Upulvan ( si, උපුල්වන් ‍දෙවියෝ, pi, Uppalavanna;

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: Utpalavarna), also known as

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

(''Vishnu deviyo'') is a guardian deity (Pali: Khettapala; Sanskrit: Kshetrapala) of

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 ...

. Sri Lankan Buddhists believe him also as a protector of the

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 the country. The name Upulvan depicts his body colour which means "blue water lily coloured". The cult of Upulvan started during the medieval period in Sri Lanka. According to the local lore and legend, Upulvan is the god whom the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

entrusted with the guardianship of Sri Lanka and Buddha

Śāsana Śāsana ( sa, शासन, śāsana; pi, sāsana; my, သာသနာ ) is a Buddhist and Shaivite term for their philosophy and practice. It can be translated as teaching, practice, discipline, doctrine, and "the teaching of the Buddha". Since ...

of the country.

Historical accounts and legends

According to the Sri Lankan chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, north Indian

prince Vijaya According to the ''Mahāvaṃsa'' chronicle, Prince Vijaya (c. 543–505 BCE) was the first Sinhalese king. Legends and records from both Indian and Sri Lanka sources say that he along with several hundred followers came to Sinhala after they ...

and his seven hundred followers were blessed by god Upulvan upon their arrival to Sri Lanka in 543 BC. The second appearance of god Upulvan in literary sources occurs in the 7th and 8th centuries and again after a gap of several centuries his name reappears in 13th and 14th centuries as the god par excellence. Though god Upulvan is mentioned in Mahavamsa as the guardian deity of Sri Lanka, the first reference to the worship of Upulvan is dated to the 13th century.A history of Sri Lanka
by K. M. De Silva, pp.51-4 & 92-3 Kotte era poem ''Panditha Perakumba Siritha'' describes a story of how god Upulvan transfigured a log of a kihiri tree and floated it to the sea beach of Devinuwara kingdom in Southern Sri Lanka. On the night prior to the incident, King Dappula I (661-664) who was the reigning monarch, had a dream about the arrival of this transfigured kihiri log. Accordingly, the king and his people rushed to the beach and recovered the kihiri log. They carved the god's figure out of the kihiri log, and brought it ceremonially for enshrinement. The poem further states that the wood of the said kihiri log was also used as a medicine for treating various diseases. The ''Paravi Sandesaya'', written by

Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera (1408 – 1491) was a Buddhist monk and an eminent scholar, who lived in the 15th century in Sri Lanka. He was a polyglot who was given the title "''Shad Bhasha Parameshwara''" due to his mastery in six oriental lang ...

in the 15th century mentions the name of the consort of god Upulvan as Sandavan Biso, and they have a son named Dhanu also called Janak. In the medieval period local deities, namely Upulvan,

Katharagama Kataragama ( si, කතරගම, translit=Kataragama , ta, கதிர்காமம், translit=Katirkrāmam) is a pilgrimage town sacred to Hindu, Buddhist and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to ...

, Saman and Vibhisana came to be worshiped as protectors of the island. The 14th century inscription of King Buvanekabahu IV is the first inscription that refers to the guardian deities of Sri Lanka. Within the same century Nissanka Alagakkonara erected four shrines for the guardian deities when he was constructing the fortress of Kotte. God Upulvan seems to have been the most popular of these guardian gods and his main temple was located at Devinuwara (Dewundara) in Matara. ''Dewundara Devala Sannasa'' speaks of land dedicated to the temple by the ancient kings of Sri Lanka. A second temple for god Upulvan was erected by King Parakkramabahu IV at Aluthnuwara, Satara Korale in

Kegalle District Kegalle is a district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (pr ...

. Evidence reveals that land and other endowments were made to this temple up to the beginning of 17th century.

Identification with Vishnu

At the end of the 15th century, god Upulvan was identified with god Vishnu of Hinduism, which could be attributed to the resemblance of the two deities and to the Hindu and

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

influence that prevailed during the times of

Kotte Kingdom The Kingdom of Kotte ( si, කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය, Kottay Rajadhaniya), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Kotte, under the rule of Ming-back ...

. Thereafter images of Upulvan as Vishnu were set besides the images of Buddha in Buddhist temples throughout the country. After the identity of god Upulvan was merged with god Vishnu, the use of name Upulvan slowly disappeared and the worship of Upulvan as Vishnu was spread throughout Sri Lanka. The deity was important for the

Abhisheka Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

rite Rite may refer to: * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition Religion * Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations * Cath ...

