Diyasen Paya of Jetavanaramaya Monastery

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Diyasen Paya of Jetavanaramaya Monastery - ජේතවනාරාමයේ දියසෙන් පාය

Diyasen Paya is the Uposathagara (chapter house) of the Jetavanaramaya Vihara Complex. During the reign of King Gothabhaya (253-266 AC), a disagreement took place between the monks of Maha Vihara Monastery and the Abhayagiri Monastery regarding a Vaithulya doctrine. King Gothabhaya took the side of the Maha Vihara and banished 60 monks who had turned in the Vaithulya doctrine from the Abhayagiri Monastery.

One of the disciples of the banished monks named Sangamitta Thero decided to avenge the bikkus of Maha Viharaya. He came back to Sri Lanka and gained the favor of King Gothabhaya (253-266 AD) and was entrusted to teach his two sons Prince Mahasena and Prince Jetthatissa.

After their father’s death, the elder son, Prince Jetthatissa, who was a supporter of the Mahavihara monks became the king and reigned for 10 years (266-276 AD). In 276 Mahasena (276-303) succeeded to the throne, and Sangamitta Thero persuaded the king that the Mahaviharians lacked discipline and the monks of Abhayagiri Vihara preached the true doctrine of the Buddha. He also persuaded the king to order the prohibition of giving arms to the Mahaviharians, and they were forced to retreat to the hills and Rohana.

Then Sangamitta Thero persuaded the king to raze the Maha Vihara buildings and use the materials to build up a new rival institute within the boundaries of Maha Vihara itself. This became known as the Jethawanaramaya (Jethawana Viharaya).

What Lovamahapaya was to Mahavihara Monastery and Rathna Prasada to Abhayagiri Monastery, Diyasen Paya is to Jathawana Monastery. The ground plan is similar to Lovamahapaya and Rathna Prasadaya but smaller in size. The building has been built utilizing 176 large stone pillars and would have had multiple levels, as in its cousins in the other two monasteries.

All the pillars are broken, and only the stubs of the pillars stand today. The ground floor is believed to have been used as the chapter house where the Buddhist rituals would have been carried out and the upper floors would have served as residences for priests.

During the ninth and the tenth centuries, the Jetavana monastery was patronized by several kings, though not to the same extent as the other two monasteries. Sena I (833-853 AD) who rebuilt the Maha Parivena, which had been burnt down, also erected a new dwelling and installed a gold image of the Buddha in it. Sena II placed figures of bodhisattvas in the Manimekalaprasada (Rathna Prasada), which was destroyed later by Chola invaders from India. The task of restoration was undertaken by Udaya IV (946-954 AD) and completed by Mahinda IV (956-972 AD). The latter was also responsible for the restoration of the Diyasen Paya of Jetavana monastery.

The slab inscription (no. 1) of King Mahinda IV (956-972 AD) mentions the name of this edifice as “Diyasen Paya,” and the Jetavanarama monastery has been called “Dena Vehera.”

Lines 17-19 of this inscription state,

He built anew the great uposatha hall [named] Diya-sen , which displayed the grace of pilisat‘ to the Lord of Sages in summer . . . in the beautiful Dena-vehera. [Like] the golden Meru shining with gems of various kinds . . . he raised . . . with . . . work. He made an orb of the sun like unto a wheel of gems, which rolls to his hands as the fruit of his meritorious work. With a golden parasol like the orb of the sun shining on the Orient Mount, he adorned the head of the image [of the Lord of Sages], and with golden capital topped” pillars at the four corners, which displayed the splendour of his majesty widespread over the four continents, he made .(Wickremasinghe,1912).

According to the above, the Uposathaghara (chapter house), Diyasen Paya seems to be one of the later additions by king Mahinda IV (956-972 AD) to the Dena-vehera (Jetavanarama monastery) built by King Mahasena (276-303 AD) in the 3rd century.

References

Wikramagamage, C., 2004. Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural, and historic sites. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.104.
Wickremasinghe, D.M.D.Z., 1912. Epigraphia Zeylanica: Being lithic and other inscriptions of Ceylon (Vol. I). London. Archaeological Survey of Ceylon. pp. 213-227
Gunawardana, R. A. L. H., 1965. The history of the Buddhist Saṅgha in Ceylon from the reign of Sena I to the invasion of Māgha. Doctor of Philosophy. University of London.

Also See

Anuradhapura – The city of the God Kings
Solosmasthana – The Sixteen Buddhist Sacred Sites Hallowed by Buddha
Atamasthana – The Eight Sacred Sites in Anuradhapura

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