Mihintale: monastic complex of two thousand monks
Prof. W. I. SIRIWEERA
The Sinhala term Mihintale is derived from Pali Mahindathala, the
place of Thera Mahinda. It is well known that the first meeting of Thera
Mahinda with King Devanampiya Tissa took place at Mihintale on Poson
Full Moon Poya day. This meeting is described in chronicles and Buddhist
literature overlaid with legends and miraculous events. But there is no
doubt about the historicity of the event because an early Brahmi
inscription at Mihintale refers to the Stupas of the Buddhist
missionaries Mahinda and Itthiya.
Pilgrims at Mihintale |
Acceptance of Buddhism by Devanampiya Tissa and the people, ushered
in a new era which put an end to prehistoric religious beliefs such as
worship of trees, mountains, stars, gods and various spirits known as
Nagas and Yakshas. In fact Buddhism brought people throughout Sri Lanka
in to one cultural entity believing in common ideals and practicing
common rituals. This unity also paved the way for the popularization of
the Pali canon, Brahmi script and art of writing, brick and stone
architecture and common sculptural forms all over the island.
Growth of monasteries
In the course of time, Mihintale mountain evolved to be an extensive
religious complex with a large number of chaityas or dagobas and other
religious buildings covering an area of 460 acres. The most important
dagobas are Kanthaka Chetiya, Mahasaya, Ambasthala Dagoba and Indikatu
Saya. But there are several smaller ones spread all over the place. This
is one reason why the locality came to be known as Chetiyagiri: the
mountain of dagobas. The other reason is that Thera Mahinda was born in
a place called Chetiyagiri in Vidisa in India.
The dagobas did not exist in isolation. Devotees flocked to them to
perform rituals. To attend to their religious needs a substantial number
of bhikkhus were required. The mountain was also an ideal place for
meditating bhikkhus who sought salvation. They lived in caves at the
initial stages of introduction of Buddhism. But later shifted to
comfortable monasteries in the vicinity. According to the Chinese
traveller Fa-Hsien who studied Buddhist scriptures at Anuradhapura for
two years between 411-413 A D, there were 2,000 Buddhist monks living at
Chetiyagiri during his time. The vestiges of extensive monasteries and
the rice container or bath oruwa found at the 77 feet by 14 feet
refectory are clear archaeological evidence which suggest the existence
of a large number of bhikkhus in the complex.
The complex had grown in size with added new features until the end
of the Anuradhapura period. For instance the (36 feet by 15 feet)
elephant pond which is referred to as Nagasondi was built in the sixth
century by Aggabodhi I (571-604). In the ninth century Sena II (853-887)
constructed the hospital at the base of the mountain with amenities such
as a dispensary, a waiting hall for patients, an area for examining
patients, meditation centre for ailing monks, rooms for in-house
patients and a medicinal trough for immersion therapy.
Mahayana influences
The Kaludiya Pokuna monastery to the West of the main monastic
complex was a creation of Kashyapa IV (898-914) in the tenth century.
This monastery which covers an area of 183 square metres is referred to
as the Hadayunha monastery in the chronicle. The Kaludiya Pokuna or the
Black Water Pond is 200 feet in length and 70 feet in breadth. Some of
the buildings in this complex clearly indicate how early caves were
gradually transformed in to brick and stone buildings with walls outside
the cave.
A significant feature at Mihintale is that bhikkhus of various sects
had lived in different monasteries in harmony as it was the case of
Abhayagiri in Anuradhapura. For instance, the Kaludiya Pokuna monastery
was the abode of monks of the Mahayana or Dhammaruchi sect. Ninety one
copper plates with Sanskrit phrases from the Mahayana text Pragna
Paramita have been discovered at IndikatuSaya in 1923. A Sanskrit
inscription on a rock close to the Ambasthala Chaityaya refers to the
Mahayana concept of Buddha’s Sambhogakaya, Dharmakaya and Nirmanakaya.
Kaludiya Pokuna monastery complex |
Mihintale also provides clues on the individuals who patronized some
of its constructions. Of course, the royalty and the nobility were the
main patrons but people belonging to various middle level social strata
too had contributed to some constructions. Most of the earliest caves
were donated by ordinary individuals who could afford to prepare them
for habitation by cutting drip ledges. One of the inscriptions at
Kaludiya Pokuna states that stairs leading to a building there was
donated by a jeweller named Mulaguta.
Auditing
The long slab inscription of Mahinda IV (956-972), situated closer to
the refectory is particularly important in understanding monastic
administration at Mihintale in particular and elsewhere in general.
According to the inscription income from large extents of land endowed
to the monastery was utilized to remunerate lay individuals who
performed services at the monastery in cash and kind. In most cases
plots of land were also allocated to them on service tenure.
The services ranged from arranging festivals; performing rituals;
washing robes, supplying pots, strainers, lime, flowers, oil etc;
working in the refectory; attending to repairs of buildings as masons,
carpenters, blacksmiths; working in the hospital as physicians,
druggists, attendants and keeping daily and monthly accounts and
auditing annual accounts. In fact this slab inscription contains the
earliest reference to auditing of accounts in Sri Lanka.
It also states that officials of the monastery must not extract
personal services from the people engaged in the monastery nor should
they send such people out on other services in the neighbourhood.
Mihintale was partially neglected from the beginning of the 11th
century and completely abandoned from the middle of the 13th century as
a result of the collapse of the Rajarata civilization. Only in the
beginning of the 20th century attention was again paid to this large
monastic complex and the structures we see today have been restored by
archaeological commissioners H. C. P. Bell, A. M. Hocart and S.
Paranawithana. |