The Sigiriya Sagas by Bernard VanCuylenburg

Intro to the “Sigiriya-Sagas by Des Kelly

For any Lankan/Australian, in fact, for any Lankan, period, who has not visited this “Rock-Fortress”, in our Country, let me just say that you have missed seeing only ONE of Sri Lankas multitude of historical wonders. At the same time, I hasten to add that you have possibly missed the BEST. I can say, that from personal experience, I have not only visited the site, but climbed “our answer to “Ayers Rock” in Australia”, which is many times larger, broader & longer than Sigiriya, and “Uluru”is also well-known as a “sacred-site”to the Aborigines/First Australians, after “Mungo-Man”,(an entirely different story),so let us now stick to our “Lion-Rock”. Yes, folks, I did “climb” Sigiriya”, once, in the company of the most beautiful girl in Ceylon, at the time, whose name was Maureen Hingert, or Neliya, my first “puppy-love”. We climbed this Monolith together, through the huge set of “Lion-paws”which made the entrance, past the area with all the “fresco-paintings”of the half-naked Sinhalese maidens, higher & higher on a steep, narrow, rather dangerous climb (at the time), until we reached the zenith, to marvel at the sight of what must have been King Kasyapa’s “Mansion in the sky”, then walk around it,  to the very edge of “the Rock” to gaze in awe, at the surrounding Countryside, at least six shades of verdant “green” all around us. It was good to be alive, good to be in such a beautiful Country, good to be “in love” & good to be on top of Sigiriya Mountain.

     I need say no more, but leave it to my good friend & Co-writer for eLanka, Bernard VanCuylenberg to bring to our many thousands of “on-line” readers, a fascinating “history lesson” on “SIGIRIYA”. What this guy does not know, on the subjects he writes about, is not worth knowing. We are proud to have him on our eLanka team. Desmond Kelly.

The Sigiriya Sagas by Bernard VanCuylenburg

PREFACE TO THE SIGIRIYA SAGAS

Scholars and students of  history and the academic world in general owe a debt of gratitude to the late great Professor Senerat Paranavitane for his epic tome, “The Story of Sigiriya”. Had he not undertaken this colossal task in a literary sense, the story of Sigiriya and the absorbing detail in which the drama of Sigiriya was enacted would have been lost to posterity. The chronicler who wrote the story of Sigiriya in the Culavamsa has barely scratched the surface. In fact, in the great chronicle, the entire story ends with two chapters !  

Professor Paranavitane in his masterpiece refers to the visit of Buddhamitra of Suvarnnapura (present day Palembang in Malaysia) in 1412 during the reign of king Parakramabahu VI (1412 – 1467). He was a scholar, archaeologist and historian of repute and won the admiration and favour of the king who gave him full authority to conduct research on the history of Sigiriya. The results of the research by Buddhamitra who took the name of Ananda Sthavira, were recorded in Sanskrit and incised in tiny characters on several rock inscriptions in the island and on the orders of King Parakramabahu, his efforts were recorded in a book called  “Sigiri-Vitara”. Many fascinating details of life during the reign of King Kasyapa were revealed by the work of this scholar. For example, the Persian influence and the limited spread of Christianity in the court which have been in turn quoted by Professor Paranavitane in his book. This is why I commenced the first chapter of the Sigiriya saga (Part 1) with a diplomatic visit to the court by a Persian delegation. There is no evidence that such a visit took place but given the visits of Persian emissaries to the kingdom as recorded in the “Sigiri Vitara” it is highly probable that a diplomatic visit took place.

