Anavama-darshin (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: Anavamadarśin), also known by his

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

name Anomadassi (fl. 1241 CE), was a Buddhist monk and author from

Dambadeniya Dambadeniya ''(DMBD)'' is a ruined ancient city situated in the North Western Province (Wayamba), Sri Lanka on the Kurunegala–Negombo main road. It served as the capital of Sri Lanka in the mid 13th century. Much of Dambadeniya still lies buried ...

in present-day

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He is best known as the author of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

astrological treatise ''Daivajna-Kamadhenu''.

Biography

Anavama-darshin was a Buddhist monk associated with the Hattha-vanagalla (Hasta-vanagalya)

Mahavihara Mahavihara () is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas. Mahaviharas of India A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Biha ...

, a monastery located in present-day

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

. As the leader (''mahāsāmi'') of this monastery, he had close contact with and received favours from king

Parakramabahu II Parakramabahu II, also known as Panditha Parakramabāhu, was the King of Kingdom of Dambadeniya, Dambadeniya in 13th century, whose reign lasted from 1236 to 1270. As a pioneer in Sri Lankan literature, literature, he was bestowed with the honorar ...

. According to '' Chulavamsa'', the king, through his minister Devapiti-raja, commissioned the construction of a three-storey ''pāsāda'' (mansion) at the monastery, "at great cost". The king also arranged repairs to its shrines and the erection of a ''

cetiya Cetiya, "reminders" or "memorials" (Sanskrit ''caitya''), are objects and places used by Buddhists to remember Gautama Buddha.Kalingabodhi jātaka, as quoted in John Strong, ''Relics of the Buddha'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004), ...

'' there. One of Anavama-darshin's pupils, whose name is not known, wrote the

-language ''Hattha-vanagalla-vihāra-vaṃsa'', a history of the monastery at his request.

Works

In 1241, Anavama-darshin composed ''Daivajñā-Kāmadhenu'', sourcing information from other authors such as Varahamihira and Bhoja-raja. This book is the most important

-language astrological text from present-day

. It deals with omens, ''jataka'', ''

muhurta Muhūrta () is a Hindu unit of time along with ''nimiṣa'', ''kāṣṭhā'', and ''kalā'' in the Hindu calendar. In the ''Brāhmaṇas'', ''muhūrta'' denotes a division of time: 1/30 of a day, or a period of 48 minutes. An alternative meanin ...

'', and ''prashna''. Some scholars, such as

Charles Godakumbura Doctor Charles Edmund Godakumbura (5 December 1907 – 7 February 1977) was the Commissioner of Archaeology in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from 1956 to 1967. Early life He was born on 5 December 1907 in Chilaw in the North Western province of the co ...

, also attribute the authorship of the Sinhalese grammar ''Sidat-sangara'' to Anavama-darshin. ''Paropakāra'', another work attributed him is now lost.

Notes

References

External links

दैवज्ञकामधेनु:
the Sanskrit text of ''Daivajna-Kamadhenu'', published as part of the Benares Sanskrit Series (1905) {{Transitional period topics Sri Lankan Buddhist monks People of the Kingdom of Dambadeniya 13th-century Sri Lankan people Sanskrit writers Sri Lankan astrologers