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KING MOGGALLANA THE 2nd – MOGGALLANA THE MAGNIFICIENT – BY Bernard VanCuylenburg PROLOGUE The recorded history of ancient Lanka begins with the arrival of Prince Vijaya from South India in the year 483 BC and ends with the conquest of the Kandyan Kingdom by the British in 1815 AD and the defeat of King Sri Wickremasinghe Rajasinghe, the last king of Kandy. Thus ended the monarchy of Ceylon which spanned a period of over 2000 years. In the hands of any good Hollywood writer or producer, the melting pot of history during this period has all the ingredients for a box office winner – Lust, greed, passion, hate, romance, murder, patricide, nymphomania (as has been recorded during the reign of one female queen) – in short the seven deadly sins multiplied many times over ! King Moggallana the 2nd is one of the relative “unknowns”. This ...

Jul 23, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged King Duttu Gemunu, KING MOGGALLANA, King Sri Wickremasinghe Rajasinghe Comments 0

SRI LANKA – THE CHINESE CONNECTION – By Bernard VanCuylenburg Sri Lanka’s cultural ties with China go back about 2000 years, and it is a matter of regret that the compilers of the Mahavamsa and the Culavamsa – except for some passing references – mention very little about ancient Ceylon’s relations with China. Historians have had to rely on Chinese records to obtain information regarding trade delegations, and cultural and diplomatic visits between both countries. Some of these Chinese visitors lived in the island , and kept records of their sojourn and the political conditions prevailing at the time. Perhaps the most famous Chinese visitor to Ceylon was Fa-Hsien who came to Ceylon in the year 411 AD. during the reign of King Mahanama. He spent two years in the island and in his writings gives us a marvellous account of the city of Anuradhapura in which he refers to ...

Jul 9, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged King Kasyappa, King Kitsiri Mevan, Mahavamsa and the Culavamsa, SRI LANKA - THE CHINESE CONNECTION - By Bernard VanCuylenburg Comments 0

THE CAMBODIAN CONNECTION – By Bernard VanCuylenburg From its inception by King Yashovarman in 889 AD, to its decline in the 14th century, Angkor in Cambodia was the capital of the powerful Khmer empire. The world famous temple complex of Angkor Wat built and extended by various Khmer kings between the 7th and eleventh centuries when this civilisation was at the height of its extraordinary creativity, is today a world heritage site. A few years ago during my travels in Cambodia I spent a few days at Angkor marvelling at these magnificient monuments of ancient glory in stone. Apart from wishing to drink deep of her archaeological splendour, my main reason for visiting Angkor was to travel about 900 years back in time and see this kingdom which had close cultural ties with ancient Sri Lanka specially during the Polonnaruwa period. When King Parakramabahu the 1st ascended the throne in ...

Jul 3, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged Burmese king Alaungsithu, King Nissanka Malla, King Parakramabahu, King Yashovarman, Professor Madeleine Giteau Comments 0

ANCIENT TREASURES OF THE EASTERN SEABOARD – By Bernard VanCuylenburg There is a treasure trove of archaeological wonders in the Eastern seaboard of Sri Lanka and one specific location is the Kuchchaveli, Pulmoddai and Tiriyaya district of Trincomalee. And that brief introductory line is the genesis of this article. I walked through the desolate track through patches of thick shrub and dense forest, my curiosity aroused by some stone slabs and granite pillars which lay scattered in disarray on the forest floor. Ocassionally I came across ancient brickwork which I surmised may have once been part of a wall. The villagers in the area told me that further on, in deep jungle there were statues of the Buddha badly damaged. This did not surprise me because there is an inscription that this whole area was occupied by members of the Buddhist clergy since the 3rd century B.C. It was late in ...

May 21, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged ANCIENT TREASURES OF THE EASTERN SEABOARD - By Bernard VanCuylenburg, Kuchchaveli, Pulmoddai, Tiriyaya, Trincomalee Comments 0

THE HEALING HANDS OF ROYALTY – By Bernard VanCuylenburg According to the great chronicles of Sri Lanka’s glorious history the Mahavamsa and the Culavamsa, 184 kings and one queen ruled the island beginning with Prince Vijaya in 483 BC. and ending with the reign of King Sri Vickrama Rajasinghe in 1815 AD. which heralded the start of British colonial rule in the country. Within this time frame spanning a period over 2000 years, a few names stride history’s stage – rulers whose names are forever enshrined in letters of gold in the hearts minds and psyche of Sri Lanka……King Devanampiyatissa, King Pandhukabhaya, King Dutthagamini, the great tank builders King Dhatusena and King Mahasena, the genius who gave us Sigiriya King Kasyappa, and the great King Parakramabahu the first , to name just a few…….. In this article I wish to pay tribute to a man who was not only a great ...