A poet, writing in the glory days of the Moghul empire in India referred to the Taj Mahal as “..a teardrop on the face of India…” I would go a step further and say that Sigiriya is more than a teardrop. Long after the tears have been shed, it remains a lingering heartache in the psyche and spirit of Sri Lanka and an archaeological treasure where the full gamut of human emotions   – anger, hatred, revenge, greed, murder, and  lust for power, have been played out to the maximum. The events that unfolded on that fateful day over 1500 years ago still resonate today, which is why Sigiriya is perhaps the most visited site in the island. The protaginists in this drama, King Dhatusena, Prince Kasyapa, Prince Moggallana, and the commander of the army Migara ,who was King Dhatusena’s son-in-law are names that will live down the ages, long after we are no more. Future generations will be drawn to Sigiriya just as we have been, today, and will have more to learn and gaze in wonder because there is more for the archaeologists spade to reveal. One of my prized books is a publication by Senake  Bandaranayake titled  SIGIRIYA. Apart from the information contained therein, this book has the best pictures of Sigiriya that I have ever seen. The photographs shot from various angles are so graphic and realistic, that it gives one the impression of actually being in the palace complex ! If photography was around in King Kasyapa’s day, then the photographer who took these pictures would have been the kings favourite ! Senake Bandaranayake describes in detail the area known in ancient times as the “Sinhagiri Bim”. Today it is referred to as the Sigiri Territory or the Sigiri hinterland. This area is virtually a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, with the promise of greater archaeological discoveries in  future.

Archaeological digs have shown the “Sinhagiri Bim” to consist of many ancient village settlements, tanks, cemeteries, and even an iron producing centre, and some Buddhist monasteries. What a treasure trove awaits archaeologists and students of history in future ! I wish to conclude this saga with some footnotes which lend more interest to the Sigiriya story :

*    In the “Sigiri Vitara” there are two names connected with Sigiriya which are never mentioned in the Culavamsa.  It states that the architect whom King Kasyapa employed to execute his plans for the  royal city and palace complex was SENA LAL  – this is the first instance in the islands history where a Sinhalese architects name in ancient times has been recorded for posterity.

*    It also records the name of the commander of the garrison at Sigiriya. He was General  Sulaksmana.

*    The “Sigiri Vitara” further records that Prince Moggallana married King Kasyappa’s widow, and King Kasyapa’s only son, in total opposition to the palace coup engineered by his father, fled to India where he died in exile. (The Culavamsa mentions King Kasyappa’s two daughters, but there is no record of a son)

*    The palace complex on the summit of Sigiriya is described as a mansion with landscaped gardens and a beautiful pool.  Landscaped gardens on the summit of a rock ! This has surely got to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

*    There was a theatre where many plays were performed during King Kasyapa’s reign.

*    The “Sigiri Vitara” also states that the entire Sigiriya project took only seven years to complete. If this is  correct, there are some who hold the opinion that this architectural and engineering masterpiece of that time was a feat beyond human accomplishment !

*     The rock face above the image of the crouching lion had a painted image of King Kasyapa.

It is sad to relate that the green eyed monster of jealously raised its ugly head when Ananda Sthavira lived in Ceylon. He made many enemies in court due to the royal patronage showered on him by King Parakramabahu the V1. Although he wrote 64 “Kalas” on Sigiriya, most of which were indited on stone, his enemies had their revenge. After his death many of these stone inscriptions were vandalised and defaced, with the result that priceless information of immense historical value has been lost forever.  

If one talks about “heights of lofty grandeur”,  I can think of only three other archaeological sites in the world which  rank with Sigiriya. One is the fortresss of Masada in the wilderness of the Judean desert by the Dead Sea in Israel, built by King Herod the Great,  (74 – 4 BC.)  King of the Roman province of Judea. The second is the ruined city of Macchu Pichu in Peru, built by the Incas in 1500 AD  on 1000 ft. high cliffs. And the third is the 1200 year old Buddhist temple built sheer on a cliff face of Wutaishan mountain in Saanxi province of China. I have been very fortunate to have visited these sites.

