Anyradhapura

This sacred city was established around a cutting from the ‘tree of enlightenment’, the Buddha’s fig tree, brought there in the 3rd century B.C. by Sanghamitta, the founder of an order of Buddhist nuns. Anuradhapura, a Ceylonese political and religious capital that flourished for 1,300 years, was abandoned after an invasion in 993. Hidden away in dense jungle for many years, the splendid site, with its palaces, monasteries and monuments, is now accessible once again. Anuradhapura attests in a unique and specific way to the Sinhalese civilization. On numerous occasions the city was submitted to the assaults of invaders from southern India – Tamils, Pandyas, Cholas, etc. It stands as a permanent manifesto of the culture of Sri Lanka, impervious to outside influences. The sacred city exerted a considerable influence on the development of architecture during several centuries. It includes remarkable monuments, particularly the Dagabas of colossal size, placed on circular foundations and surrounded by a ring of monolithic columns, characteristic of the Sinhalese stupas.

The city is one of the principal shrines of Buddhism. The cutting from the fig tree of Buddha, brought there in the 3rd century BC, has flourished and, today, the Bodhi tree spreads out over the center of the site from a sanctuary near the Brazen Palace. The relics of Siddharta have, moreover, shaped the religious topography of Anuradhapura, where the Dagaba Thuparama was built by King Tissa in the 3rd century BC to house the clavicle of Buddha, an important religious relic presented by Ashoka. Anuradhapura belongs to the North Central Province in to Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization. The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka. In the sacred city of Anuradhapura and in the vicinity are a large number of ruins. The ruins consist of three classes of buildings, dagobas, monastic buildings, and pokuna (ponds). The city had some of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world, situated in the dry zone of the country the administration built many tanks to irrigate the land. Most of the civilians are Sinhala, while Tamils and Sri Lankan Moors live in the district.