Kelaniya's Duruthu Perahera

The year's first perahera:

In Sri Lanka Peraheras are a regular event. Every month there is a perahera somewhere in the island. The Duruthu Pererahera in Kelaniya, which just concluded is the first perahera in the year.

Many believe that this perahera marks the Buddha's visit to Kelaniya on a Duruthu Full Moon Day. This month which is known as January in English is the 10th month in the Sinhala calendar. The Buddha did visit Lanka on a Duruthu Full Moon Day, but it was not to Kelaniya. He came to Mahiyangana in Uva, in the Badulla district. He came to bring peace to two Yakkha tribes who were at war.

The Buddha did visit Kelaniya. It was on the Vesak Full Moon Day in the eighth year after his Enlightenment. It was his third visit, the second was to Nagadeepa, three years earlier.

The present day Duruthu Perahera does not, in any way commemorate the Buddha's visit to Kelaniya.

Compared to the other Peraheras, the Kandy Esala Perahera, the Saman Devala Perahera in Ratnapura and the Devundara Esala Perahera, Kelaniya's Duruthu Perahera is new. It has a very short history, not yet 100 years old.

This Perahera was started in 1926 to mark the renovation of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, by Mrs. Helena Wijewardene, mother of the Founder of Lake House, D.R. Wijewardene. It is said that it was one of her sons, D.W. Wijewardene who had suggested that a perahera be held to mark the occasion.

The Kelani Vihara has a long and proud history, which goes back to the time of Vihara Maha Devi and even beyond the eighth year of the Buddha's Enlightenment. The grandeur of the Vihara is recorded in Sri Lanka's poem the 'Selalihini Sandesa'. All that was destroyed by the Portuguese who were out to erase the worship of the Buddha from the island.

Although some repairs were done to the Vihara in the reign of Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe of Kandy in the 18th century, the Vihara was in a poor state during the British times.

Mrs. Helena Wijewardene (Dep before her marriage) who resided in Sedawatta on the other bank of the Kelani River came to the Vihara often and was very sad to see this sacred place-one of the 16th hallowed places of worship, Solosmasthana in such disrepair. She made a resolve to repair the Vihara some day and bring back its glory. Her resolve was put into action in the early twenties and the Vihara we see today with all the beautiful frescoes done by the famous artist Soliyas Mendis, is the fulfilment of her great wish, wisdom and endeavour, and the perahera held every year in the month of Duruthu commemorates that great endeavour.

Sumana Saparamadu
 

Its history...

The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara or Kelaniya Temple is seven miles from Colombo. The temple is considered hallowed because of the Buddha's visit to the precincts during His third and final visit to Sri Lanka, eight years after gaining enlightenment. Its history dates back to before 500 BCE.

The temple flourished during the Kotte era but much of its land was confiscated during the Portuguese rule.

Under the Dutch rule, however, there were new gifts of land and under the patronage of King Kirthi Sri Rajasingha the temple was rebuilt. It was refurbished in the first half of the 20th century with the help of Helena Wijewardene. The temple is also famous for its image of the reclining Buddha and paintings which depict important events in the life of the Buddha, in the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and also incidents from the Jataka tales.The Mahawansa records that the original Stupa at Kelaniya enshrined a gem-studded throne on which the Buddha sat and preached.