Totagamu Raja Maha Viharaya
- Totagamuwa: Out of the past -
In the Kotte period, during the reign of King Parakrama Bahu VI (1412-1469
A.D.), the southern part of the country - ancient Ruhunu Rata was said
to have been administered by a person called Demeta Kumaraya. He was
also called Jayamahaladana Kumaru.
This Demeta Kumaraya once officiated in a religious ceremony at Welitana,
close to Balapitiya. There the chivalrous Demeta Kumaraya met the beautiful
daughter of a chieftain of the village called Salaya, Sunethra Mahadevi.
A son was born to them in Dematenna in the Kegalle district. He was
to become famous in Sinhala prose and verse. Named Jayaba, he became a
learned Buddhist monk - Ven. Sri Totagamuwe Rahula.
After the death of his mother, the boy took refuge in the Kotte Royal
Palace. There he came under the tutelage of the most erudite Buddhist
monk of the time, namely Ven. Vidagama Maha Maithri Thera, and was later
ordained.
As the years passed, the young Buddhist monk, Sri Totagamuwe Sri Rahula
Himi acquired a mine of Buddhist scholastic works and literary brilliance
in prose and verse. Later he became a proficient native physician, well
versed in manthrams.
He became proficient in eight languages and was known as Sath Basha
Paramahimi.
As a Buddhist monk he stayed for some time at the Totagamuwa temple.
He also founded the famed Sunethra Devi Pirivena in Pepiliyana. Among
his eminent literary works in prose, verse and classic Sandesa (Message
Poems) are Paravi Sandesaya, Selalihini Sandesaya, Kavya Sekaraya, Mogagallana
Panchika Pradapaya and Buddhippasadini. Of these brilliant works, his
first one was Paravi Sandesaya written in the Buddhist era of 1972 (1430-A.D.)
in the reign of King Parakrama Bahu VI.
Totagamuwe Sri Rahula Raja Maha Viharaya is located along Galle Road,
off the 57th milepost from Colombo. It’s about 5 kms from Hikkaduwa.
In the foreground of the temple premises stands the statue of Sri Rahula
Nahimi Sangaraja under a canopy. Prof. Vinnie Vitharana, a well-known
scholar and author of books on our culture, history and archaeology, in
his authoritative book titled 'Totagamuwa' (1986) gives vivid accounts
of the origin of this historic temple. The bulk of the material in this
article has been taken with due acknowledgement from this valuable monograph.
The Totagamuwa temple is in the village of Telwatta, (the village used
to supply coconut oil to light lamps in the temple). Totagamuwa originated
from Thittagama - meaning in Sanscrit, 'Thirtha', and 'Tittha-tota (port)
in Pali. In the 'Culavamsa' Part II, (pages 206-207), mention is made
of a long prasada of forty-five cubits, which was created by King Vijaya
Bahu III (1232-1236 A.D). As it had fallen into decay, King Parakrama
Bahu VI (1410-1468), had later built a long prasada of thirty cubits consisting
of two storeys. In this chronicle it is referred to as Titthagama meaning
this Totagamuwe temple.
Visiting the temple recently, I met the incumbent priest - Ven. Pituwala
Sumana Thera. He was helpful in giving me access to the temple's library
where I was able to get useful information on books on Totagamuwa temple
like Dr.Vinnie Vitharana's book, and the pictorial book Paintings of Sri
Lanka, Telvatta, a publication of the Archaeological Department.
The Portuguese during their occupation of the Southern Province in the
16th century had destroyed almost all these buildings. What remains are
four standing monolithic pillars behind the devale premises. Some of these
have stone inscriptions which date back to the 15th century A.D.
In 'Culavamsa' Part II, it is recorded that Parakrama Bahu VI of the
15th century A.D. had laid out a park filled with 5000 coconut palms.
At the turn off from the Galle Road at the Telwatta junction is a board
put up by the Wildlife Conservation Department, indicating the 'Telwatta
Sanctuary', which had existed from British times.
The nameboard though is deceptive as all that remains of the sanctuary
are a few acres of coconut palms and other plants. Villagers say that
wild boar, porcupine, mouse deer and jungle fowl are found here.
The epic 'Ira Sandesaya' describes vividly the grand buildings that
had existed then, like the Vijayabahu Pirivena, and image houses and the
approach roads through groves and groves of coconut and other trees like
sal, sapu, na and water plants like lotus and nelum.
Parakrama Bahu VI died in 1467, but before his demise, he conferred
the highest royal prelate title of Sangaraja on Totagamuwe Sri Rahula
Himi for his literary contributions. During the Dutch period in the 17th
century, it is recorded that Totagamuwa served as a company village of
the V.O.C. (Dutch East India Company) to which it had supplied coconuts,
arecanuts and cinnamon in bulk.
In the late 18th century came the dynamic Buddhist monk Ven.Veliwita
Saranankara. He played an active part in the resurgence of the Totagamuwa
temple. It was during his period from 1734-99, that another equally dedicated
Buddhist priest Ven. Pallaththara Punnyasoma made his timely arrival.
He took refuge in the ambalama close to the famed Seenigama Devale by
the seashore, a little distance away from the temple. His mission was
to restore the buildings damaged by the Portuguese. He, along with a band
of villagers, spearheaded the movement to restore these buildings. Such
restorations commenced from 1792 and were completed by 1799 along with
the devales.
Among the legacy of Ven. Totagamuwe Sri Rahula Sangaraja are the works
written on Vijaya bahu Pirivena comprising verses and prose compositions
and other Sanskrit scripts titled - 'Buddha Setaka and Viri Karutna Pancika'
written by his pupil - Sri Ramachandra Bharata of India. There is also
the portrait of Sri Rahula Sangaraja hung on the wall. The inscription
in Sinhala script reads thus: "Sri Rahula Maha Sanganayake Wahansege
Murtha Sariraya" meaning "
The mortal remains of Ven. Sri Rahula
Maha Sangaraja which were interred by the Portuguese in Goa
”.
By Gamini G. Punchihewa
Sunday Times
Created : September 6, 2009
Updated
December 25, 2009
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