I have tried to pierce the impenetrable veil of time to search for this King, (Kasyapa) who now lives in the imagination of the world   – this dynamic enigmatic  King of vision spirit and energy who unleashed  an army of engineers, architects, artists, sculptors and master craftsmen against a barren rock in dense jungle and left us a monument and masterpiece which will remain a joy and inspiration  forever. It is practically an impossible task to highlight any section of Sigiriya for special mention because not only did this King defy gravity, but the entire complex defies imagination ! In my humble opinion, I would choose the Mirror Wall and the Frescoes. The Frescoes …… a work of art charged with sensuality and feeling !  These beautiful women not only delight the eye but bring to vivid life centuries later, the long vanished world of Sigiriya  – a grand and glorious city. And the Mirror Wall tells  a story all its own. It is a priceless record of human emotion, when visitors to Sigiriya in ancient times poured out their hearts in verse as a tribute to the damsels on the rock who enticingly, still gaze at us today.

I have been meticulously careful in writing ‘The Sigiriya Sagas” to ensure authenticity. Many facts were available, although nowhere near the quantity found in the usual research of a historical event. If I have erred, it is not for want of trying. I commend the publications SIGIRIYA by Senaka Bandaranaike, ALIEN MYSTERIES IN SRI LANKA AND EGYPT by Susantha Fernando, and of course the classic work by the late Dr.Senerath Paranavitane  THE STORY OF SIGIRIYA to lovers of history, particularly Sigiriya. Their books have been my inspiration in a search which I fear will never end.

And to ring the curtain down……..I once wondered in the precincts of Sigiriya when twilight surrendered to the shades of night  bathed by moonlight. Gazing at the dark rock in its solitary setting, I felt that an aura of mystery still clings to this place.  Mingling with the gentle wind of the night I thought I heard the plaintive voices of people from a different time as they appeared in a ghostly re-enactment of those tragic events of over 1500 years ago…..There are certain things in life that one sees with ones heart and soul, and not only with the eyes. Sigiriya……….life never really ended here.

Bernard VanCuylenburg.

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     THE  SIGIRIYA  SAGA  (Part 1.)

The year is 481 AD.  The Persian Ambassador and his entourage at a loss for words at the spectacle before them, stood staring in amazement. Before them was the gigantic stone figure of a crouching lion. In order to reach  the palace on the summit of the rock of this fabled city, they had to first enter the mouth of this monstrous animal and follow the steps which led through its body to the beginning of the staircase leading to the summit. They had never seen anything like it in the western world. Of course they had heard of the ‘Hanging gardens of Babylon’ built on the orders of  King Nebuchadnezzar in 591 BC which ranked as one of the wonders of the ancient world. The ambassador had in fact visited the site, Babylon being in proximity to his own country, Persia.  But this was the year 481 AD. and they were in the royal city of Sigiriya on a diplomatic mission to present letters of accreditation to King Kasyappa whom they heard being referred to as “The God King”. The Sassanian king Peroz of Persia reigned from 459 – 484 A.D and was a contemporary of the late king Dhatusena, King Kasyapa’s father.  The Christians and Manicheans who were in Dhatusena’s army must have left Persia before king Peroz ascended the throne to escape persecution. (Please refer to page 43 in Professor Paranavitane’s ‘Story of Sigiriya’ and subsequent chapters, for details of the Persian and Syrian visits to the court).

The Manicheans were a pervasive religious sect established by a Persian named Mani in the 3rd century A.D. They believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God, and he came to earth to save his own soul because of Adam. They also believed that Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ and all other holy persons could aid mankind on its path to spiritual freedom.

Still gazing at the palace on the summit of the rock, the ambassador thought that this was a king who had defied gravity !  In the Persian entourage there was a young diplomat named Shapur Kavad.  Only 26 years of age, young Kavad had a meteoric rise in the Persian foreign service, and had been specially nominated by King Peroz to join this mission.  But political considerations temporarily forgotten, young Shapur’s thoughts were of a romantic nature. Travellers from the East and West who had visited Sigiriya related wondrous tales of this many splendoured city. They also spoke in rapturous terms of the beauty of Princess Uppalavanna and Princess Bodhi, King Kasyappa’s daughters.  The thought that he might get a glimpse of these two beauties during their audience with the King, set his youthful heart racing with excitement, and the blood pulsating through his veins.

