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| Saturday, 17 July 2004 |
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Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya - Lanka's biggest stupa by Premasara Epasinghe The exposition for public veneration of the Pinnacle (Kotha) and the Crest Gem (Chudamanikkaya) altogether 14 feet in height of the Mahaweli Maha Seya at Kotmale will be held at the Dalada Maligawa Kandy from the 17th to the 31st July 2004. The Sinhala Kings of yore erected Stupas that looked like minor mountains. They built tanks and reservoirs like minor oceans. This is our proud Culture and Heritage. With the passage of time and with foreign invasion, Buddhist structures did not received high patronage. But after a lapse of 1500 years magnificent Stupas recalling a glory of the past is taking shape on the comely hillock of Kadadora Kotmale - Mahaweli Maha Seya. Minister of Mahaweli, River Basin Development and Rajarata Development Maithripala Sirisena has extended his patronage to the construction of the Mahaweli Maha Seya which fulfills the need for a monumental and gigantic Stupa in the hill - country. Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya is located snugly within a green grove on an escarpment over looking The Gamini Disanayake Reservoir (GDR). Some of the most picturesque, breathtaking soothing sights, I have seen are the Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The view I got of the Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya from the distance point of GDR is fantastic an out of the world to say the least. Undoubtedly, this will be one of the greatest tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. I presume that the Ministry of tourism and the Tourist Board will take note of it. Contribution to Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya will be a future investment for the promotion of Tourism in Sri Lanka. Once completed, Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya will be the hub of complex of activities unit to the whole world. The Mahaweli Maha Seya envisages the construction of 200 feet diameter, 280 mm thick. Shell - type Dome on 32 Nos. Bored pile foundation of 1 m diameter, the height of the Stupa will be 289 feet and it will be lower than the Great Stupa Ruwanweli Seya by 2 feet. The estimated cost of the balance work of Square Chamber, God's Chamber, Spire and Pinnacle forming a Dagaba and other related structures is Rupees 145 million. This Religious Edifice will be an International Buddhist Centre in the future. The Pinnacle is 13 feet in height and the Crest Gem will be 21 inches. This will be the biggest in Sri Lanka. When this gigantic Mahaweli Maha Seya is completed, this will be the biggest Stupa to be constructed in Sri Lanka after 1500 years. There is also a Bo-Sapling of Sri Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi which was planted on 23rd March 2003. Many local and foreign tourists who visit Dalada Maligawa Kandy are now proceeding to Mahaweli Maha Seya and Kadadora which is historically woven with the Great king Dutu Gamunu folklore. Thousands of people lost their homes and lands because of Kotmale Project. Many religious edifices also went under water. Their Cultural Heritage and Sacred Sights suffered the same fate. There were 7 Buddhist temples which were directly affected by the construction of Kotmale Reservoir. The need to make amends and compensate for the Cultural Heritage and the Sacred Sights the people lost, the authority decided to construct Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya in the village of Kadadora. Kotmale Valley has from very early days on, been a prosperous settlement. Over and above this, the Valley is picturesque and alluring nestling about 2500 feet above sea level. The ancient Chronicles of Sri Lanka associate this region with the heroic Monarch of this Land- King Dutugamunu. The Chronicles describe with marked relish how young Prince Gamini spent his youth in Kotmale Valley. There is a view that states, that Prince Gamini came over to this region to acquire weapons for his planned military campaign. This implies that various minerals and metals existed in this area. Metalworkers of great skill practised their craft in Kotmale region at that time. Even today, there are artisans excelling in the making of iron and steel products. Whatever that may be in ancient times, as much as today, the main economic pursuit of the people was paddy cultivation. When we delve into the history of this area, Kotmale is referred to, for the first time in the Sinhala classic Pujavaliya. The name Kotmale is given as "Kottumala". In the "Dambadeni Assna", (1325-1363) Sinhala Bodhi Wansa (1303-1337) Daladasiritha (1325) also refers to Kotmale. Kotmale is one of the Koralas which belonged to the ancient Sinhala Kingdom. It consisted of Tispane, Medapane, Pallepane and Ramboda. Its main town was Punduluoya. According to Chronicles, the Tooth Relic that had been concealed in Kotmale was taken to Dambadeniya in the reign of King Vijayabahu the Third (1232-1236). Kotmale is referred to in the narration of the reigns of King Wickramabahu the Third (1357-1374) and Rajasinghe - the First. This Mega Stupa and International Buddhist Centre are designed and built by Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) under the supervision of Vidyajothi Dr.A.N.S.Kulasinghe - Chairman of the Mahaweli Cultural Foundation Trust. This Trust is an approved charity of the government. The contributions will be exempted from tax. For inquiries, Mahaweli Cultural Foundation Trust, Mahaweli Centre premises, 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 07. Tel: 94-11-2665650, Fax 94-11-2665554, E-mail - [email protected], web- www.mahawelimahaseya.lk |
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