Memorial of Nuwarawewa Bandara

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Memorial of Nuwarawewa Bandara near Ruwanweliseya - රුවන්වැලිසැය අසල නුවරවැව බණ්ඩාර සිහිවටන එලකය — Memorial of Nuwarawewa Bandara near Ruwanweliseya

The memorial of Nuwarawewa Bandara, overlooking Ruwanweliseya, commemorates the last direct descendant of Prince Bodhiguptha, whose lineage safeguarded the Sri Maha Bodhi for centuries. It endures as a symbol of hereditary devotion, sacred guardianship, and the continuous religious and cultural legacy of Anuradhapura.

The ancestral history of the Nuwarawewa family of Anuradhapura extends back to the reign of King Devanampiyatissa (250–210 BCE). When Theri Sanghamitta arrived in Sri Lanka in 249 BCE with the right branch of the Sri Maha Bodhi, she was accompanied by eight princely brothers entrusted with its protection: Bodhiguptha, Sumitta, Chandraguptha, Deveguptha, Dharmaguptha, Sooriyaguptha, Gothama, and Juthidhara. According to the Bodhiwansa, Bodhiguptha, the eldest among them, was personally assigned the guardianship of the Sri Maha Bodhi by King Dharmashoka of India.

King Devanampiyatissa received this group with honor and appointed Prince Bodhiguptha to the hereditary office of Jayamahalena, granting him the lifelong duty of protecting the sacred Bodhi Tree.

Emergence of the Nuwarawewa Family

After a long silence in historical records, the custodians of the Bodhi reappear during the period of the Kandyan Kingdom as the Nuwarawewa family. The head of this lineage held the title of Maha Vanniya, serving as the regional ruler of Nuwarakalaviya. When repeated invasions from South India forced successive capitals to move southward, the descendants of Bodhiguptha remained in the forested city of Anuradhapura, continuing their hereditary services to the Sri Maha Bodhi. Because their residence was at Nuwarawewa, they eventually became known as the Nuwarawewa family.

As lay custodians of the Sri Maha Bodhi, the Maha Vanniya also held lay ownership of the Atamasthana, the eight most sacred temples of Anuradhapura, along with the authority to appoint the chief Thera of these institutions.

Nuwarawewa Bandara and the End of the Line

The final member of the original Nuwarawewa lineage was Nuwarawewa Bandara, who, after a prolonged legal dispute with his half-sister, was appointed in 1853 as the chief lay custodian of the Atamasthana, inheriting all privileges traditionally associated with the Maha Vanniya of Nuwarakalaviya. As he resided at Bulankulama Walawwa, another ancestral manor, he was also known as Bulankulame Nuwarawewa Bandara.

James Tennent, in his 1860 work Ceylon, records meeting his father, Nuwarawewa Bulankulame Sooriyakumara Vannisinghe, in the late 1840s. Tennent describes him as a young man and a direct descendant of Prince Bodhiguptha, who had accompanied the Sri Maha Bodhi from Magadha.

Before leaving for Aripo, the priests of the great temple waited upon me bringing with them a youth, the lineal representative of an ancestor who accompanied the Bo-tree in its voyage from Magadha to Ceylon B.C. 289. The chiefship of the district has been ever since in the same family, and the boy, who bears the title of Suriya-Kumara-Singha, “Prince of the Lion and the Sun,” can boast an unbroken descent, compared with whose antiquity the most renowned peerages of Europe are but creations of yesterday.

Succession and the Memorial

Nuwarawewa Bandara died in 1863 without a male heir to continue his role as lay custodian of the Sri Maha Bodhi and the Atamasthana. Following a series of court cases, these responsibilities passed to his wife Owille Kumarihami, who became the first woman to hold the lay custodianship and the authority to appoint the chief prelate of the Atamasthana. She later remarried, and these inherited duties have continued through her descendants up to the present day.

The memorial of the last direct descendant of Prince Bodhiguptha stands in view of Ruwanweliseya and bears the inscription “අනුරාධපුර නුවරවැව බුලන්කුලමේ සූරියකුමාර වන්නිසිංහ සත්පත්තු මහවන්නි නිලමේතුමාගේ පුත් අටමස්ථානයේ භාරකාර නුවරවැව බුලන්කුලමේ බණ්ඩාර මහතාගේ සමාධිය (Memorial of Nuwarawewa Bulankulame Bandara, the custodian of the Atamasthana and the son of Anuradhapura Nuwarawewa Bulankulame Sooriyakumara Vannisinghe, the Nilame of Sathpatthu Mahavanni).

Although the date of birth of Nuwarawewa Bandara is recorded as 1809, Tennent’s account suggests that his father was still a young man in the late 1840s, raising doubts about the accuracy of this date.

References

Tennent, J., 1860. Ceylon; an account of the island physical, historical, and topographical, with notices of its natural history, antiquities, and productions (Volume II). 1st ed. London: Spottiswoode And Co., p.625.
හසිත චාමිකර ගුණසිංහ, ශ්‍රී මහා බෝධියේ ගිහි භාරකාරීත්වය හිමි නුවරවැව පවුල. කැලණිය විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය.

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Travel Directions to Memorial of Nuwarawewa Bandara

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