.The Buddhist Vishnu: Religious Transformation, Politics, and Culture
By John C. Holt, pp. 5, 13-14, 67-87, 97-100, 343, 413 (Columbia University Press) Vishnu Devalya of Kandy Kingdom – මහනුවර විශ්ණු දේවාලය
Amazing Lanka Accessed 07-09-16Perpetual ferment : popular revolts in Sri Lanka in the 18th and 19th centuries, Kumari Jayawardena pp.17,128 (SSA) Today it is commonly accepted both Upulvan and Vishnu as identical deities in Sri Lanka. But there exists different views about this identification and according to some historians and sources, the two deities are not identical. There are also sources that equate god Upulvan to the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

god

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, su ...

, the protector and the lord of oceans, and in that capacity he is assumed as a protector of the island of Sri Lanka as well as

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...

and Tara.

Major temples

An ancient temple dedicated to god Upulvan was situated at Devinuwara in Matara, the southernmost area of the country. According to the recorded history, the Devinuwara multi-religious complex, the Buddhist temple and the Upulvan devale (shrine) was started by King Dappula I (Dappula-sen) in the 7th century AD. The origin of the Esala festival of Devinuwara goes back to the times of King

Parakramabahu II Parakramabahu II, also known as Panditha Parakramabāhu, was the King of Dambadeniya in 13th century, whose reign lasted from 1234 to 1269. As a pioneer in literature, he was bestowed with the honorary title "Kalikala Sahitya Sarvagna Pandita". Pa ...

who had reconstructed the dilapidated temples during his reign. Kings

Parakramabahu VI Parâkramabâhu VI (1410/1412/1415–1467) was a king in the Sri Lankan kingdom of Kotte. He is the last great king in Sri Lanka who managed to unite the island under one flag. His rule is famous for the political stability which he maintained i ...

, Vijayabahu VII and Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte made further grants to the temple.Arnold Wright. ''Twentieth century impressions of Ceylon: its history, people, commerce '' p. 416 The sacred shrine is mentioned in the ''Kokila Sandesaya'' ("Message carried by Kokila bird") written in the 15th century with reference to the exploits of

Sapumal Kumaraya Bhuvanekabahu VI of Kotte (, ), also known as Sapumal Kumaraya and Chempaka Perumal, was an adopted son of Parakramabahu VI, whose principal achievement was the conquest of Jaffna Kingdom in 1447 or 1450.Gnanaprakasar, S ''A critical history of ...

. The temple complex was visited by

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...

in the 14th century and

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...

in the 15th century. In 1587, a Portuguese army led by Thome de Sousa Arronches attacked the sacred city and destroyed the temples to distract king Rajasinha I's

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

.112th death anniversary of C. H. de Soysa – philanthropist unequalled
Dr. K. N. M. D. Cooray

Daily News (Sri Lanka) The ''Daily News'' is an English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is now published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House), a government-owned corporation. The newspaper commenced publishing on 3 January 1918. D. R. Wi ...

Retrieved 15 October 2015 King

Rajasinghe II King Rajasinghe II, also known as Rajasingha II (pre coronation, Prince Deva Astana), was a Sinhalese King, reigned 1629 – 6 December 1687; third king of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka. Rajasingha requested Dutch aid to help expel the Portu ...

managed to recapture Matara and re-built the shrine to god Vishnu, which is presently known as Uthpalawarna Sri Vishnu Devalaya. Today Vishnu is venerated by a large number of devotees in Sri Lanka, and is specially revered as the custodian of the island. There are many temples and shrines which are dedicated to the god in many parts of Sri Lanka. Annual processions (''peraheras'') are held to pay homage to the god in most of these temples. Other than the main temple and shrine in Devi Nuwara some of the famous Vishnu shrines and temples (''devalas & kovils'') in Sri Lanka are located in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, Vallipuram,

Aluthgama Aluthgama ( si, අලුත්ගම, translit=Alutgama; ta, அளுத்கமை, translit=Aḷutkamai) is a coastal town in Kalutara District in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. ...

( Kande Viharaya) and

Dehiwala Dehiwala is a suburban area in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It lies within the administrative boundaries of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. It is known for the zoo which houses thousands of animals and hundreds of species. 2019 Easter Sunday a ...

. The chief lay custodian of each shrine is known as the Basnayaka Nilame.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Official web site of Devinuwara
Sinhalese Buddhist deities Forms of Vishnu

Historical accounts and legends

Identification with Vishnu

Major temples

References

Further reading

External links