Ringing in the New Year with precious gifts from the Bell family-By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Source:Sundaytimes H.C.P. Bell’s great-grandson Andrew was here from England to hand over valuable volumes authored by Sri Lanka’s ‘Father of Archaeology’ to the Royal Asiatic Society They came bearing gifts of immense value to Sri Lanka. The great-grandson of the iconic first-ever Commissioner of Archaeology of colonial Ceylon attempted to bring these gifts in mid-December by checking in one suitcase as hold luggage. The airline requirement was that one bag could hold only 32kg, but his suitcase weighed 39kg…….and so Andrew “took out a whole pile” and carried them in his backpack all the way from England to Sri Lanka! “They were very heavy,” he laughs, the task accomplished and the precious gifts handed over to the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) at the Mahaweli Centre on December 15. Andrew, the great-grandson of Sri Lanka’s ‘Father of ...
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The story of Kusumasana Devi who left a legacy for this country-by L.B Senaratne Source:Dailymirror Dharmapala handed over his Kingdom to the Portuguese and became a Roman Catholic It is because of the death of Maha Astana that Kusumasana Devi decided to leave Mahanuwara (Kandy) and be near a physician who treated her for an ailment If there was no Kusumasana Devi alias Dona Catharina alias Kamalasena Devi there would have been no Mahanuwara nor the Sacred Tooth Relic in this country. But no one speaks of her identity and she died a forgotten spouse; not as a Queen. She was the mother of King Rajasinghe I who saved the country for us to live as Sri Lankans Kusumasena Devi ruled Senkadagala in 1581 and survived the worst periods in Sri Lankan history. It was a period of wars and evil ambitions when the country was ruled by three forces, but ...
Sep 2, 2022
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles
Tagged Denawaka Mayadunne, Dona Catharina, H.C.P. Bell, Karaliyadde Bandara, Kusumasana Devi, Yamasinghe Bandara
Buddhist Railing at Jetawana Monastery – unique structure of yesteryear – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Located approximately 120 meters south of Jetawanarama (also known as Jetawanaramaya stupa or Buddhist reliquary monument) and located in the ruins of *Jetawana Monastery in the UNESCO world heritage city of *Anuradhapura, there is a structure known as “Buddhist Railing” which has been researched and analyzed by many scholars, authors and travelers from the period, the British discovered it in the 1800’s. This site is enclosed by a large railing made of stone slabs and pillars. According to the Archeological Commissioner’s Report of 1890, *H.C.P. Bell has discovered and restored this unique site. According to scholars, the stone fence is a Buddhist motif found in ancient Buddhist architecture including *Sanchi in India. According to *Mahawamsa, there had been a *Bodhi tree inside this structure and King Dappula II (797-801) had donated a golden Buddha Image ...
Apr 16, 2022
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Articles, Arundathie Abeysinghe
Tagged Anuradhapura, H.C.P. Bell, Jetawanaramaya, King Dappula II, UNESCO
