Yapahuwa - once a glorious capital

Take a ten rupee note and have a closer look at it. Does the lion image in it look familiar to you? That's because, it's the picture of the famous Chinese-style, stone sculpture of the Yapahuwa lion.

The famous Yapahuwa rock, is situated along the main Kurunegala - Anuradhapura road, 46 km north of Kurunegala. Its surrounding area was once the capital of our motherland, for a brief period of time, during the 13th century. It is said to have been made so during the reign of King Buvanekabahu I.

There are no references to Yapahuwa in historical documentations, after the 13th century. According to these sources, Yapahuwa was first occupied by the Chief named Subha, as a place of defence against the South Indian forces, who were penetrating southwards into the country. The rock is believed to have been named after Subha; Subhapabbatha in Pali and Yapahuwa in Sinhala.

After him, in 1272 Buvanekabahu I had become the King, and moved his capital from Polonnaruwa to Yapahuwa, taking the sacred Tooth Relic along with him. He had brought the sacred Tooth Relic from Dambadeniya and kept it in a specially built structure at Yapahuwa.

However, the Sacred Tooth Relic's enshrinement in Yapahuwa had been only for a very brief period. Soon after the death of the King in 1284, the Pandyans of South India had invaded the island, and also captured the Sacred Relic. The news of this tragic occurrence which had thrown the Sinhalese into total despair, spread fast through the Buddhist world.

As soon as the Emperor of China, Kulbi Khar, who had been a great friend of King Buvanekabahu I, had heard of this devastating news, he had sent a group of people to India with an offer to exchange the Tooth Relic for some fabulous treasure. But, it is recorded that before they could arrive, in India, Parakramabahu III had become the King.

Aware of the fact that his legitimacy to the throne would be in question as long as the sacred Tooth Relic was not in his possession, the King had gone in person to meet the Pandyans and negotiate for its return.

The things that the Pandyans had demanded from the king in return for the Relic is not known, but the King's mission had been a success and he had returned with the Sacred Tooth Relic. Then, it had been enshrined once again in a specially constructed edifice (building) in the new capital, at Kurunegala.

Architectural features

The walls of Yapahuwa form a rough semicircle, the ends of which join the foot of the high steeped rock. The outer area consists of an earthen rampart about 20 feet high and half a mile long, on which a brick wall once stood. The inner area consists of a stone wall around 12 feet in height.

It is believed that the houses of the common people would have been between the outer and inner walls, while the king's palace, administrative buildings and the Temple of Tooth were within the inner wall. The magnificent stairway structure goes upwards from the lower southern slopes of the rock to a natural terrace, where the Temple of Tooth had once stood. The stairway had originally consisted of three flights of stone steps.

However, today, the lower one is no more, and has been replaced by steps of cement. These olden day steps are narrow and need to be manoeuvred sideways.

According to historians, this may have been done as a form of defence, as the steps can neither be ascended nor descended, hastily. It would certainly have paved the way for those at the top to arm themselves against any enemy onslaught.

At the top of the stairway is a large stone doorway flanked by thick walls and two exquisitely carved windows. During early excavations one window had been found in fragments, while the other, called the Seemeduru Kawuluwa (perforated palace window), had been found in good condition.

There is a graceful female figure, above which are two wide-eyed lions and elephants with their trunks extended. When one passes the door, one can see the remains of the foundation of the temple. The rough path to the top of the rock is to the left. The caves at the top show that Yapahuwa was once inhabited by Buddhist monks.

The Chinese connection

There are a number of facts to show that there was a strong relationship between Yapahuwa and China during the short period it remained the capital of the island. Excavations carried out by H. C. P. Bell at Yapahuwa, have revealed Chinese ceramicware and are considered among the finest ceramics found in the island.

A large number of celedan pottery parts had also been found. In 1949 archaeological excavations carried out in this location unearthed 1310 Chinese coins dating back to the 13th century

Evidence of human settlements

They have also found some strong evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to 1,000 BC to 500 BC (or early 500 BC to 200 AD) in the six acres of flat land surrounding the Yapahuwa rock.

It is believed to be the earliest such settlement found in the location of a rock capital. Furthermore, the evidence reveals that it was not a rural settlement, but an urban type of settlement.

This fortress capital, of the Sinhala kings, when abandoned, had been taken over by Buddhist monks and religious ascetics.

Janani Amarasekara