Palansuriya Mohottalalage Dingiri Mahaththaya (, known as Sagara Palansuriya () in later life, was a

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, ...

n poet, teacher and Member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Early life

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

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

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

Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

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 person ...

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

Sinhalese language Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), 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. It is also the first l ...

, literature,

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, 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 th ...

(now the

University of Kelaniya The University of Kelaniya (UoK; , ) is a public university in Sri Lanka. Just outside the municipal limits of Colombo, in the city of Kelaniya, the university has two major institutions and seven faculties. History The University of Kelaniy ...

). He traveled to Shanthi Nikethana in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 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 1947 Ceylonese parliamentary election, August 1947 and 1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, February 1989. The district was named after the town of Horana in Kalutara Dist ...

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, K. M. P. Rajarathna, Nimal Karunatillake, Lakshman Rajapaksa, M. S. Themis and T. B. Ilangaratne. 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 Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon 20th-century Sri Lankan poets Faculty of Nalanda College, Colombo

Early life

Career and service

See also

References