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Pre Anuradhapura Period
The Pre-Anuradhapura period of Sri Lankan history begins with the gradual onset of historical records in the final centuries of the prehistoric period and ending in 437 BC. According to the Mahavamsa, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and northern Naga tribes. Sinhalese history traditionally starts in 543 BC at the arrival of Prince Vijaya, a semi-legendary king who was banished from the Indian subcontinent with his 700 followers and is recorded in the Mahavamsa chronicle. This period was succeeded by the Anuradhapura period. Overview Periodization of Sri Lanka's history: Background According to several sources, the Naga people were one of the groups that lived in coastal regions of Sri Lanka and Tamil country before the arrival of Aryans in Lanka and Dravidians in Tamil country. Some recorded naga settlements in Sri Lanka were Kelaniya and the modern-day Jaffna peninsula. One of the evidence that can be used to prove that point is the Jaffna pen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistory Of Sri Lanka
The prehistory of Sri Lanka covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Age of the country until the Pre Anuradhapura period in 543 BC. There is evidence of Paleolithic (''Homo erectus'') people in Sri Lanka from about 300,000 BP and possibly even as early as 500,000 BP. There is strong evidence of prehistoric settlements in Sri Lanka by about 125,000 BP. Evidence of a transition between the Mesolithic and the Iron Age is scant. Fluctuations in sea level led to Sri Lanka being linked to the Indian subcontinent from time to time over the past million years. The last such link occurred about 5000 BC. Deraniyagala (1996) Overview Periodization of Sri Lanka history: Stone Age The Stone Age had approximately existed from 125,000 years ago to 1800 BC minimum. Palaeolithic Findings at Iranamadu indicate that there were Paleolithic people in Sri Lanka as early as 300,000 BP.Pichumani (2004) There is definite evidence of settlements by prehistoric people in Sri Lanka by abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kelaniya
Kelaniya ( ) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, Sri Lanka. Located from Colombo Fort, it is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo District. The temple is also a religious centre for veneration of the figures Vibhishana and Avalokiteshvara. It is also known as the location of the University of Kelaniya. Historical and cultural significance Kelaniya (''Kalyanam'') is mentioned in Ramayana and in the Buddhist chronicle, the Mahawansa which states that the Buddha visited the place in the 5th century BC, after which the stupa, dagoba of the temple was built.Wilhelm Geiger (Tr), ''The Mahavansa, or The Great Chronicle of Ceylon'', Oxford, OUP, 1920. Sri Lankan Buddhists believe that the Buddha visited Kelaniya in order to quell a quarrel between the Nāga leaders of two warring factions: Chulodara (literally "the small-bellied one") and Mahodara (literally "the big-bellied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaksha
The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The feminine form of the word is or Yakshini (, ; ). In Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, the s have a dual personality. On the one hand, a may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the , which is a kind of ( bhuta) that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travellers, similar to the rakṣasas. Early yakshas Yakshas appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts. Several monumental yakshas are known from the time of the Maurya Empire period. They are variously dated from around the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. These statues are monumental (usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Tambapanni
The Kingdom of Tambapaṇṇī () was the first Sinhalese kingdom in Sri Lanka. Its administrative centre was based at Tambapaṇṇī. It existed between 543 BC and 437 BC. According to the Mahavamsa, the Kingdom was founded by Prince Vijaya and his followers. Name Tambapaṇṇī is a name derived from ''Tāmraparṇī'' or ''Tāmravarṇī'' (in Sanskrit). This has got reference to the Thamirabarani river in Southern Tamil Nadu, India. This means the colour of copper or bronze because when Vijaya and his followers landed in Sri Lanka, when their hands and feet touched the ground they became red with the dust of the red-earth. Therefore, the city founded on that spot was named Tambapaṇṇī. A derivative of this name is Taprobane (Greek). Background Ancient grave sites that were used before 600 BC and other signs of civilisation have also been discovered in Sri Lanka, but little is known about the history of the island before this time. According to the '' Mahāvamsa' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parinirvana
