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| Wednesday, 4 February 2004 |
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Mount Sri Pada - World Heritage site by Aryadasa Ratnasinghe
Annually, the open semester to Sri Pada begins from the fullmoon day in the month "Unduvap' (December) and ends on the fullmoon day in the month 'Vesak' (May) of the ensuing year. The open semester begins with the removal of the statue of god Saman (the tutelary deity of the Samantakuta wilderness) together with the insignia of his 'vahana' (white elephant), from the sacrarium of the Galpottawala Rajamaha Vihara in Pelmadulla, where they are kept well secured during the close semester, when pilgrims do not ascend the peak, due to the outbreak of the monsoonal showers. The mythical conception is that during this off-season, gods assemble to worship the footmark, once it is cleansed of impurities left by man. The procession carrying the sacred objects to the summit of the mountain, break journey at the Maha Saman Devale in Sabaragamuwa, for the performance of religious observances and customary rituals, under the supervision of the Basnayaka Nilame of the Devala, before heading for the summit. The procession, in keeping to schedule, arrive at the site in the early hours of the morning to make preparations for the devotees. The footmark is cleaned and washed with sandalwood water and milk, which is in the form of a purification ceremony. 'Pirith' is chanted to invoke the blessings of the divine assembly, including god Saman, and after the preliminary rituals are over, the statue of god Saman and the insignia of the elephant are placed inside a niche, below the level of the footprint, and the 'kapurala' of the devale begins to invoke the blessings of god Saman, upon those who present themselves before the devale, beseeching divine help and for their safe return home. As a token of faith, the 'kapurala' places a 'tilaka' on the forehead of each devotee who appears before him. In the good old days, the procession to the summit, took the Ratnapura path (the oldest route), where the last inhabited station was Palabaddala, and from there a long way has to be covered on foot. Now it takes the Hatton path, for purpose of convenience, where all transport facilities cease at the Delhousie Bazzar, from where the ascent begins, taking about four hours to reach the summit. The 'Seetagangula' (river of icy water) that cascades through rich vegetation and over rocks, feed the river, that flows down the rocky precipice with water foaming beneath. This is an important station for pilgrims to perform their ablutions and get ready to make the steep ascent. This river on the Hatton path joins the Mahaveli-ganga, and that on the Ratnapura path joins the Kalu-ganga. Few people are, perhaps, aware of the area of the summit. It is 1,776 sq.ft. (74 ft.long and 24 ft. broad). On the centre lies a huge boulder upon which is found the sacred footmark, in the form of a superficial hollow. It is 6 ins. deep, 5ft. 4ins. in length, and between 2ft. 7 ins. (at the toes) and 2ft. 5 ins. (at the heel), to make it appear as a footmark. (These measurements were taken by Dr. John Davy, the first European to ascend the holy mountain in 1817). It was 186 years ago. "The cavity certainly bears a coarse resemblance to the figure of a human foot, if not for its gigantic size. In the footmark there are raised partitions to represent the interstices between the toes. The encomiums, which are lavished on the beauty of the Buddha's feet are improperly bestowed or damaged with the passage of time". So says Dr. Davy. According to Mahavamsa, the first king to ascend the holy mountain was Vijayabahu I (1058-1114). Having heard about it from some fairies, in graceful human form, plucking flowers in the royal garden to be offered to the footmark atop the samantakuta mountain, the king with his retinue made a pilgrimage to the mountain to worship the sacred footmark. He was followed by king Kirti Sri Nissanakamalla (1187-1196), who ascended the mountain with his fourfold army, to be followed by other kings later. Before that, there is no reference to the footmark being worshipped by devotees, and Mahavamsa makes no notice of it. The apostate Rajasinha I (1581-1592), in order to overcome his patricidal sin in killing his father, king Mayadunne of Sitawaka, and on the advice of Arittakivendu Perumal, a Saivite Hindu priest, embraced Hinduism, and in recompense, assigned the administration of the holy mountain to a Hindu religious sect, known as 'Andi' (a non-brahminical Saiva sect of South India). These 'Andis' made capital out of the issue and earned good income from the offerings made to the sacred footmark by devotees, in the form of gold, silver, cloth, cash etc., which they took into their possession, when they were in power for nearly 180 years. It was king Kirti Sri Rajasingha (1747-1780), the king of Kandy, who took over the administration of the holy mountain from the 'Andis' and gave it back to the Buddhists, having appointed Ven. Asarana Sarana Saranankara Sangharaja, as the new incumbent of the holy place. The 'Andis' were driven away and they never claimed their rightful possession to own the premises. Among the foreign travellers who climbed the mountain was the Arab traveller Ibn Batuta alias Abu Abdallah Mohammed (1304-1377), who wrote the history of Islam in the post-Mongol period. He had reached the summit, via the Ratnapura path, tracing the Kalu-ganga from Barberyn (Beruwala), "to worship the sepulchre (tomb) of Adam". The Hatton path is a later construction, known as the Raja Mawata, and it was the work of Minister Deva Pathiraja, who lived during the Dambadeniya period (1220-1293). Before him came Marco Polo (1254-1324), the Venetian merchant and traveller, to worship the grave of Adam, on his return from China in 1292, when he was the governor of Yangzhou, in Kublai Khan's service. He had come to know about the mountain, while in China, ascribing the footmark to Ho Chi (Adam). The Raja Mawata was traced from Gangasiripura (Gampola) along the Mahaveli-ganga, via Laxapana to Seetagangula and beyond. The Ambagamuwa rock edict stands testimony to the royal patronage extended to pilgrims on their way to Sri Pada, by providing water pots along the route and camps to rest, on the advice of king Vijayabahu I. In the old days, going on pilgrimage to Sri Pada, was considered a dangerous undertaking, specially along the rocky surface of the upper part of the mountain, where only tundra vegetation grows under humid tropical conditions. The most difficult part was the 'Mahagiridambe, where pilgrims ascended the mountain clinging onto iron chains fixed to the rocky surface of the ground, very often slippery after a downpour. An accidental fall means, down to the abyss below, with a drop of more than one thousand feet. Electricity to Sri Pada was supplied after completion of the Aberdeen-Laxapana Hydro Electric Project, and lamp posts were erected along the path at every corner. The supply was given on March 4, 1950, amidst the reverberating echo "Sadhu! Sadhu!! Sadhu!!! Today, concrete footsteps lead to the summit from Indikatupahana for the convenience of the pilgrims, specially to those old and feeble. One of the most eye-catching scene to be observed from the top of the mountain is the effulgence of the rising sun, known as the 'irasevaya' as the sun punctures the eastern horizon, shedding its gold and purple colours, as a ball of fire-Pilgrims make it a point to witness this natural phenomena, and try to reach the summit in time. From a mythical point of view, it is considered as the service of the sun-god to the sacred foot-mark. |
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