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Anuradhapura Kingdom

                                                           Anuradhapura Kingdom අනුරාධපුර රාජධානිය The Anuradhapura Kingdom (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුර රාජධානිය, named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka and Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 377 BC, the kingdom's authority extended throughout the country, although several independent areas emerged from time to time, which grew more numerous towards the end of the kingdom. Nonetheless, the king of Anuradhapura was seen as the supreme ruler of the country throughout the Anuradhapura period. Buddhism played a strong role in the Anuradhapura period, influencing its culture, laws, and methods of governance. Society and culture were revolutionized when the faith was introduced during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa; this cultural change was further strengthened by the arrival of the Tooth Relic of the Buddha in Sri

Kingdom of Kandy නුවර රාජදානියෙ පැරණි ඉතිහාසය සින්හලෙන් කියවන්න

Kingdom of Kandy Kingdom of Kandy නුවර රාජදානියෙ පැරණි ඉතිහාසය සින්හලෙන් කියවන්න The Kingdom of Kandy was an independent monarchy of the island of Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom of the Kingdom of Kotte, Kandy gradually established itself as an independent force during the tumultuous 16th and 17th centuries, allying at various times with the Jaffna Kingdom, the Madurai Nayak Dynasty of South India, Sitawaka, and the Dutch to ensure its survival. From the 1590s, it was the sole independent native polity on the island of Sri Lanka, and through a combination of hit-and-run tactics and diplomacy kept European colonial forces at bay, before finally succumbing to final, British colonial rule in 1818. The kingdom was absorbed into the British Empire as a protectorate following the Kandyan Convention of 1815, and definitively lost its autonomy fol

Hanuman

Hanuman  හනුමාන් සංස්කෘත Hanuman Sanskrit:is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and one of the central characters in the various versions of the epic Ramayana found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.As one of the Chiranjivi, he is also mentioned in several other texts, such as the Mahabharata, the various Puranas and some Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh texts. Several later texts also present him as an incarnation of Shiva. Hanuman is the son of Anjana and Kesari and is also son of the wind-god Vayu, who according to several stories, played a role in his birth. His theological origins in Hinduism are unclear. Alternate theories include him having ancient roots, being a non-Aryan deity who was Sanskritized by the Vedic Aryans, or that he is a fusion deity who emerged in literary works from folk Yaksha protector deities and theological symbolism.:39 40 While Hanuman is one of the central characters in the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, the evidence of devotional worship

Kingdom of Kotte ජයවර්ධනපුර කෝට්ටේ ඉතිහාසයෙන් කොටසක්

Kingdom of Kotte Kingdom of Kotte ජයවර්ධනපුර කෝට්ටේ ඉතිහාසයෙන් කොටසක්  Parakramabahu VI first became the king of Raigama in 1412, then in 1415 he made Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte his capital. The King upgraded the existing citadel and built a new royal palace. Parakramabahu VI waited until ties between the Vijayanagara Empire and Jaffna kingdom were severed. First he captured the Vanni and made its leaders loyal to him. Sapumal Kumaraya was the commander of the Kotte army at the time. Tamil served as one of the court languages of the Kotte kingdom at this time. Rise In 1450, Parakramabahu VI had, with his conquest of the Jaffna kingdom in northern Sri Lanka, unified all of Sri Lanka. At its height, the Kingdom oversaw one of greatest eras of the Sinhalese literature. Notable poets at the time were Buddhist monks such as Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera, Weedagama Maihree thero, and Karagala Wanarathana thero. By 1477, however, 10 years after the death of Parakramabahu VI, regi

Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula තොට ගමුවෙ ගීු රාහුල හිමියන්

Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula  Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula තොට ගමුවෙ ගීු රාහුල හිමියන් Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera (1408 - 1491) was a Buddhist monk and an eminent scholar, who lived in the 15th century in Sri Lanka. He was a polyglot who was given the title "Shad Bhasha Parameshwara" due to his mastery in six oriental languages which prevailed in the Indian subcontinent. Sangharaja Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera was also a distinguished author, veteran astrologer and a proficient ayurvedic physician. Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula thera was born in 1408 at Dematana, a village close to Dedigama in Kegalle District. His lay name was Jayaba. Though his parentage is uncertain, some sources reveal that his mother was the elder sister of queen Keerawelle Kumari, who was the chief consort of King Parakkramabahu VI of Kotte.  Accordingly, his mother was princess Seelawathi and his father was prince Wickramabahu. Since prince Jayaba's mother died when he was an infant, he was kept

Suranimala සුරනිමල යෝධයා ගේ මාහා වීරකමි

Suranimala was a Sinhalese soldier in the 2nd century BCE. He was the second in command of King Dutugemunu’s army, and among ten of his best warriors known as ten giant warriors. He made an immense contribution to King Dutugemunu's victory over King Elara. He is said to have been a highly skilled swordsman and his preferred weapon was a large sword. Named by his parents as Nimala, he was the youngest of seven children. His father was known as Samgha, the village headman of Khandakavitthika in Kotthivala. Although said to have had the strength equal to that of ten elephants, in his younger days Nimala preferred to stay idle at home while his brothers worked in the family’s paddy fields. When an order was issued by the King to send one male to serve in his army, Nimala’s brothers picked him to be sent, feeling that he was no use to the family. After joining a company south of the Mahaweli River under a prince named Digabhaya, Nimala was sent on an errand to deliver a message