Walking through the beautiful gardens on their way to the palace accompanied by two officials of the royal court, they were surprised at the number of foreigners residing in the city. Over there some Chinese merchants were bargaining with Sinhala traders. To their right were three Roman officials in animated discussion with high ranking nobles of the court.  They were not surprised because they knew that this was a country which traded with the Roman Empire even during the reign of the Caesars, and there were Sinhala ambassadors in the imperial court in Rome. A high powered trade delegation from India bided their time patiently, awaiting their appointment with officials of the Ministry of Trade. They were intoxicated by the grandeur of this fabulous city  –  an intoxication that was almost painful until they became sufficiently sober to contemplate the dazzling wonder of this terrestrial paradise.  One of the diplomats who happened to be a horticulturalist, noted in amazement that in the royal gardens each terrace had a different variety of plants and flowers all in full bloom  – a masterpiece of landscape gardening  that he had never seen anywhere in his travels……….beds of flowers in dazzling hues, gardens laden with fruit alongside which ran clear murmuring water in channels……….he seemed to be in a dream world. This was Sigiriya, reputed to be the most beautiful garden city in Asia   –  probably in the world. Who was the genius who has left us to marvel at this jewel that has fired the imagination of writers and travellers and mesmerises the world today, over 1500 years after his demise ?  History knows him as King Kasyapa the 1st, and Sigiriya is the story of this man. He was both a master and pawn of history who needed every ounce of political cunning to survive the swirling intrigue and grim spectre of betrayal while he ruled the land. He has been the victim of the usual cliched negative stereotypes – megalomaniac, egoist, and parricide, shunned by the clergy and his people for the barbaric murder of his father, the illustrious and much loved King Dhatusena.  

Nothing so evinced the brilliance of Sigiriya as its architecture, engineering , art and landscape gardening.The palace and residential quarters on the summit of the rock almost 4 acres in extent, and in fact the entire city was engineered to inspire awe. This is truly the work of human genius for engineering miracles were created here. For example, the swimming pool on the summit. What principles of hydraulics were used to change the water in this pool ? How was fresh drinking water provided to the palace complex ? There had to be a piping system installed beneath solid rock which provided running water 24 hours a day. There are always more questions than answers.  The chronicler of the Culavamsa had no time for King Kasyappa who shifted the capital from Anuradhapura to Sigiriya once the complex was complete, to escape the revenge of his half brother  Prince Moggalana who fled to India. When recording the events of that period he wrote “What man would still hanker after the pleasures of life or of fame ?”  Let history be the judge. I humbly opine that King Kasyappa had tremendous vision, and he translated this vision into action.  It is his vision that will one day accord Sri Lanka the honour of having the 8th wonder of the world –  Sigiriya.  An eternal testimony to his psyche and spirit.

Everything in Sigiriya invites the mind to contemplation. One’s wonder knows no limits. It is the abode of beauty. The English poet Sir Walter Scott with all his talent for description would be at a loss for words here. Let me draw a timeline in history when King Kasyappa ruled the island. His contemporaries in the West were King Clovis of France and the legendary King Arthur of Britain, better known as Arthur and the knights of round table fame. In Constantinople (present day Istanbul) Emperor Justinian ruled the Byzantine empire. Pope Simplicius sat on the throne of St.Peter in the Vatican.  When Sigiriya entered a golden age of splendour, what history records as ‘The Dark Ages’  loomed over Europe. In fact there still exists a record kept by an English monk named Gildas in which he writes of the breakdown of civilised society in Britain, following the collapse of Roman rule. In the East, Sigiriya flourished to reach the peak of cultural perfection.

