Sri Lanka Holidays

Mihintale, Sri Lanka, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka

Mihintale, the mountain from where the Aryan Sinhalese took flight to a still superior civilization by way of the gentle sway of Buddhism

"A more perfect sanctuary for the sons of Buddha could not be found anywhere else throughout the length & breadth of Ceylon" H. C. P. Bell

"Oh! Great King, the birds of the air & the beasts have an equal right to live & move about in any part of this land as thou. The lands belongs to the peoples & all other beings & thou art only the guardian of it" said Arahat Mahinda to King Devanam Piya Tissa, the famous "Deer Hunter" 307 BC

We are going to the mountain Mihintale (meaning Mahinda's Hill in Sinhalese) (12km east of Anuradhapura) where The Close Encounter between the Supremely Enlightened Arahath Mahinda & King Devanam Piya Tissa (meaning dear to god in Sinhalese), the famous Deer Hunter took place & the Aryan Sinhalese civilization took flight to still superior civilization by gentle sway of Buddhism. We drive just 15 km (from The Lion Rock Citadel (Sigiriya)) & park the car in a clean large red gravel opening. It is another rock 1000 feet in height, one of the peaks of mountainous range. Though the site was called Missaka Pabbata or Cetiyagiri or Sagiri, it was popularly known as Mihintale-the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Temples in a wondrous setting
No matter what your faith is, beautiful shrines, stupas, caves enhanced by the wondrous setting, make Mihintale unforgettable. Although modern Mihintale is still mainly a large village, the site being sprawling in scale & culturally immensely significant, it is deeply loved by the Sinhalese Buddhists.

The Deer Hunter
It was at the summit of this hill that then king of Lanka, the famous Deer Hunter, King Devanam Piya Tissa (307-266 BC) pursing a stag to the top of the hill, found himself confronted by Arahat (supremely enlightened Buddhist monk) Mahinda, the son of the one & only Indian emperor to bring whole of India under a single standard, the Great Mauryan Emperor Asoka. It was following the mass conversion at this summit that Buddhism spread throughout Lanka with state patronage.

Poson Poya, the Buddhist pilgrimage festival in June
Mihintale becomes vibrant with thousands of Buddhist flags, electric lamps, earthen oil lamps, colourful paper lanterns & a great congregation of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims during Poson Poya (Full moon day called Poson) in June which commemorates the introduction of Buddhism to Lanka by Arahath Mahinda. While alms giving halls are open to all the peoples of all faiths, Buddhist rituals & sermons day & night for a couple of days are held at Mihintale & all over the island.

Ruins of the hospital (Veda sala)
At the foot of the mountain, next to the car park lie the ruins of a hospital: a well dug rock cavity in the human shape (unnervingly like a sarcophagus) which was used for immersing the patient in medicinal oil bath, a stone inscription & urns. The existence of the hospital complex was recorded also by the Chinese pilgrim Bhikshu Fa- Hsien, who visited Lanka in the 5th century AD.

The Site Museum
North of the ruins of the hospital is the site museum. The most interesting exhibit herein is the model of a relic chamber from a stupa. We mustn't miss the chance to see what is held inside the relic chamber since such an exhibit would rarely be found anywhere else.

Ruins of a monastery
Between the hospital & the steps leading to the summit of the rock are ruins of a large monastery. Ruins of a square building which is 125 feet on one side are beautiful with carvings, stone balustrades & guard stones. As this side is precipitous, the steps are on the eastern side of the slope, spacious & in 4 sections.

1840 granite steps
Easy now. The first section of stairway is nice & wide. The granite rock was carved & paved all the way to the top, all the way shaded by frangipani tree, all the way gangs of cheeky monkeys staring at you & picking up bananas thrown to them by the pilgrims-old & pious, boys & girls of all ages, adults on fun & in awe & respect.

The Kantaka Cetiya at the first terrace
At the end of the first set of steps on the right side of the plain is a small mountain peak. On this is located the Kantaka Cetiya stupa built by King Suratissa. The 1st century B.C. stupa is partly in ruins in 40 feet in height (originally stood over 30m high) & has a circumference of 425 feet. It is believed some of the monks had lived in the caves close to the stupa. The well preserved four projective front pieces (Anuradhapura-style vahalkadas) of the stupa are especially impressive. The front pieces are decorated with elephants & peacocks together with mythical dwarfs (Vamana or Bahirawa) in amusing postures & carvings of monkey head & elephant head.

Stone inscriptions
Just south of stupa, on a huge boulder perched precariously on its side, is an inscription in a very early, proto-Brahami script, similar to that found in inscription at the Vesagiriya Monastery in Anuradhapura.

Medamaluwa monastery at the Middle Terrace
Returning from the Kantaka Cetiya to the steps & continuing up brings us to a large terrace & the ruins of The Medamaluwa monastery. There we find Alms House, Mihintale Stone Inscriptions, Chapter House & Sinha Pokuna ('Lion Pool')

The Refectory (Dana Sala = Alms House)
To the left of the courtyard at the end of the third flight of steps are the ruins of the refectory. The quadrangle, 62 feet in length & 25ft in breadth, is surrounded by the store room. The two large stone troughs, the rice boat & a gruel boat. Ruins of a pipe line, water cistern & covered drains have been discovered herein. It was believed well planned pipe borne scheme was in place during the glory days of Mihintale.

