Handagala Kanda Ancient Cave Temple
In any reference to Anuradhapura the pictures that immediately flash into
one’s mind are the majestic monuments such as Ruwanweliseya which are
symbolic of the country’s rich Buddhist cultural heritage. Their overpowering
presence in a way has hidden the existence of many other hallowed and
sacred places of historical and religious value of that ancient era. These
remain to-day mostly in ruins scattered all over the environs and neighbouring
regions of the holy city which continued to be the capital of the Anuradhapura
kingdom for over two thousand years commencing from King Pandukabhaya’s
reign in the fourth century BC.
One such lesser known place that lay mostly in ruins today is situated
in a serene forest-clad area in a village called Ratmalgahawewa 22 miles
north east of Anuradhapura. This sacred site called Handagala cave temple
could be reached by proceeding about two miles from Ratmalgahawewa junction
on the Kebitigollewa road and continuing westwards for another two miles.
Several centuries ago a cave temple of much religious and cultural value
which had existed here now remains mostly in ruins. The rocky hill on which
the cave temple existed rises to a height of around three hundred feet from
the surrounding plain and reaches a height of 648 ft above mean sea level.
It stands out prominently from the locality that is typically representative
of a Purana village in the North Central Province. The hill is studded with
as many as forty-five caves almost all of which are drip-ledged that is indicative
of human intervention to assist in the occupation of the caves. Some of the
caves located at a considerable height from the surrounding plain could be
reached only with much effort. In the very ancient past these caves had served
as an ideal haven that provided a serene atmosphere for priests deeply immersed
in meditation. The name Handagala (meaning moon-rock) may have been coined
because of the prominently located circular boulder on the hill crest that
could be seen from a considerable distance over the surrounding forest cover
resembling the full- moon.
With the passage of time and due to several factors such as disruptions
and destructions caused by South Indian invasions, climatic changes that
led to prolonged droughts and famines which contributed to the consequent
abandonment of the Anuradhapura kingdom, the fate that befell all religious
places in the kingdom had affected Handagala cave temple as well. The abandonment
of the premises had enabled the jungle to advance unhindered and made the
site remain buried and forgotten for several centuries.
The British who gained control over the entire country in 1815 and were
keen on excavating the rich cultural heritage which lay buried, set up the
Department of Archaeology in 1890 with H.C.P. Bell of the Ceylon Civil Service
as the first Commissioner. Within two years of the establishment of the new
Department, Bell while excavating and surveying in the North Central Province
had considered Handagala to be of such archeological value to spend two days
there. Guided by the aged priest resident there, he had explored the caves
and the ruins of the temple built on the rocky outcrop. The following is
an extract from his references to Handagala in his Annual Report for 1892
- “Spent two full days at Handagala-Icanda. This rocky ridge lies three and
a half miles south west of Wattewa. It is depressed about the centre, with
bare boulders crowning the wooded acclivity left and right. There are at
least a score of caves with inscriptions on this comparatively insignificant
hill. The several tiers of steps mounting the hill, the ‘Pansala’ half-way
up, the ruined dagaba mound on the summit, and the numerous caves, forcibly
recall the Mihintale hills to which Handagala-Kanda yields only in picturesqueness.
Epigraphically, in profusion of cave inscriptions of distinctly different
ages, found side by side in a very perfect state of preservation, it equals
Mihintale. The library of the temple is said to be one of the richest in
the District in ola manuscripts, mainly religious works.
Dr. Edward Muller a westerner of German nationality appointed as epigraphist
by the British colonial rulers in 1878 with the task of studying and recording
the ancient inscriptions of the country had visited Handagala in 1880 several
years before Bell and published in 1883 “Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon”
a book containing a study of 172 inscriptions in which he had included the
texts of the three cave inscriptions which he had observed at Handagala.
Nearly two thousand years later, to coincide with the 2600 Buddha Jayanthi,
a vast renovation and development project to restore ‘Handagala Gal-len Raja
Maha Viharaya to its former glory is to be commenced in January 2011 under
the energetic leadership of Ven. Kendewe Samitha Thero with advice from the
Archaeological Department.
P. Weerasekera
(Retd. Director General of Customs)
Daily Mirror
Created : January 6, 2011
Updated :
January 6, 2011
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