In Buddhism, ''Parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained '' nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the ''skandhas''. In some Mahāyāna scriptures, notably the '' Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'', ''parinirvāṇa'' is described as the realm of the eternal true Self of the Buddha. In the Buddha in art, the event is represented by a reclining Buddha figure, often surrounded by disciples. Final nirvana at death In the Buddhist view, when ordinary people die, each person's unresolved karma passes on to a new birth; and thus the karmic inheritance is reborn in one of the Six Paths of '' samsara''. However, when a person attains nirvana, they are liberated from karmic rebirth. When such a person dies, it is the end of the cycle of rebirth. Contemporary scholar Rupert Gethin explains: Parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni Accounts of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but Great Renunciation, renounced his Householder (Buddhism), home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained Nirvana (Buddhism), nirvana at Bodh Gaya, Bodh Gayā in what is now India. The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a Sangha, monastic order. Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached ''parinirvana'' ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Vimutti, freedom from Avidyā (Buddhism), ignora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhapura
Sinhapura ("Lion City" for Sanskrit; IAST: Siṃhapura) was the capital of the legendary Indian king Sinhabahu. It has been mentioned in the Buddhist legends about Prince Vijaya. The name is also transliterated as ''Sihapura'' or ''Singhapura''. The location of Sinhapura is disputed with some scholars stating the city was located in eastern India. According to Niraj et al Sinhapura is located in north west India. The city is linked to the origin of the Sinhalese people and Sinhalese Buddhist ancient texts. The legend According to '' Mahavamsa'', the king of Vanga (historic Bengal region) married the daughter of the king of Kalinga (present-day Odisha). The couple had a daughter named Suppadevi, who was prophesied to copulate with the king of beasts. As an adult, Princess Suppadevi left Vanga to seek an independent life. She joined a caravan headed for Magadha, but it was attacked by Sinha ("lion") in a forest of the Lala (or Lada) region. The ''Mahavamsa'' mentions the "Sinh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhala Culture
Sinhala may refer to: * Sinhala or Sinhala dvipa, another name of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people, an ethno-linguistic group native to Sri Lanka * Sinhala language, the native language of the Sinhalese people * Sinhala script, the writing system of the Sinhala language ** Sinhala (Unicode block), a block of Sinhala characters in Unicode * Sinhala cinema, cinema in the Sinhala language * Sinhala Kingdom, the successive historical Sinhalese kingdoms of Sri Lanka between 543 BCE and 1815 CE * "Sinhala", a song from the 1999 album ''The Magical Sounds of Banco de Gaia'' See also * Sinha, an Indian name ** Sinha (surname), an Indian surname * Simha (other) * Singam (other) * Singham (other) * Singa (other) * Singhania (other) * Singh Singh ( IPA: ) is a title, middle name, or surname that means "lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it was later mandated in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Culture
Tamil culture refers to the culture of the Tamil people. The Tamils speak the Tamil language, one of the oldest languages in India with more than two thousand years of written history. Archaeological evidence from the Tamilakam region indicates a continuous history of human occupation for more than 3,800 years. Historically, the region was inhabited by Tamil-speaking Dravidian people. It was ruled by various kingdoms such as the Sangam period (3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE) triumvirate of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, the Pallavas (3rd–9th century CE), and the later Vijayanagara Empire (14th–17th century CE). European colonization began in the 17th century CE, and continued for two centuries until the Indian Independence in 1947. Due to its long history, the culture has seen multiple influences over the years and have developed diversely. The Tamils had outside contact in the form of diplomatic and trade relations with other kingdoms to the north and with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Buddhist Council
Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "''sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist canons. Referred to as Buddhist "councils" (Pāli and Sanskrit: ''saṅgīti'', literally meaning "reciting together" or "joint rehearsal"), the famous First Buddhist Council is recorded in Buddhist texts as being held one year after the Buddha's passing, when Ananda recited all of the spoken sutras, which were recorded in Rajagriha. The two next major Councils were held more than 100 years later. The details of the later councils are debated by modern Buddhist studies. Various sources belonging to different Buddhist schools may contain different accounts of these events. First Buddhist council All six of the surviving Vinaya sources of various early Buddhist schools contain accounts, in whole or in part, of the first and second co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas ( mantras and benedictions), the Brahmanas (commentaries on and explanation of rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices – Yajñas), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pp. 35–39A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', , pp. 8–14; George ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
