More insights on religious literature
P. U. Liyanage
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Relics of the late Ven. Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula |
Apropos the article pertaining to Ven. Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula by S.
B. Karalliyadde, which appeared in the issue of Daily News Artscope on
April 28. I would wish to adumbrate the adjunct folklore relating to the
cavelet - the last abode of the priest, current among the villagers
around the places, Karalliyadde refers to the name of the cavelet as
Kindurugala. But today, it goes as Indurugiri lena. Some years back, the
following stanza on a small board fixed on to a way-side tree on the
main road near the turn off to the temple (which is not in sight now)
indicated the approach directions to the cavelet thus:
Sonduru saw bhasha viyarana satha dinna
Maharu Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula punna
Ruduru maru muwata peminie veda unna
'Indurugiri' lenata yana mawatha menna
This little known place of historical importance, dating back to the
Portuguese era, is situated at the village of Ambana, embedded in the
interior of the Galle District, which is about 14 miles bordering the
Yakkatuwa-Talagaswala main road.
"The mythical legend revolving round this cavelet, nestling on the
hillock Ambankanda is that it had been the last abode of Venerable
Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula, the greatest poet of Sri Lanka (Bard of Sri
Lanka). It is believed that the Venerable priest, on eve of his life,
came to loggerheads with the reigning monarch of the time (Parakramabhahu
VI), withdrew from public life and lived a life of seclusion in the
sylvan environment of this granite domicile.
Natural evidence
The cavelet perches on the crest of a hillock, evidently covered by
verdant virgin forest at the time, a unique natural formation with only
one apartment. The space on which a human being could stand up right,
had been enclosed by three walls built as high as the slab of stone
which formed the roof. There are traces of another frontal wall with an
entrance that shut the mouth of the cavelet on the Eastern side. The
enclosed area is about 100 sq. feet.
To be continued next week |
