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MIHINTHALE |
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The history of Mihintale dates back as far as 247 B.c. According to the Buddhist legends, Mihintale was the place where king Devanam Piyatissa first met Arahat Mahinda who came from India to establish Buddhism in Sri
lanka. The climb to the top along it's granite face is made interesting by a stairway that consists of 1840 steps made of granite slabs
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KATARAGAMA |
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A deity who is
known as Kataragama Deviyo, ali as
Skanda/Murukan presides the Devala,
which attracts thousands of pilgrims of
all religions and races during festive s eason
which goes parallel with Esala perahera
of Kandy. A lively pageant that goes for
2 weeks can be observed, where features
such as devotees with spears through
their skins and tongues dance along with
some others who seem to be in a trance.
Some devotees walk barefoot on burning
hot coal and some others roll over
scorching sand in the belief of
forgiving their sins and granting their
wishes.
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SRI
MAHA BHODIYA |
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The oldest historically authenticated
tree in the world and a sapling
originated from the very same Bodhi tree
(Ficus Religiosa)
under which Siddhartha Gautama sat to attain
enlightenment in Bodhgaya, India 2500
year ago. Brought to Sri Lanka by sister
of Arhat Mahinda, the Indian
Princess |
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Sangamitta who later became a
Buddhist nun transplanted
the sapling of Sri Maha Bodhi in
Anuradhapura. Through centuries the Sri Maha Bodhi has been venerated by
thousands of pilgrims from all around
the world. The city draws great number
of pilgrims during main Poya days as
well as during Vesak (May) and Poson
(June) religious festive seasons. |
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SRI
PADA ( ADAM'S PEAK ) |
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This mountain peak which lies among the central hills of the country, rises up to a height of some 2,243 meters. One interesting aspect of this holy place is that the pilgrims from all four major religions of the world come here to worship every year. Buddhist believe that the Buddha had left his foot mark on the summit when he came to Sri Lanka. However Christian's believe that this was the place where Adam and Eve resided. Muslims believe that it was here that god placed Adam and eve when they were expelled from the heavenly kingdom. The Hindus believe that the foot print there belongs to Lord Shiva. The view from the top is simply breathtaking and hundreds of devotees gather around in the chilly mornings to Witness the sunrise in the mornings. They say the sun worships the mountain starting off his day.
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This is the most impressive cave temple ancient sri lankan
artisans had to offer. IT consists of five caves that lies under an overhanging rock. the Buddhist mural paintings that can be found on the ceiling, covers an area of 2,100 square
meters. The caves also host a collection of 157 ancient statues. |
DAMBULLA |
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 Dalada
Maligava, OR the sacred temple of the tooth, is the Mecca of the buddhist
world. The tooth relic was bought
to Sri Lanka by an Indian princess Hemamali during the rule of King Meghavanna
(301-328 B.C). Since the holder
of the relic has the right to rule the country, the tooth relic was shifted
from place to place as the kingdoms shifted more and more inlands.
The present palace which is located in the heart of Kandy was built by
king Vimala Dharmasooriya I who ruled the country from(1592 - 1604) and hosts
the upper left canine of the Buddha. Every
year thousands of visitors come to worship and to visit this world heritage
site.
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TEMPLE OF
THE TOOTH
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