King Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura

King Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura King Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura King Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura

The citadel of Sigiriya is, possibly, the most famous historical icon of Sri Lanka. Created on an almost sheer rock rising from the plains of Anuradhapura; the citadel is a marvel of ancient architecture. But the most important and mysterious aspect of Sigiriya are its unfading rock frescoes. These beautiful paintings have not lost their color in over a thousand years and have been the marvel of archaeologists and researchers from around the world. Despite this, the story of the king who created and ruled this citadel is not very well known.

The beginnings of King Kashyapa

Kashyapa I, or Kassapa I as he is also known, was born as the eldest son of King Dhatusena in the middle of the 5th century AD. He was talented in politics, war strategies and the arts as a prince ought to be; but luck was not on his side. Despite being born the eldest he was the son from one of the king’s concubines; and his younger stepbrother who was the son of the royal consort was declared the rightful heir. Kashyapa felt that the crown prince Mogallana was a coward and not fit for the throne. He resented the fact that he had been ignored.

A plan is hatched

Meanwhile, Kashyapa’s father – king Dhatusena had an army commander, whose name was Migara. This commander had a disagreement with the king and sought to have vengeance for it. Migara was cunning, and knew Prince Kashyapa’s feelings on not being nominated the heir. He incited the prince to rebel against his father.

Assisted and encouraged by Migara, Kashyapa staged a palace coup. He overthrew King Dhatusena and usurped the throne 473 AD. The former king was imprisoned, while Kashyapa I became the second king of the Mouriyan Dynasty of Sri Lanka. The crown prince Mogallana appeared to prove Kashyapa’s judgement of being a coward true, as he fled to India to save his own life. Kashyapa’s rule may have proved comparatively normal; if not for the deceitful Migara. The commander was not satisfied with the king being simply overthrown; he wanted him dead.

A loss of temper and the results of bad decisions

Migara made Kashyapa to believe that the former king Dhatusena had hid an enormous amount of wealth and the misled prince demanded that the imprisoned king reveal all his treasures. The king looked at him sadly and then led him to Kalawewa, an irrigation tank that he had constructed. ‘This is the only treasure I have’ he said to his captors. Kashyapa, blinded by his greed and pride, became incensed by this response and ordered him entombed alive within the wall of the irrigation tank – or so the story goes. Another version of the tale states that Kashyapa had Dhatusena killed and walled up the body within a ra

Informazioni sul distretto di Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura appartiene alla Provincia Centro-Settentrionale dello Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura è una delle antiche capitali dello Sri Lanka, famosa per le sue rovine ben conservate dell'antica civiltà cingalese. La città, ora Patrimonio dell'Umanità UNESCO, si trova 205 km a nord dell'attuale capitale Colombo, in Sri Lanka. Nella città sacra di Anuradhapura e nelle sue vicinanze si trovano numerose rovine. Le rovine consistono in tre classi di edifici: dagoba, edifici monastici e pokuna (stagni). La città possedeva alcuni dei sistemi di irrigazione più complessi del mondo antico; situata nella zona arida del paese, l'amministrazione costruì numerose cisterne per irrigare i terreni. La maggior parte dei civili è cingalese, mentre nel distretto vivono anche tamil e mori dello Sri Lanka.

Informazioni sulla provincia centro-settentrionale

La Provincia Centro-Settentrionale, la più grande del paese, copre il 16% della superficie totale del paese. La Provincia Centro-Settentrionale è composta da due distretti chiamati Polonnaruwa e Anuradhapure. Anuradhapura è il distretto più grande dello Sri Lanka. La sua superficie è di 7.128 km². La Provincia Centro-Settentrionale ha numerose potenzialità per gli investitori che desiderano avviare le proprie attività, in particolare nei settori dell'agricoltura, dell'industria agroalimentare e dell'allevamento. Oltre il 65% della popolazione della Provincia Centro-Settentrionale dipende dall'agricoltura di base e dall'industria agroalimentare. La Provincia Centro-Settentrionale è anche chiamata "Wew Bendi Rajje" perché nella provincia si trovano più di 3.000 serbatoi di medie e grandi dimensioni. Sri Maha Bodiya, Ruwanweli Seya, Thuparama Dageba, il monastero di Abayagiri, Polonnaruwa Rankot Wehera e Lankathilake sono luoghi di interesse.

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