Mysterious Sri Lanka

By Leila Ekanayake

The miracle begins to unfold around 10.30pm. The night air fills with a soft indefinable scent, and the five leaved calyx, white with a hint of purplish green in its veins, opens out gradually so gradually that you donŐt see it happening and then a thin, three-inch petal of scintillating white peeps out, unfolding its beauty in the still night air. Another and another follow suit and by midnight all the petals have opened out and the stamens hold out their sacs of pollen. For a few moments this rare blossom sways softly in the night wind, like a delicate white manel (lily) flower. The fragrance is now intense, but all too soon the petals begin to wilt and by dawn the entire flower has withered.

This epiphytic plant grows in the forks of large trees, where the decayed particles of bark and moisture collect to give it a rich protective foothold. The plant has leathery leaves, a little thicker than that of the vanda orchid, but not as thick as that of the cactus. The leaves are long with scalloped edges. The scallops point downwards. During the Sri Pada season, November to March, a little shoot appears at the point where two scallops meet; the shoot grows to a length of about five inches before it bears a bud, which hangs down on its slender stem. This is the Kadupul - the legendary flower of the Celestial Nagas. It is believed that when these flowers bloom, the Nagas come down from their celestial abodes, to offer them to the Buddha on the Holy Mountain Sri Pada. The strange fragrance, the midnight miracle, and the fact that flowers bloom in the season when people flock to Sri Pada...

(Source: The Wheel Publication No. 402/404, ISBN 955-24-0126-7, Buddhist Publication Society  P.O. Box 61, 54  Sangharaja Mawatha Kandy, Sri Lanka ) Copyright © 1995 A.G.S. Kariyawasam

Deva Worship: Besides the ceremonies and rituals like pirit, sanghika-dana,kathina, etc., that can be traced in their origin to the time of the Buddha himself, there is another popular practice resorted to by the average Sri Lankan Buddhist which cannot be traced to early Buddhism so easily. This is deva-worship, the worship of deities, in what are popularly called devalayas or abodes dedicated to these deities. This practice cannot be described as totally un-Buddhistic, yet at the same time it does not fall into the category of folk religious practices like bali and tovil adopted by popular Buddhism.

The word deva, meaning "god" or "deity" in this context, signifies various classes of superhuman beings who in some respects are superior to ordinary human beings through their birth in a higher plane. As such, they are capable of helping human beings in times of difficulty. There is also another class of such superior beings who were originally extraordinary human beings. After their death, they have been raised to the level of gods and are worshipped and supplicated as capable of helping in times of need. These are the gods by convention (sammuti-deva) or glorified human heroes like the Minneriya Deviyo, who was glorified in this manner in recognition of his construction of the great Minneriya Tank at Polonnaruwa, or God Vibhishana, one of the four guardian deities of Sri Lanka. Both these categories of deities are, however, subject to the samsaric laws pertaining to birth and death. Thus it is seen that deva-worship is based on the theory that a superior being can help an inferior being when the latter needs such help. In addition to their role as helpers in need, an additional duty ascribed to the devas is the safeguarding of the Buddha-sasana, i.e., the Buddhist religion...

HISTORY: Horoscopes of contemporary people, Asian and non-Asian, written on ancient palm (ola) leaves have been known for decades in both Sri Lanka and in southern India, especially Tamil Nadu. They have been discussed in many issues of Indian astrological magazines, though mainly in the context of the subject of astrology but not on their history, or on why they were written or even with studies on their authenticity. One South Indian reader of these leaves who had dealt with these for over forty years in Sri Lanka told me they were originally written on goat skins, later transcribed on copper plaques, and then on ola leaves which are now claimed to be. hundreds of years old. If this is correct, the possibility of errors in transcription cannot be excluded. On why they were written, it has been surmised that they were tutorial exercises set by the ancient sages (rishis) to their pupils who were set the task of composing the horoscopes of persons yet to be born in a series of dates and times, or that the sages made these writings for the guidance of people, There were apparently seven (saptha) rishis (saptharishi) who authored these horoscopes individually or in conference of all seven (saprha-rishi vaakyam, seven -rishi stanzas). Since these writings relate to ordinary people, it does not appear that the authors were concerned only with important persons whose life histories could make vivid stories. Some clients are told that there are no leaves pertaining to them.

These leaves are claimed to have been in ancient Hindu temples in South India from where they were either stolen or bought during the British occupation of India. The British, it is said, took away the manuscripts of utilitarian value to them, such as traditional medicinal and alchemical texts. The remainder were the horoscopes. Since they apparently dealt with the lives of contemporary people, the present owners of the manuscripts have made a lucrative practice of reading them for their subjects in Asian countries. An occasional non-Asian has also found his leaf...

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.