Ridi Viharaya Stupa

Ridi Viharaya Stupa Ridi Viharaya Stupa Ridi Viharaya Stupa

Ridi Viharaya lies about 20 kilometers away from the ancient kingdom of Kurunegala in a small village called Ridi Gama. This temple is said to be built by King Dutugemunu in the 2nd century BC as a memorial to the place where he found a silver (ridi) ore mine which was used to finance the building of the gigantic Ruwanweli Seya .

The great chronicle Mahavamsa describes the discovery of this mine by a trader

In a southerly direction from the city, at a distance of eight yojanas, silver appeared in the Ambatthakola-cave. A merchant from the city, taking many wagons with him, in order to bring ginger and so forth from Malaya, had set out for Malaya. Not far from the cave he brought the wagons to a halt and since he had need of wood for whips he wetit up that mountain. As he saw here a branch of a bread-fruit-tree, bearing one single fruit as large as a water pitcher, and dragged down by the weight of the fruit, he cut the (fruit) which was lying on a stone away from the stalk with his knife, and thinking: `I will give the first (produce as alms),' with faith he announced the (meal) time.

And there came thither four (theras) who were free from the asavas. When he had greeted them gladly and had invited them with all reverence to be seated, he cut away the rind around the stalk with his knife and tore out the bottom (of the fruit), and pouring the juice which filled the hollow forth into their bowls he offered them the four bowls filled with fruit-juice. They accepted them and went their way.

Then he yet again announced the (meal) time. Four other theras, free from the asavas, appeared before him. He took their alms-bowls and when he had filled them with the kernels of the bread-fruit he gave them back.

Three went their way, but one did not depart. In order to show him the silver he went further down and seating himself near the cave he ate the kernels. When the merchant also had eaten as he wished of the kernels that were left, and had put the rest in a bundle, he went on, following the track of the thera, and when he saw the thera he showed him the (usual) attentions. The thera opened a path for him to the mouth of the cavern: `Go thou now also on this path, lay brother!' When he had done reverence to the thera he went that way and saw the cave. Standing by the mouth of the cave and seeing the silver he struck upon it with his axe, and when he knew it to be silver he took a lump of the silver and went to his freight-wagons. Then leaving the wagons behind and taking the lump of silver with him the excellent merchant went in haste to Anuradhapura and told the king of this matter, showing him the silver.

As a gesture of gratitude The king decided to build a temple on the same ground and sent over 300 stone craftsmen to work on the temple. He also got a large gold plated Buddha statue to be bought from Dambadiva, India to be kept at the site. According to the the ancient book called "ridi vihara asna", when the king Dutugemunu was coming to the competed temple with the Buddha Statue brought from ind

Ridi Viharaya Stupa Ridi Viharaya Stupa Ridi Viharaya Stupa

Acerca del distrito de Kurunegala

Kurunegala es la capital de la provincia de Wayamba en Sri Lanka y del distrito de Kurunegala. Fue capital real durante tan solo 50 años, desde finales del siglo XIII hasta principios del siglo XXI, aunque incluso antes de esto, gozaba de una ubicación estratégica entre otras fortalezas imponentes como Yapahuwa al norte, Dambadeniya al sur y Panduwasnuwara al este. Ethagala, una roca de 316 metros de altura, se alza sobre la ciudad, situada a 116 metros sobre el nivel del mar. Su forma recuerda a la de un elefante. Kurunegala es un importante centro de transporte, con una estación de ferrocarril y varias carreteras principales que la conectan con importantes regiones del país. Se encuentra a unos 94 km de Colombo y a 42 km de Kandy. La mayoría de sus habitantes pertenecen a la etnia cingalesa. Otras minorías étnicas incluyen a los moros de Sri Lanka, los tamiles de Sri Lanka, los burghers y los malayos. Residentes de minorías étnicas viven en todas las zonas de la ciudad; sin embargo, comunidades importantes de moros y tamiles también residen en las áreas de Teliyagonna y Wilgoda.

Acerca de la Provincia Noroccidental

La Provincia Noroccidental es una provincia de Sri Lanka. Los distritos de Kurunegala y Puttalam conforman la Provincia Noroccidental o Wayamba. Su capital es Kurunegala, con una población de 28.571 habitantes. La provincia es conocida principalmente por sus numerosas plantaciones de coco. Otras ciudades importantes de esta provincia son Chilaw (24.712 habitantes) y Puttalam (45.661 habitantes), ambas pequeñas ciudades pesqueras. La mayoría de la población de la provincia de Wayamba es de etnia cingalesa. También existe una importante minoría de moros de Sri Lanka en los alrededores de Puttalam y tamiles de Sri Lanka en Udappu y Munneswaram. La pesca, el cultivo de camarones y las plantaciones de caucho son otras industrias destacadas de la región. La provincia tiene una superficie de 7.888 km² y una población de 2.184.136 habitantes (cálculo de 2005). Wayamba es la tercera mayor zona productora de arroz de Sri Lanka.

Wayamba cuenta con una economía agrícola muy desarrollada, donde se cultivan diversas frutas y verduras, plantas con flores, especias y semillas oleaginosas, además de los cultivos tradicionales como el coco, el caucho y el arroz. Sus suelos fértiles y su clima variado le otorgan a Wayamba un gran potencial para el cultivo de prácticamente cualquier tipo de cosecha. En Wayamba, o provincia del Noroeste, se encuentran antiguos templos budistas rupestres y las magníficas ciudadelas de Panduwasnuwara, Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa y Kurunegala. Los impresionantes restos de estas ciudadelas, palacios, templos budistas y monasterios ofrecen un atractivo turístico a los visitantes.

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