Cave temples

Cave temples දඹුල්ල හා සිතුල්පූව ගුහාව The earliest evidence of cave temples are found in the temple complexes of Mihintale A unique feature in these caves was the use of a drip ledge carved along the top edge of the rock ceiling which stopped rain water running into the cave.  With time, doors, windows and walls of brick or stone were added. The roof and walls were plastered white and finished with decorative paintings, these are evident in the cave temples of Dambulla. Chipped material of the rock packed underneath the clay finished floor. Cave complexes of Dambulla and Situlpahuwa contained 80 caves each, The Kaludiya Pokuna, Mihintale cave temple is constructed with brick walls, granite window openings,  and ceilings. The Gal vihara, Polonnaruwa and the cave temples of Dambulla were initially constructed as cave temples, later on the cave temples were converted to image houses. මිහින්තලේ විහාරස්ථානවල මුල්ම සාක්ෂි දක්නට ලැබේ. මෙම ගුහා තුළ සුවිශේෂී ලක්ෂණය වූයේ

Amazonian Highway

Amazonian Highway බ්රසීලයේ තුන්වන දිගම මාර්ගයයි The Trans-Amazonian Highway official designation BR-230, official name Rodovia Transamazonica), was introduced on September 27, 1972. It is 4,000 km long, making it the third longest highway in Brazil. It runs through the Brazilian states of Paraíba, Ceará, Piaui, Maranhão, Tocantins, Pará and Amazonas, from the proximities of Saboeiro up until the town of Lábrea. An unpaved portion of the highway, taken between Rurópolis and Uruará. The highway was intended to integrate these regions with the rest of the country, and with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Another main goal of the project was to alleviate the effects of the drought affecting the Northeast region of the country by providing a route to largely empty land in the middle of the rainforest, which could be settled It was originally planned to be a fully paved highway 5200 kilometers long. However, these plans were modified following its inauguration. In particular,

Battle of Vijithapura

Battle of Vijithapura විජිතපුර සටන විය. පුරාණ වංශකථා වල සටහන්වල The Battle of Vijithapura was a decisive and major battle in the campaign carried out by Sri Lankan king Dutthagamani against the invading South Indian king Elara. The battle is documented in detail in the ancient chronicles of the country. However, they only provide the viewpoint of Dutthagamani and his army, and details are scarce on Elara's side. After launching a campaign to regain the country from Elara, Dutthagamani captured a number of his strongholds before coming to the fortified city of Vijithapura. A four-month siege ensued, followed by a large assault where Dutthagamani's champions and royal elephant played a major part. The chronicles focus a lot on these ten champions, and vividly describe some unusual "tests" that Dutthagamani carried out to find out their skills. The battle ended in victory for Dutthagamani's forces and considerably weakened Elara's army, ultimate

KING DUTUGEMUNU

                                                      KING DUTUGEMUNU                                                                    දුටුගැමුණු  www.youtube.com Dutugamunu (Sinhala: දුටුගැමුණු Duṭugämuṇu), also known as Dutthagamani duṭṭhagāmaṇī and Gāmaṇī Abhaya ("fearless Gamini"), was a Sinhalese king of Sri Lanka who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for defeating and overthrowing Elara, the usurping Tamil prince from the Chola Kingdom, who had invaded the Kingdom of Rajarata in 205 BC. Dutugamunu also expanded and beautified the city of Anuradhapura and projected the power of his native Rajarata region across the island of Sri Lanka. Due to his significance as one of the most potent symbols of Sinhalese historical power, Dutugemunu's story is swathed in myth and legend. However, many aspects of the accounts of his life have been verified by contemporary inscriptions, and the basic account of his life is generally  Dutugemunu&

The Thudugala Ella තුඩුගල ඇල්ල

                                                                           www.youtube.com The Thudugala Ella The Thudugala Ella තුඩුගල ඇල්ල The Thudugala Ella (Sinhala: තුඩුගල ඇල්ල) waterfall is located in Thudugala village in Dodangoda Divisional Secretariat in Kalutara District of Western Province, Sri Lanka. Out of around 382 recorded waterfalls in Sri Lanka, the rank of this is 268th. The fall, which has become a famous bathing place, is situated in an estate once owned by a British and his wrecked country house can still be seen there. There is also a natural stream pool surrounded by “Ketala” plants and fern. In the nearby forest reserve, there are many beautiful migratory birds and local birds, e.g. “pale bellied flower pecker”, the smallest bird in the country. Though shorter than other waterfalls in Sri Lanka such as the 263 metres (862.9 ft) high Bambarakanda Falls, the 8 metres (26.2 ft) high Thudugala Ella has been listed as one of the most pop

Fa Hien Cave වසර 33,000 කට පමණ පෙර

Fa Hien Cave Fa Hien Cave වසර 33,000 කට පමණ පෙර   Fa Hien Cave, also Pahiyangala Cave is situated in the district of Kalutara, Western Province, Sri Lanka and according to a rural legend, named after an alleged resident during historical times, namely Buddhist monk Faxian (also Fa-Hien, or Fa Hsien). However, there is no archaeological or historical evidence to support this legend Nonetheless, the site is of archaeological significance as Late Pleistocene human fossilized skeletal remains were discovered in the cave's sediments during excavations in the 1960s, the 1980s and in 2013. In 1968 human burials sites were uncovered inside the cave by Siran Upendra Deraniyagala of the Sri Lankan Government Department of Archaeology, who undertook a second excavation campaign with assistant W. H. Wijepala in 1988. The finds mainly consisted of microlith stone tools, remnants of prehistoric fire places and organic material, such as floral and human remains. Radiocarbon dat