Basawakkulama Wewa - First Reservoir of Sri Lanka

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The Abhaya Vapi (Basawakkulama Wewa) is Sri Lanka’s oldest major reservoir, established in the 4th century BCE by Prince Anuradha and later expanded by King Pandukabhaya. This foundational masterpiece of ancient hydraulic engineering provided the essential water supply for the burgeoning capital of Anuradhapura and its vast irrigation network.

King Paduwasdeva (504–474 BCE), whose capital was at Upatissagama, took as his queen a beautiful princess named Baddakachchayana, who had arrived from India. The princess was the daughter of a king named Sakka Pandu, who came ashore on a ship that landed at the mouth of the Mahakandara-nadi. Paduwasdeva married her, bringing her into the royal family as his queen (Mahanama et al., 1912, Chapter VIII).

Following Princess Baddakachchayana came six of her seven brothers, who established their own villages throughout the country. The area in which Prince Anuradha settled became known as Anuradhapura. According to the Mahavamsa, he built the first reservoir in the country near his city (ch. ix:10–11).

Later, this tank was enlarged by King Pandukabhaya (437–367 BCE), the son of Panduvasudeva’s daughter, to supply water to his expanded capital (ch. x:88). The reservoir was named Abhaya Vapi in memory of one of his uncles, Abhaya, who ruled the country before him. This reservoir (now known as Basawakkulama Wewa) became the foundation of an irrigation network unmatched by any other ancient civilization in the world.

A description of this reservoir from Henry Parker’s book ‘Ancient Ceylon’ published in 1909, is given below:

…. It is sometimes mentioned casually in the early part of the histories, in the time of Pandukabhaya and subsequently always as a reservoir in working order ; and it appears to have remained unbreached as long as Anuradhapura was inhabited; that is, for more than 1500 years, a respectable record for a work of such early date. Of no structures can it be said more truly than of reservoirs, that the most successful works have no history. Decade follows decade, century succeeds century, and while the work is performing its functions satisfactorily there is nothing in its life that is worth recording, except the levels of the water in it year by year. Naturally, therefore, we find nothing noted regarding the state of this tank.

Compared with Panda-wewa its area is insignificant; when full it only covers 255 acres, although it appears to have been a little larger originally. Yet it was well designed to fulfil its purpose, the storage of rainfall close to the town, for the water-supply of the city and for bathing purposes. It made the best of a very poor catchment area ; had it been supplied with a higher embankment it would have failed to secure much more water in years of ordinary rainfall. Owing to the small area from which the surplus rainfall flowed into it there would be no difficulty at it, like that experienced at Panda-wewa, from very high floods, either during its construction or afterwards. ………….

…….. The embankment is 5910 feet long, or 1.12 miles. As now restored, its crest is 22 feet above the sill of the sluice; but originally it appears to have been six feet higher, judging by the levels of its more elevated portions. It was considerably eroded, and for a great part of its length the top was below the level adopted at the restoration. The width of its crest was only from six to eight feet, but the slopes on both sides were flatter than at Pan Ja-waewa, being at the rate of 3-1 feet horizontal to one foot vertical. The slope adjoining the water was protected by a layer of small boulders (Fig. 138).

A single sluice was built near the western end ; it consisted, as usual, of a stone-lined rectangular well near the water-level, and a stone culvert for discharging water. This was a work of later date than the embankment, a number of pillars and other stones removed from pre-existing buildings being used in its construction, After it was built a small rice field was formed on the low side of the embankment.

Floods were allowed to escape round the west end of the embankment, through a slight hollow 22 feet wide, the level of which was 19 feet above the sill of the sluice. The present flood-escape is 3 feet 8 inches lower. The original area of the reservoir was about 330 acres, and its capacity about 133 million cubic feet.

There is nothing in the design of the embankment which is indicative of its antiquity. The slopes of the sides were similar to those of many later works, and the weak section which appears to be a primitive characteristic pf Panda-waewa is thus absent. At a little later date it will be seen that it became the custom to make them still flatter. In view of the general features of the design, I am of opinion that several other embankments of considerable size had been constructed in Ceylon before the works at Abhaya-waewa were undertaken …………..

Today the reservoir carries 174 hectares of water at the surface, and even after 2500 years, the reservoir still continues to supply water to Anuradhapura.

References

Parker, H. (1909). Ancient Ceylon: An Account of the Aborigines and of Part of the Early Civilisation (1st ed.). Luzac & Co.
Mahanama, Geiger, W., & Bode, M. H. (1912). The Mahavamsa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon. Translated into English by Wilhelm Geiger. For the Pali Text Society by Henry Frowde.

Also See

Anuradhapura – The city of the God Kings

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Traveling to Basawakkulama Wewa Reservoir(up to Anuradhapura)

The Basawakkulama Wewa lies in the city of Anuradhapura

Colombo to Anuradhapura By Bus

Anuradhapura can be conveniently reached by bus, train, or private transport. Both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned buses operate from the Colombo Fort Main Bus Station. In addition, luxury buses departing from various locations in Colombo travel via Anuradhapura to Vavuniya and Jaffna; these require advance online booking and generally operate overnight, arriving at their final destinations early in the morning.

Colombo to Anuradhapura By Train

Five daily trains operate from Colombo Fort Railway Station to Anuradhapura. Typically, the first train departs at 9.40 a.m. and the last at 8.30 p.m. The journey takes approximately four to five hours, depending on the number of stops made by the particular service.

Colombo to Anuradhapura By Car or Van

Anuradhapura can be accessed from Colombo via several routes, with the two primary corridors running through Puttalam and Kurunegala. The Puttalam route passes the scenic Wilpattu area. From Kurunegala, there are two main approaches: the more commonly used route via Dambulla and an alternative route via Galgamuwa. Among all options, the Kurunegala–Dambulla route (Route 2) is the most frequently used.

Route 01 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route 02 from Colombo to Anuradhapura
Through: Negombo – Chilaw – Puttalam Distance from Colombo: 210 km Travel time: 4.30-5.00 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps	Through: Negombo – Chilaw – Puttalam Distance from Colombo: 210 km Travel time: 4.30-5.00 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps.
Route 03 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route from Kandy to Anuradhapura
Through : Katunayake Expressway – Narammala – Wariyapola – Padeniya – Thambuthegama Distance from Colombo: 203 km Travel Time: 4.30-5.00 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps	Through: Katugastota – Matale – Dambulla Distance from Colombo: 136 km Travel Time: 3.5 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps