Maliyadeva was a monk who is said to have lived in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
during the 2nd century BCE and to have attained
nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
.
According to the
Mahavamsa, part of
Theravādin tradition, Maliyadeva was the last well-known
arhat
In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
who had high psychic powers ( Abigngnalabhi:
''in Sinhala'':අභිඥ්ඥාලාභී අරහතුන් වහන්සේ ) in Sri Lanka and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
in Sri Lanka declined after this period. A legend says he brought four Buddha statues from India to Sri Lanka.
His meditation chamber may be seen at
Arankale
and his dwelling place at Guharamaya.
Guharamaya: a cave of stone age man
/ref>
See also
* Maliyadeva College, Sri Lanka
* Maliyadeva Girls' College, Sri Lanka
* Phra Malai
References
Arhats
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks
Folk saints
{{Buddhism-bio-stub