May 15, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged THE HEALING HANDS OF ROYALTY - By Bernard VanCuylenburg Comments 0

A GODS WRATH – By Bernard VanCuylenburg Over fifty years ago on an estate far away, a story of evil and revenge was played out to the horror of a young Assistant Superintendent who became the hapless victim of a God’s revenge from another dimension…….And with that introduction the curtain goes up in the following tale of a God’s wrath. The plantation where this drama unfolded was Hopton Group in the Uva district – an estate as remote as it gets, far away from anywhere. Hopton was one of the largest estates in Madulsima in the Uva district, 2600 acres in extent. The Manager at that time was a Scotsman, a veteran planter who had risen from the ranks and learned his craft the hard way. In a ...

May 7, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged A GODS WRATH - By Bernard VanCuylenburg Comments 0

ANCIENT MYSTERIES – by Bernard VanCuylenburg When I peruse the Mahavamsa and the Culavamsa priceless records that documents ancient Ceylon’s cultural heritage, it marinates my soul in the grandeur of the island’s rich civilization that is almost legendary. In art, architecture, hydraulic engineering, hydrology and irrigation/ water management, ancient Lanka is on par with the classic civilizations of imperial Greece and Rome, the great Aztec and Mayan civilizations of Central America, and that of the Incas in Peru. And, as in all great records of a country’s history, many questions remain unanswered which will to us forever remain tantalizing mysteries. In this article I will deal with two, one of which I experienced personally, over thirty five years ago. THE MYSTERY OF THE MALIGAWILA BUDDHA. A few miles from Monaragala lies the village of Maligawila. At least it was a village when I visited it many years ago. I have ...

May 1, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged ANCIENT MYSTERIES - by Bernard VanCuylenburg Comments 0

The Saint of the world – AN ANTHONIAN IN PADUA – By Bernard VanCuylenburg To set the scene for this article I have to commence with a reference to Hypnos, who in Greek and Roman mythology is the God of sleep. His son Morpheus is the God of dreams, but Hypnos and I have never been on amicable terms. For years my patterns of sleep have been fragmented, and many are the nights I have laid awake when sleep evaded me, waiting for dawn’s golden light. I have often wondered if, as boarders at St. Anthony’s College Kandy, the infernal tolling of the bell at the ungodly hour of 5.30 am. to wake us boarders, is in some way to blame for this condition !! A “Sleep in” beyond the sound of the bell was an impossibility !! ...

Apr 21, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged The Saint of the world - AN ANTHONIAN IN PADUA - By Bernard VanCuylenburg Comments 0

THE MADURU OYA MARVEL – AND ROADS LESS TRAVELLED – By Bernard VanCuylenburg “Archaeological History”, The Maduru Oya Marvel. After firstly, viewing the magnificent “flowing-flag” of “My Lovely Island Home”, as I call her, then reading through the most magnificent story of the “Mother Of Marvels”, as I would prefer it to be known as, written by, who I would simply describe as one of the very best “writers” to put pen to paper, Bernard VanCuylenberg, proudly, stolidly, soundly, a Sri Lankan Burgher with an unconditional love for the little “Pearl Of The Indian Ocean”, just as Neil Jayasekera (the flag-waver) & “your’s truly” are, as well. We are all a part of “history”, folks. Like it, or not, the history of our entire world will someday fade into nothingness, but, until then, it is the solemn duty of every-one of us, to respect the “time” ...

Apr 10, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg, Home Tagged THE MADURU OYA MARVEL - AND ROADS LESS TRAVELLED - By Bernard VanCuylenburg Comments 0

BEYOND THE GRAVE – By Bernard VanCuylenburg The subject of this article are two ghost stories which deal with the question of life after death. Often ghost stories are hard to believe even if one has an inclination to believe in ghosts. There are two opposing forces which confront ghost stories. One is an attitude of total scepticism and the other, one of total acceptance. Whether one disbelieves or believes, there are certain concepts that both schools of thought can accept. We are born and we die. During that space of time we observe, we communicate, we feel and we think. It is almost axiomatic that there is knowledge beyond our own perception, which has been proved by history. Our knowledge has grown over the years . The poet Carl Sandburg once wrote that death is a part of life, and thus a legitimate area to explore, even though a difficult ...

Apr 3, 2018 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Bernard VanCuylenburg Tagged BEYOND THE GRAVE - By Bernard VanCuylenburg Comments 0