Sacred City of Anuradhapura

Overview

The Sacred City of Anuradhapura is an ancient royal capital in north-central Sri Lanka and an active center of Buddhist pilgrimage. Its central shrine is the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a tree that Buddhist tradition traces to the tree in India under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Pilgrims worship daily at the tree and at the city's great stupas, dome-shaped shrines built to hold relics. Anuradhapura is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Present

Anuradhapura is an active pilgrimage destination. Its principal shrines are grouped as the Atamasthana, the eight sacred places, which include the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and the major stupas. They are administered by a resident monastic establishment headed by a chief monk, the Atamasthanadhipathi, while the Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka maintains the wider ancient city. Worship at the Bodhi tree takes place daily, with offerings of flowers, lamps, and rice from the first harvest of the surrounding farmland. Pilgrims dressed in white arrive in large numbers on Poya days, the monthly full-moon holidays of the Buddhist calendar. The largest gatherings of the year come at Poson, the June full moon, when Buddhists commemorate the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Religious Significance

Buddhists venerate Anuradhapura as the place where Buddhism took root in Sri Lanka. According to Buddhist tradition, the religion arrived in the 3rd century BCE, when Mahinda, a monk and son of Ashoka, the Indian emperor who promoted Buddhism across his empire, converted King Devanampiya Tissa, whose capital was Anuradhapura. Buddhist tradition holds that the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi grew from a branch of the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya in India, the tree under which the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, attained enlightenment; the branch was brought to the island by Sangamitta, a nun and daughter of Ashoka, and planted in the royal park. Devotees regard offerings at the tree as bringing protection and blessing. The city's stupas are objects of worship in their own right: Buddhist tradition holds that the Ruwanwelisaya enshrines relics of the Buddha and that the Thuparamaya enshrines his collarbone.

History & Structure

Anuradhapura was founded as a royal capital around the 4th century BCE and served as the capital of Sri Lanka for more than a thousand years. Its kings built monasteries and stupas on a monumental scale: the Thuparamaya in the 3rd century BCE, the Ruwanwelisaya in the 2nd century BCE under King Dutugemunu, and the Jetavanaramaya in the 3rd century CE. The stupas are solid domes of brick set on stone terraces; the largest of them rise more than 50 metres. An invasion from the Chola kingdom of southern India ended the city's role as capital in 993 CE, and the court moved to Polonnaruwa. The abandoned city was overgrown by forest, and clearing and restoration began in the 19th century. Today the site combines excavated monasteries, bathing ponds, and fields of stone pillars with restored white-painted stupas and active temples. Anuradhapura was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

Additional Resources

• Official website: Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya
• UNESCO: Sacred City of Anuradhapura