After King Kasyappa’s death the city was abandoned. Virtually forgotten it lay wrapped in lush jungle foliage. Its existence had remained spectral, a memory dimmed to the point of invisibility until, thanks to the spade of the archaeologists Sigiriya bared her soul to us. In the next instalment I shall commence with some insight regarding the Persian diplomatic mission, and Princess Bodhi & Uppalavanna, daughters of King Kasyappa. The late great eminent Professor Senerat Paranavitane mentions them in his epic THE STORY OF SIGIRIYA. His writings have been a source of inspiration to me.

THE SIGIRIYA SAGA  (Part 2)

Before I proceed with part 2 of the Sigiriya story, I wish to go back to the previous article and the Persian embassy in particular. There is no record of such a mission in the Culavamsa, and for that matter there is very little information on  diplomatic missions in the Mahavamsa & Culavamsa. It was not practical for the chronicler to record every diplomatic exchange in detail because there were many. I included this to embellish the story and to enhance the prestige of Sigiriya which at the time was the capital of the country, and a royal city whose reputation had spread far and wide. But in his masterpiece THE SIGIRIYA STORY, the late Professor Senerat Paranavitane refers to Zoroastrianism finding its way to the royal court in Sigiriya. Zoroastrianism is a pre-Islamic Persian religion and is still practised by the Parsees in India. It is thus possible that such a mission did actually take place, one of many, which is how Zoroastrianism was introduced to King Kasyapa’s court.  

Some notes on the Roman officials and also the daughters of King Kasyapa should be included here. Ancient Ceylon had links with the Roman Empire from the time of the Caesars. When Sigiriya was first excavated, over 2000 coins were found in the royal gardens. Except for twelve coins, all the rest were Roman. Subsequent excavations over the years revealed glassware from Meditteranean lands. Roman traders visited Ceylon down the centuries, and Sigiriya was no exception. King Kasyapa had two daughters. A rock inscription at the Vessagiri temple, half a mile from the famous Issurumuniya temple states that the king made a monastic establishment of the Issurumuniya and Vessagiri temples, and named them after himself and his two daughters, Princess Uppulavanna and Princess Bodhi. It was known as the ‘Issurumenu, Bo-Uppulvan- Kasubgiri Vihara.

Sigiriya, one of the most magnificient archaeological sites in the world today, stands in sylvan solitude and eternal splendour. A mighty fabric of rock with a palace and residential quarters on its summit complemented by a royal city, it continues to evoke  the admiration and awe of travellers who visit it, as it has done for the past 1600 years. Such is Sigiriya, which has the power to enchant and teleport the visitor back to the tragic and dramatic events of the 5th century AD. The story of Sigiriya has been told and retold times without number and I will not repeat it here. It is the man synonymous with Sigiriya King Kasyapa 1st , who is the focus of this article.  Great historical events particularly those that erupt suddenly and violently build up slowly. Having begun, they never end. The effects linger like the tinkling vibrations of a bell which we sense, long after the bell has stopped ringing. King Kasyapa has passed into the realms of legend, but his name continues to reverberate through time down the ages. For me, the quest for King Kasyapa began as a schoolboy at St. Anthony’s College, Kandy. Over the years it developed into an intellectual quest which grew in intensity. Each step in this search at times becomes personal and often deeply emotional. History has not been kind to King Kasyapa as he has been tainted with one word –  PATRICIDE, having usurped the throne and then brutally murdering his father.  This cast a dark shadow over his reign of eighteen years and I sometimes feel that if a layman and not a Buddhist monk had chronicled the story of Sigiriya in the Culavamsa, we would see King Kasyapa in a different light.

