"
by S. S. M. Nanayakkara
Bahirawakanda 'the hill of Bahirawa' with its
breathtaking panoramic view of he hill capital is today a far cry from what it
was a few generations back. it was then a jungle encroached green belt where
lesser denizens of the wilds roamed at will. During Kandy..."
by S. S. M. Nanayakkara
Bahirawakanda 'the hill of Bahirawa' with its
breathtaking panoramic view of he hill capital is today a far cry from what it
was a few generations back. it was then a jungle encroached green belt where
lesser denizens of the wilds roamed at will. During Kandyan regime and as late
as the early British period the area earned a chilling reputation as the abode
of Bahirawa, an elusive demon who, it was believed, preyed upon humans. Folk
in the hinterland village held the locality under taboo, not even the most
daring of poachers would venture alone into the precincts. Many were cautious in
speaking of the faceless terror. Gentrification of the area and its burgeoning
development over the last 50 years or so has altered its original semblance so
dramatically that today it is to Kandy what Cinnamon Gardens is to the
metropolis, one of the most coveted pieces of real estate that the Kandy city
boast of. The Bahirawakanda heights command a
breathtaking Disneyland view of the Kandy town in the nights when the place is
lit up in all its chromatic splendour of glittering city lighting. Feast your
eyes for once on this ethereal wonderland you remain transfixed for ever!
Tradition :
The earliest reference to Bahirawakanda by its
chilling name, 'the hill of Bahirawa' is recorded in a late 18th century ola
scroll - 'The Asgiri Talpotha'. It chronicles that King Parakramabahu 1
(1164-1197) honoured by his King Parakrama Bahu the Great founded hereabouts a
monastic sanctuary for Buddhist priests. The southern boundary of this refuge is
identified as Bahirawakanda. It can be surmised that the name Bahirawakanda
was extent prior to the early 12th century, but from what period earlier
evidence is scanty. Tradition recounts that during the Kandyan
period human sacrifices were made to propitiate the demon of Bahirawakanda. The
first such sacrifice is credited to the fancy of a 17th century childless queen.
The queen dreamt that Bahirawa manifested himself to her in a dream and demanded
a human sacrifice if she were to be with child.
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66(66/0) 
by S. S. M. Nanayakkara
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