Queen Dona Catherina of Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Please click on each of the web-links below:-

1. https://www.facebook.com/philip.veerasingam/posts/2615668601778744 

With speakers on
2.  https://www.facebook.com/philip.veerasingam/posts/2615766958435575

 

Tale of a premonition

It was the time of intrigue in the last days of the Kandyan Kingdom. King Sri Wickremasinghe Rajasinghe was on the throne. The British were in control of most parts of the Island and were planning an assault on Kandy. A childhood friend of the King was aged and was dying. He had a premonition of things to come and sent a message to King Rajasinghe through an intermediary. The message was very poetic in its composition and it went as follows in a translation into English -
'Far away I see a hornets nest gather. It is a 'Yak debara' ( a vicious breed of hornets). Tell the King not to throw stones at it'.

What happened subsequently is history.
History has a habit of repeating itself many times.
(Story from the book ' In the days of King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe by Dolopihillle)

The capture of King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe of Kandy

 The King

 Queen Rangammal

 The golden armor of the King - Looted by the British and sold by auction in 1820 in Britain

 Ivory statuette of King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe

  The Throne

The arrest of the King

 Place of  arrest, Medhamahanuwara, Bomure.

 

 Kandyan cheifs with Doyly

 The signatories to the Kandyan treaty

  Place in Colombo where the King was held before deportation to Vellore, Kerala, India.

 The King's  last residence in Vellore

After the fall of city of Kandy in February 1815 to the British rule, Eheylapola Maha Adhikaram ( who was one of the main conspirators who helped the British to take over Kandy ) sent a group of his people to help the British to capture the king who had escaped from the palace. After several days this team found that the king was in hiding in the area of “Bomure”
What happened after the Eheylapola’s gang headed by Ekneligoda Nilame surrounded the house in which the king Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe was hiding on the 18th of February 1815, was published by C.T.A Dias (who was a translator who participated in the group who captured Kandy) in the 1861 April issue of Sinhala publication.
Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe – Last king of the Nation

After a brief resistance, The king appeared delivered himself. The gang of Ekneligoda Nilame pulled the king out of the house and stole every valuable worn by the king and the queen. One of the goons called “Kiriporuwe Mohottala” tore the queen Venkathi Rangammal‘s earlobes to steal the earrings worn by her. The queen with the bleeding earlobes, fearing for her life ran in to the house.
The Tholkamudali called Dias who was with this crowd, called the queen with due respect and the queen now in her white undergarments (all the cloths being stolen) came out and asked for protection from him. The Tholkamudali got some herbal plants treated her bleeding earlobes.
Meanwhile the Ekneligoda Nilame asked his goons for bring some creeper to tie the king. The Tholkamudali distressed at the way the king was being treated told the Ekneligoda Nilame, “Sir, we have been under british rule for a long time and we do not consider him as our king but he has been your king untill now and you (the Kandyans) have been calling him with great respect up to now.” and offered his Satakaya (an Indian Toga) to tie him. But the Ekneligoda Nilame refused it and tied the king with creepers and delivered to the British.

Artisans' work at the 'Dalada Maligawa', Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Decorated pillars, Dalada Maligawa, Kandy, Sri Lanka. The work of artisans residing in the Kandyan Kingdom. 1. 'Naari-latha' - A mythological creeper supposed to grow in the Himalayas.The flowers from this creeper depict all the beauty and allure of a damsel. They are supposed to draw away the men who perform 'Tapas' in the Himalayas, by their beauty.
2. 'Et-kanda-lihiniya - A mythological bird said to be capable of carrying off an elephant and eating it.
3. 'Simha' - A lion
4. ? Boar.
5. ? Lotus.
6 & 7 'Inverted Lotus' on the top of pillars

The 'Dalada Maligawa', Kandy, Sri Lanka.

The Temple of Tooth at kandy is the final location of the sacred tooth of the lord Buddha which was brought to srilanka during the reign of king “keerthi sri Megawarna” by prince “Dantha” and Princess “Hemamala” from the kindom of kalingu India. It became the palladium of srilankan kings and was preciously guarded in a special shrine built within precincts of royal palace where the capital was located.
The Temple of the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, sri dalada Maligawa is in the centre of the city, the highest venerated religious place with steeped in cultural heritage attracting the highest respect of the Buddhists as well as the other religions all over the world. The beautiful magnificent temple was built by late king Vimaladharmasooriya 1st in 1592 AD.

The Relic Shrine is approached by a large draw-bridge over the moat and through a beautifully decorated frontispiece. A tunnel” ambarawa”, leads to the main shrine complex, having a central courtyard surrounded by storied structures.
The two-storied open pillared hall in front constitutes the area where visitors and devotees gather. The lower hall has its central part set apart for the beating of drums and other forms of traditional music performed during ritual service hours. On either side are the Pallemale Vihara constructed by king Kirti Sri Rajasimha and the Octagon (Pattirippuva) built by the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasimha on one side and the small “stupa” supposed to contain the Bowl Relic of the Buddha on the other. The storied structures to the right and left of the shrine, constitute the residence quarters of the monks engaged during daily service (Tevava), the conference hall, the Library and the Office of the Diyawadana Nilame.The recognition of the sacred temple it has been declared kandy as a world heritage city by UNESCO. Ven.Monks of the two chapters of Malwattu and Asgiriya conduct daily worships in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performing 3 times daily at dawn, at noon and in the evening. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the sacred relic with an herbal preparation from scented water and fragrant flowers called “Nanumura Mangalya”.
This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and it is distributed among those present.
I took these photos of the varied facets of this temple complex.
http://sridaladamaligawa.lk/Sri-Dalada-Maligawa

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Katugasthota after crossing the new concrete bridge, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Second hand car dealers, imports from Japan, Katugasthota road, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

These very good condition second hand vehicles from Japan, have a big demand. Hybrids and plug-ins are gaining in popularity.

Sights near Dharmaraja College, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Entrance to Dharmaraja College, Kandy.

The building housing the swimming pool of Dharmaraja College.

 

Looking down towards the Kandy Lake area.

At the 'Why not hotel' at Dodanwela on the banks of the Mahaweli Ganga, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

This lies on Deweni Rajasinghe Mawathe, Dodanwela Kandy. You canm drive down to the banks of the river. The canteen is on a shed by  the river bank. Four rooms are available for overnight stay. The sound of water running over the  rocks was quite soothing.

Tel No of 'Why not Hotel' 0777 591598

Click on web-link below to watch video:-
https://youtu.be/Csv4sEfsKsU