To him goes the credit for ushering in Sigiriya’s golden age, and he went to extraordinary lengths to transform this royal garden city into a terrestrial paradise. He was shunned by the clergy and the people and the chronicler recording events of the time states “He betook himself through fear to Sinhagiri which is difficult of ascent for human beings…..” But realising that he had to win favour with the clergy and his subjects, he set out to redeem himself with zeal and zest.  He thus began doing many good deeds to win the favour of the people and the clergy. He cultivated the virtues of “Metta”   – loving kindness, “Karuna”  – pity,  “Muditha” – joyous sympathy,  and “Upekha”  – serenity. He also kept the “Uposatha” festival and on these days he observed the eight Buddhist precepts. He also built many ‘Alms Halls’ which I interpret to be halls  where the poor were provided with life’s basic necessities. There is a rock inscription at the Vessagiri temple near Issurumuniya which states that he restored this complex and ensured the temple had a regular supply of water from the Tissaweva tank. The chronicler of the Culavamsa further writes ” He built a Vihara in the Niyanthi garden near the mountain…..” I presume “mountain’ means Sigiriya rock. But to the best of my knowledge this Vihara and the Niyanthi garden have never been discovered. He also planned gardens, and planted mango groves all over the island. The circumstances leading to his rule as King will forever be dastardly, but during his reign there was peace in the land, no civil strife, and his vision in pursuing a vigorous trade policy with foreign lands specially China, ensured the country a prestigious  and respected place among nations.

Look at Sigiriya and then imagine the bare rock surrounded by jungle BEFORE the palace on the summit and the city were built. To then conceive that a body of men would attack a mountain of rock and then transform it into one of the most beautiful garden cities in the world at the time, is beyond belief  –  a city of geometric and architectural perfection which has stood up to the indignities of time and survived the wear and tear of the centuries. The dynamism and energetic spirit of King Kasyapa is felt there even today. Having travelled to many archaeological sites in the world I never cease to wonder why Sigiriya was not declared a wonder of the world years ago.  Like the classical monuments of ancient Rome and Greece, and the Mayan and Aztec temples in Central America, Sigiriya is the emblem of a rich and proud civilisation. Achaeological excavations over  the years have succeeded in revealing only some of her secrets.  What has been discovered so far is a testament to Sigiriya’s astounding vitality and longevity   – and a tribute to a great King.  Architecture, landscape gardening, water management, art, engineering perfection, mathematics, even the sciences are all embodied to perfection in this archaeological wonder. The identity of these ancient builders is unknown but the heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future

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THE SIGIRIYA SAGA – Part 3

The two armies faced each other on a plain somewhere near  present day Habarana. The rightful heir to the throne, Prince Moggallana son of the late King Dhatusena by the royal Queen,  had returned  after years of exile in India to claim his rightful inheritance, and settle a personal score  –  to avenge his father’s murder.  The army he led comprised of loyal Sinhalese soldiers plus mercenaries from South India.  King Kasyapa on the royal elephant led an army of  crack disciplined troops and veterans of the palace guard. Full credit to King Kasyapa for descending from his palace in the sky in a defiant act of bravery to confront the army facing him, rather than seek refuge, in his palace in the sky, in which case it would have been  impossible for Prince Moggallana to meet his opponent in open and fair combat. There is  a school of thought that King Kasyapa was so confident of winning the day that he decided to face his half brother honourably. What happened next is known to every student of history and is still being taught to students of history today.  Coming across a large stretch of swamp in his advance, he attempted to find another opening and turned his elephant around. 

Seeing this, the troops got the impression that he was trying to flee, and the moral courage and discipline of his army collapsed like a sand castle when the tide comes in. It is hard to imagine that an army of elite soldiers would thus break up in disorder on a perception. Perceiving this sudden change of fortune, King Kasyapa had no intention of being taken prisoner. He committed suicide by cutting his throat using the dagger in his sheath. He thus died as he had lived   –  dramatically. The chronicler of the Culavamsa wrote “….The King with his dagger cut his throat, raised the  knife on high and stuck it back in its sheath…..”  Make a note of the words “Raised the knife on high….” because this was no empty gesture. He raised the dagger swinging it in the air to call Prince Moggallana’s attention to his suicide. Even in dying he made it known to his brother that his was not the death of a coward. In his mind, he paid the supreme sacrifice.  Prince Moggallana, relieved that he was spared the necessity of meeting out justice to his half brother, carried out the necessary funeral services and so ended the life of one of the most controversial Kings that ever sat on the throne. He then abandoned Sigiriya and shifted the capital to Anuradhapura. The year was 496 AD.
 

