Palansuriya Mohottalalage Dingiri Mahaththaya ( si, පලන්සුරිය මොහොට්ටාලලාගේ ඩිංගිරි මහත්තයා, known as Sagara Palansuriya ( si, සාගර පලන්සූරිය) in later life, was a

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 ...

n poet, teacher and Member of Parliament.

Early life

Palansuriya Mohottalalage Dingiri Mahaththaya was born on 11 March 1908 at Kalalella, Ratnapura,

. Sagara undertook his primary education at Madampagama Rural Sinhala school, going on, to then join the Sangha under the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

Ven. Kalalelle Pemananda. Under the tutelage of Ven. Ethoya Penanissa thero he was educated in the

Sinhalese language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. Sinhala is also sp ...

, literature, sociology, culture and politics, in addition to learning several eastern languages as a scholar of the

Vidyalankara Pirivena Vidyalankara Pirivena is one of the largest Buddhist pirivenas in Sri Lanka. Located in Peliyagoda, it is nearly 150 years old. Under the pirivena's leadership, several schools were started in the region; one is Sri Dharmaloka College, one of the ...

(now the University of Kelaniya). He traveled to Shanthi Nikethana in India to continue his studies.

Career and service

In his second term of priestliness, Kalalelle Ananda Sagara continued his career as a teacher and promoted his style of Poesy, compiling verses such as ''Kalakanniya'', ''Kelani Withthi'', ''Paddiyavatiya'', ''Mal Hamy'' and ''Visirinu Tharu'' under the pseudonym KAS (Kayes). His best works are regarded to have been ''Sudo Sudu'' and the ''KAS Markup Script'', both of which contributed to his recognition as one among the leading literary figures in the country. He also was a teacher at

Ananda College ''Appamādo Amathapadan'' (Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada) , motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana , location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha , city = Colom ...

Colombo and Nalanda College, Colombo. Palansuriya went on to renounce his monkhood, reverting to his lay name Sagara Palansuriya, and entered politics in 1947, joining the Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party led by Philip Gunawardena. He was able to secure a place in Parliament in 1956, representing the

Horana Electoral District Horana electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Horana in Kalutara District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the ...

for the Mahajana Ekasth Peramuna led by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. Due to his interest in left-wing politics, he maintained a close relationship with Sama Samaja and Communist Party politicians, including

Tikiri Banda Subasinghe Subasinghe Mudiyanselage Tikiri Banda Subasinghe (14 August 1913 – 10 August 1995) was a Sri Lankan statesman. He was the 7th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Soviet Union He also served as Parliamentary S ...

, K. M. P. Rajarathna, Nimal Karunatillake, Lakshman Rajapaksa, M. S. Themis and

T. B. Ilangaratne Navaratne Rajakaruna Wasala Mudiyanselage Tikiri Bandara Ilangaratne (27 February 1913 – 21 May 1992), popularly as T. B. Ilangaratne, was a Sri Lankan politician, author, dramatist, and theater actor. He was a Member of Parliament for K ...

. He often drew attention to the plight of the rural farming community. Palansuriya retired from politics in 1960 due to failing health and died on 22 June 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palansuriya, Sagara 1908 births 1961 deaths Sri Lankan poets Sinhalese politicians Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon 20th-century poets Faculty of Nalanda College, Colombo

Early life

Career and service

See also

References