
Magul Maha Viharaya : Where a royal wedding took place
It was the time when King Kawanthissa ruled the Kingdom of Ruhuna.
One day, the king's people were standing on the beach, when they saw an
object floating on the sea. It glistened under the rays of the sun and
was coming towards the shore.

Ruins of the dagoba
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When it got closer, they were surprised to see that it was a golden
canoe carrying a beautiful princess. They informed the king about this,
but unfortunately, the boat had gone past them when the king reached the
beach. "Ko Kumari?"(Where is the princess?) he inquired.
The boat had been swept away by a strong current towards the village
which is known as Komarigama today (coined from the words 'Ko Kumari')
in Arugam Bay. The canoe had not been able to anchor at Kirinde due to
its rocky environment. King Kawanthissa's people informed him that this
princess was known as Princess Devi, and was the daughter of King
Kelanithissa of 'Maya Rata'. She had been offered as a sacrifice to
appease the sea-gods, as the sea waters threatened to drown villagers.
It was known to be the first tsunami which occurred in Sri Lanka.

Magul Poruwa
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Somehow, King Kawanthissa met the princess who was eventually saved,
and married her, in keeping with the traditional customs. Then, she
became Queen Vihara Maha Devi. That's how this well-known event
happened. Today, we are going to enlighten you about a place where
evidence of this marriage between King Kawanthissa and Princess Devi is
believed to still remain. It is Magul Maha Viharaya, which is situated
in Lahugala along the Wellawaya-Monaragala Road, after passing
Siyambalanduwa. This is also known as Ruhunu Maha Viharaya.
According to official sources, Princess Devi's canoe had been washed
ashore at Arugam Bay, and not at Kirinde, as most people believe. The
entire vihara complex had been known to cover an extent of around 10,000
acres, where the ruins of a palace, moonstone, monastery, bo-maluwa,
stupas and ponds are located.
The history of this temple dates back to the time of King Dathusena,
who ruled Anuradhapura from 516 AD to 526 AD. According to the pillar
inscription at the premises, the founder of the vihara is King Dathusena.
The language and script have been dated to the 14th century.

The unique moonstone
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A stone wall, which is three to four feet in height, gives it the
appearance of a fortress, built to protect the premises from an outside
attack. At the entrance, there is a moonstone with a unique carving. A
row of elephants and creepers followed by a row of lotuses is the unique
feature of this moonstone. This is believed to be the only one of its
kind in Sri Lanka.
There are rock pillars as well, which are similar to those at
Lovamaha Prasada in Anuradhapura. Ruins of a dagoba, which is 30 feet in
height, is also found at the site. There are three rows of steps leading
to the dagaba on three sides, and on the left side is the Bodhigara and
also a rock inscription protected by an iron railing. The magul poruwa
of the royal couple is still found at the temple.

Rock pillars and statues
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The wedding ceremony is not the only fascinating thing about the
Magul Maha Viharaya. There are related stories as well that make the
temple more and more attractive. During the writer's visit to the
temple, the Thera who lives there explained to us how they found the
well, which they are using now.
"Before we found the well, we and the villagers had to walk around
4km to get water", said the Thera. One day, when the head priest, who
was living here at that time, was sleeping, someone had come in a dream
and told him, " there's a well in this place, dig that up".
So, the villagers and the priests had started digging the place
mentioned by the man who came in the dream. At last, they found a stone.
They didn't even have to break it.
They just pulled it and kept it aside. The sight had been so divine.
There was crystal clear water in a well-built well.
"The villagers were overjoyed", said the Thera. What they believe is,
when there was an attack by the Cholas (Indian king), people who had
lived here might have closed the well and gone for safety.
The beauty of the ancient sculptures found at Lahugala shows the
skill of the stone carvers of Anuradhapura. Their work is essentially
Sri Lankan; with the Indian art of sculpture being adapted to suit the
thinking of the Sinhala people.
Janani Amarasekara |