History at times has some amazing surprises, and Sigiriya features in one of the biggest of them all. In the year 1400 AD –  904 years after King Kasyappa’s  death    –  a sensational discovery was made not in ancient Ceylon at the time, but in the library of the Maharaja of Palembang.  Palembang is a state of  Sumatra, in Indonesia, and the ancient name of this state was Suvarnapura.  The discovery was of an ancient Sinhalese tract called “The Sigiri Vithara”.  It contained information on Sigiriya which was previously unknown. Unknown because this information was never recorded in the Culavamsa. What remains a tantalising mystery to this day  is how this priceless tract found its way to  the state of Palembang. Who took it there ? Why was it deposited in the library of Palembang ? What has  been established however is that this tract was written during the reign of King Aggabodhi the 2nd around 610 AD, just 114 years following King Kasyappa’s demise.  We owe a debt of gratitude to a Sumatran Buddhist monk , a scholar named Ananda Sthavira.  Ananda Sthavira was also a historian, and when he translated this document its contents fascinated him.  He was so excited about what the “Sigiri Vithara” revealed, that he visited Ceylon in the year 1415 AD during the reign of King Parakramabahu the V1.  The King was so impressed with this scholarly monk that he afforded him every facility and assistance for his archaeological studies and research.  The”Sigiri Vithara” revealed information on Sigiriya never found in any document or rock inscription  in Ceylon.  There are fascinating details about the rock and about  King Kasyapa himself.

It states that the entire royal city and palace complex were completed in seven years. If this is true, then I humbly aver that it is an engineering and architectural miracle. It mentions the swimming pool on the summit of the rock called “Darani” stating that this pool remained full every day of the year, and during the dry season water was brought upto the summit by means of machinery. This really is no surprise because water management was a technological triumph and speciality of the ancient Sinhalese engineers. I recall that only twenty four years ago, four symmetrically placed fountains fed by subterranean canals were discovered in the royal pleasure gardens. In June 1994 the area was flooded by unseasonal rains. Due to the extra pressure of the water, three of these fountains began working  – as they had done during Sigiriya’s golden age over 1500 years ago. 
 

There is also a reference to an enclosure on the summit of the rock which exhibited the movement of the seven planets and of the earth around the sun. An excellent source of information about the “Sigiri Vithara”  is found in the book titled “Alien mysteries in Sri Lanka and Egypt” written by the well known author and historian, Dr.Susantha Fernando. There were scholars of astronomy in King Kasyapa’s court familiar with the planetary movements of the solar system. In the 64 verses of the “Sigiri Vithara” the word “Dura Dharshana” is mentioned indicating some form of telescope or lens. The late Professor Senerath Paranavitane stated that a type of telescopic lens was known to ancient Sinhalese scholars. A few years ago, on a flight to Mexico via Tokyo I had a pleasant surprise. Prior to boarding my flight at Narita International airport I purchased a book at the airport titled  “Return to Sodom and Gomorrah” by the acclaimed American scientist and author Dr.Charles Pellegrino. My flight which was on Japan Airlines was going to be a long since it was going to Mexico via Vancouver, and I thought a good book would help pass the time.  Imagine my surprise and amazement when on perusing the book at random I came across a reference to King Kasyapa ! The author writes that “King Kasyapa of Sigiriya stood at the window of his citadel on the rock watching through a telescopic glass……..”
 

