. Such sites devastated by the invaders were open to
the four winds and the mightiest appropriated them for personal use. The
Hindus in Jaffna utilised the site thus abandoned to build a kovil in
the name of God Kandasami when the Portugese power declined. The builders
of the Kandasami kovil, however, were scared to forget Sapumal Kamaraya
completely. Out of awe and respect for the prince, the Hindus included
the name of king Bhuvanekabahu (Sapumal) in their kattiyam recitations.
This practice had been introduced to redeem their sinful act of investing
the Rajayatana Cetiya site in their god Skanda.
The site of the Rajayatana Cetiya is of special interest to the Buddhist
for another reason. The Pali and Sinhala literature narrate how the relics
of the Buddha finally disappear at the end of the dispensation of the
Sasana. The relics of the Buddha enshrined in all stupas in Sri Lanka
get assembled at the Ruvanveli Seya and float in the air to reach the
Rajayatana Cetiya and proceed to mingle with relics deposited in India.
Then, together they miraculously create the form of the living Buddha.
The Buddha figure thus created gets itself inflamed, leaving no traces
of the relics. This miracle is known as dhatu-antardhanaya, final extinction
of the Buddha relics in the world.
Source :The Island -
Saturday 8th November, 2003
Map
Created : April 14, 2009
Updated
November 2, 2009
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