Kalutara Bodhiya

Kalutara Bodhiya Kalutara Bodhiya Kalutara Bodhiya

The Kalutara Bodhiya is an ancient Bo tree which was identified as one of the 32 saplings of the original Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi planted during the reign of king Devanampiyatissa in Anuradhapura during the 2nd century BC. It remains as a very important historical site to this day.

History

According to history that the Bo tree at Kalutara sprouted from a sapling of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi (The Great Resplendent Fig Tree Symbolising Victory) in Anuradhapura; which itself is a sapling of the very Bo Tree (Ficus religiosa) in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, India underneath which Buddha attained enlightenment.

The First Tree

The story of how this tree came to Kalutara is quite interesting. The Bo Tree at Buddha Gaya became a subject of veneration after Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment while seated under its spreading branches. Centuries later the tree became a symbol of the Buddha’s presence and therefore became worshipped. A sapling of the original tree was brought to Sri Lanka by the bhikkhuni Sanghamitta, daughter of the King Asoka and twin sister of the Venerable monk Mahinda who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka. The sapling was planted in the Mahamehavana Park of Anuradhapura in 288 AD. This became the Sri Maha Bodhi. As the original tree in Bihar was destroyed later on, it is a historical fact that the Sri Maha Bodhi is the world’s oldest tree with a documented history.

The Sapling

The history of the Sri Maha Bodhi tree is recorded in the Sinhalese literary Bo Tree classic,  Bodhivamsa. According to this book the tree bore eight fruits. There were four saplings grew from the seeds of each fruit, making up a total of 32 saplings. Apparently the places that they were to be planted were specified by Mahinda himself and Kalutara was one of these places. However, the tree only survived until the 15th century AD.

The Buddhist public started to consider the location place sacred after a Pandyan prince named Wickrama Pandyan also planted a Bo tree on the current Lower Terrace of the Kalutara Bodhi premises in 1042 AD. The prince served as a viceroy in the Kalutara area during that period, and wished to get the support of the locals though he was a Hindu himself. During the 15th century invasion by the Portuguese, care for the tree decreased and the tree died. However, it regrew a few decades later. After the Portuguese took control of the coastal provinces of Sri Lanka in the 16th century, they noticed that the site was popular with the locals, and possibly decided that it could be used strategically to control the religious activities of the people there. The site of the Kalutara Bodhiya was converted into a fort during this time.

After the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English who made Sri

Om Kalutara-distriktetKalutara ligger cirka 42 km syd for Colombo. Kalutara, der engang var en krydderihandelspost, blev kontrolleret af portugisiske, hollændske og britiske styrker. Byen er berømt for sine kvalitetskurve og -måtter af bambus samt de lækreste mangostaner.

Den 38 meter lange Kalutara-bro blev bygget ved udmundingen af ​​Kalu Ganga-floden og fungerer som en vigtig forbindelse mellem landets vestlige og sydlige grænse. I den sydlige ende af broen ligger den 3 etager høje Kalutara Vihara, et buddhistisk tempel bygget i 1960'erne, der har den ære at være den eneste stupa i verden, der er hul.

Om Vestprovinsen

Vestprovinsen er den tættest befolkede provins i Sri Lanka. Den er hjemsted for den lovgivende hovedstad Sri Jayawardenapura samt Colombo, landets administrative og forretningsmæssige centrum. Vestprovinsen er opdelt i 3 hoveddistrikter kaldet Colombo (642 km²), Gampaha (1.386,6 km²) og Kalutara (1.606 km²). Som Sri Lankas økonomiske centrum er alle de store lokale og internationale virksomheder til stede i byen, og det samme er alle de store designer- og detailhandlere på hovedgaden, så vær klar til at forkæle dig selv med lidt shoppingterapi i den vestlige provins.

Med den højeste befolkningstal i alle provinserne er næsten alle de førende uddannelsesinstitutioner på øen placeret i den vestlige provins. Universiteterne i provinsen inkluderer University of Colombo, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Kelaniya, Open University, Sri Lanka, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University og University of Moratuwa. Den vestlige provins har det største antal skoler i landet, herunder nationale, provinsielle, private og internationale skoler.

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