The information gleaned from the “Sigiri Vithara” by Ananda Sthavira was written down on palm leaves. Some of this information still survives on stone inscriptions indited during the reign of King Aggabodhi 2nd  (568  –  601 AD.) In previous articles I have referred to the world famous Sigiriya frescoes and the techniques used by the artists in King Kasyapa’s court. Timeless as dreams these beautiful women gaze at us as they have done for over 1500 years, a testament to the immortality of the artists who gave them life in colour. The Mirror Wall has many inscriptions left by visitors to Sigiriya between the 8th and 12th centuries. These verses were composed extempore and are a tribute to the frescoes. I have seen similar verses in Rome, Pompei, and Egypt. Even King Parakramabahu  the great  ( 1153 –  1186 AD) visited this site as confirmed by an inscription . The late Professor Senerat Paranavitane translated over two  hundred verses from the Mirror Wall  – a priceless labour of love.

I humbly state that Sigiriya had its own ‘Sistine Chapel’ one thousand years before Michael Angelo completed work on the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican……..I refer to the world famous Sigiriya frescoes. Originally 500 frescoes graced the rock pocket which housed them, and there are definite historical records confirming this…….after a span of over 1500 years, these gracious figures still fill one with such emotion that the eye is never wearied and the heart never sated. They were never painted by the hands of men, but were created by the Gods  –  living lovely breathing women……..I bemoan the fact that the artist or artistes who produced this work of wonder that enchants the world even today, never left their names for posterity.  

Venerable Ananda Sthavira who became well versed in Pali , Sanskrit and Sinhalese later became an advisor to King Parakramabahu V1 (1410  1468 AD). There is a stone slab in the Anuradhapura museum marked M3 which contains information from the “Sigiri Vithara”.  Today, Sigiriya with her extraordinary history and stupendous engineering and artistic achievements takes pride of place on the World Heritage Listing. For fifteen centuries it has stood as a symbol of one man’s dream fulfilled.  I sometimes wonder if King Kasyappa was more concerned with his achievements as an “artist ” than with his functions as a head of state. For this reason, I have borrowed and paraphrased   – lets say given a different twist  – to a verse by the Roman poet Martial, who penned these lines in the year 80 AD . He wrote : 
                  

                             “Let not barbaric Memphis tell the wonders of her

                             pyramids nor Assyrian toil vaunt its Babylon  – Let not the Ionians be

                             extolled for trivia’s  fame…..” 
                                                             
                             

Paraphrasing the last two lines of this verse, I substitute the following lines : ALL LABOUR YIELDS TO KING KASYAPA’S SIGIRIYA……..

EPILOGUE

When Prince Moggallana became king, he shifted the capital once more to Anuradhapura. A stygian darkness descended over this wonderland and the long night of Sigiriya began. Except for the visitors who flocked to the once royal city to view the frescoes,  time took its toll and the city lay lost and forgotten. The palace complex, the buildings, the ponds, temples, the beautiful gardens, and  the halls lay wrapped in greenery smothered by the forest it had once commanded. This magnificient  city which in its glory days was one of the most inspiring and spectacular monuments conceived by the human mind succumbed to an onslaught of nature. It soon became overhung by trees of the forest webbed with vines and walled with ferns and shrubs. It became a city that time forgot. Until one day in 1890 a team of surveyors led by H.C.P. Bell who later became archaeological commissioner of Ceylon “discovered” this lost city almost by chance. They were on a field survey in the area and some of the team members penetrating the thick forest cover stumbled on some pillars and walls which aroused their interest and curiosity. To use a well worn cliche, ‘the rest is history’.

Out of the jungle emerged a vision from a fairy tale, an ethereal sight from another world……a world beyond imagination ! After a period of 1400 years, their eyes were the first that gazed on this lost capital……. and as news of what they had uncovered spread, Sigiriya stunned the known world  –  and it  continues to hold us in its spell today.  One of the most beautiful garden cities in the world at the height of its creativity, Sigiriya still constitutes one of humanity’s most magnificient and enduring architectural and engineering achievements.

Bernard  VanCuylenburg.

Bernard VanCuylenburg.