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

Om Nord-Sentralprovinsen

Anuradhapura tilhører den nordlige sentrale provinsen på Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura er en av de gamle hovedstedene på Sri Lanka, kjent for sine godt bevarte ruiner av den gamle lankesiske sivilisasjonen. Byen, som nå er på UNESCOs verdensarvliste, ligger 205 km nord for den nåværende hovedstaden Colombo på Sri Lanka. I den hellige byen Anuradhapura og i nærheten finnes et stort antall ruiner. Ruinene består av tre typer bygninger: dagobas, klosterbygninger og pokuna (dammer). Byen hadde noen av de mest komplekse vanningsanleggene i den antikke verden, og ligger i den tørre sonen av landet. Administrasjonen bygde mange tanker for å vanne landet. De fleste sivile er singalesere, mens tamiler og srilankiske maurere bor i distriktet.

Om Nord-Sentralprovinsen

Nord-Sentral-provinsen, som er den største provinsen i landet, dekker 16 % av landets totale landareal. Nord-Sentral-provinsen består av to distrikter kalt Polonnaruwa og Anuradhapure. Anuradhapura er det største distriktet på Sri Lanka. Arealet er 7 128 km². Nord-Sentral-provinsen har en rekke potensialer for investorer som vil starte sine virksomheter, spesielt landbruk, landbruksbaserte næringer og husdyrsektoren. Mer enn 65 % av befolkningen i Nord-Sentral-provinsen er avhengige av grunnleggende landbruk og landbruksbaserte næringer. NCP kalles også «Wew Bendi Rajje» fordi det finnes mer enn 3000 mellomstore og store dammer i provinsen. Sri maha bodiya, Ruwanweli seya, Thuparama dageba, Abayagiri-klosteret, Polonnaruwa Rankot wehera og Lankathilake er redde.

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