Mihintale stone inscriptions
On either side of the entrance to the Refectory are two Sinhala inscriptions engraved on 2 large slabs of granite known as the Mihintale stone inscriptions. The rules & regulations pertaining to the administrative purposes of the monastery were scripted herein by King Mihindu (956-976 AD)

The Upper Terrace
Another long flight of steps leads us to the heart of Mihintale where King Devanam Piya Tissa met Arhath Mahinda.

Ambasthala Dagoba (Mango Tree Dagoba)
On the plain close to the summit of the rock is Ambasthala Stupa built by King Makalantissa. This is the very spot at which the famous Close Encounter took place. The stupa was once roofed over in vatadage style, as testified by the two rows of pillars around it.

"The Close Encounter" in 307 BC
Arahath Mahinda: "Samanas (Buddhist monks) are we, O great king, disciples of the King of Truth. From compassion toward thee are we come hither from Jambudipa. (India)"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "By what way are you come?"
Arahath Mahinda: "Neither by land nor by water are we come"

Mahavamsa, the great chronicle of Ceylon
Translated by Wilhelm Geiger, Ph. D.

The Riddle of the Mangoes that preceded the sermon "Chulahatthipadupama Sutra" (The lesser discourse on the simile of the elephant's footprint) of Buddhism, the most profound religion.
Arhat Mahinda: "What name does this tree bear, O king?"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "This tree is called a Mango."
Arhat Mahinda: "Is there yet another Mango besides this?"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "There are many mango-trees."
Arhat Mahinda: "And are there yet other trees besides this mango & the other mangos?"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "There are many trees, sir; but those are trees that are not mangoes."
Arhat Mahinda: "And are there, besides the other mangoes & those trees which are not mangoes, yet other trees?"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "There is this mango-tree, sir."
Arhat Mahinda: "Thou hast a shrewd wit, O ruler of men!"
Arhat Mahinda: "Hast thou kinsfolk, O king?"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "There are many,sir."
Arhat Mahinda: "And are there also some, O king, who are not kinsfolk of thine?"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "There are yet more of those than of my kin."
Arhat Mahinda: "Is there yet any one besides the kinsfolk & the others?"
King Devanam Piya Tissa: "There is yet myself, sir."
Arhat Mahinda: "Good! Thou hast a shrewd wit, O ruler of men!"

Mahavamsa, the great chronicle of Ceylon
Translated by Wilhelm Geiger, Ph. D.


The cave of Arahat Mahinda
A bit of a hike down a woodland path on a slope leads us to the cave of Arahat Mahinda. This is the most famous cave amidst the 68 caves of the Buddhist monks.

Those who transcended all human attachments including race & nationality
Having arrived from India in 307 BC, Buddhist Bhikshu Arahath Mahinda resolved to stay (307 BC-259 BC) in Lanka & sacrificed his lifetime to propagate Buddhism (out of India) of Gauthama Buddha in the resplendent island of Lanka. The final extinction (rather than death) of Arahath Mahinda was in 259 BC.

Naga Pokuna (Snake Pool)
Passing Ambastalya on the western side is a flight of steps leading to a rock-cut pool guarded by a rock carving of a five-headed cobra of which the tail reaches right down to the bottom of the pool.

Assembly hall
In the vicinity of the refectory on another plain is the Assembly Hall of the monks, an open square building constructed on 48 stone pillars with access from four directions. In the middle of the hall is an elevated seat designed for the most senior monk.

Aradhana Gala
Facing the Maha Saya on the summit of the hill is the rock called Aradhana Gala, the location of first sermon in the island by Arahat Mahinda. We can climb onto the rock by hanging on to the iron railings even if we land there on a windy day. We are right behind you.

Sinha Pokuna (Lion pool)
Beautifully cut into a rock is a carving of a lion that spurts water into a handsome square bath, which wouldn't run out of water even in the height of a tropical drought, a part of the ancient water supply system.

Mihintale Mahaseya Stupa
This large bubble shaped stupa known as the Mihintale Maha Seya stupa is on the summit of the Mihintale hill. The hilltop location provides a wonderful all round view of the surrounding countryside. The stupa was built by King Mahadathika Mahanaga (07-19 AD). The renovated stupa is 45 feet is in height & 136 feet in diameter. It is believed the stupa enshrins relics (called Urna Roma Dhatu) of Buddha.

The vantage point
Such is the panoramic view, we can even see the great stupas at Anuradhapura in the distance. The sacred Bo Tree is seen. A sapling of the Bo Tree (Bodh Gaya in India) under which Buddha broke free of eternal cycle of birth & rebirth, liberated himself from all desires, free from all vices, animosity & pride, anger & enmity, jealousy & greed & reach the summit of all virtue & yield into the power of impermanence & attained enlightenment. The oldest documented tree of the world has been tended devotedly for 23 centuries. That is at the ancient (437 BC- 845 AD) Sinhalese Kingdom of Anuradhapura, stronghold to 114 kings and two queens, ruins of which rate no far behind the Egyptian Pyramids, yet in terms of publicity deserved and required to draw the recognition and World cultural protection, fall too far off the mark. Unfortunately that is, in spite of Sri Lanka being a prominent tourist destination of Asia.

Ruins surrounding the site
Returning to the main road & taking a turn off we come across ruins of another monastery, Rajagiri caves with Brahmi inscriptions & another man made pool called Kaludiya Pond (Black pond). All of these are set nicely amidst woods, boulders & avenues of frangipani (Araliya in Sinhalese).