Published in Vijayvaani
The entire landmass of Sri
Lanka was called Lanka in the inscriptions of the Cholas written thousand years
ago, but in the book ‘Brihat Samhita', written by Varahamihira a thousand and
five hundred years ago, a separate country called Sinhala is mentioned along
with the name of Lanka (14: 11-16). As far as we know, the people in Sri
Lanka are the Sinhalese and therefore the whole of Sri Lanka is also known as
Sinhala. This is supported by the verse of poet Bharathiyaar that he would
prefer a bridge to the ‘Sinhala’ island.
Apart from these two
names, Sri Lanka is also known as Ceylon. There is another name appearing in the
inscriptions of King Ashoka, as 'Tambapanni'.
Greek historians, such as Megasthenes, have mentioned Sri Lanka as
'Taprobane', which appears to be a distortion of the name 'Tambapanni'. For
these reasons, scholars are of the opinion that Ravana's Lanka could not have
existed in Sri Lanka. Such views question the authenticity of the Ramayana
itself that we need to establish the location of Ravana’s Lanka without doubt.
Lanka in inscriptions
To find out the original
name, let us go back from present to past. The name Sri Lanka came into force
in official records from 1972 onwards. Before that the country was known as
Ceylon, a name coined by the Portuguese in the 16th century when
they came in search of a country called 'Seylan' in their language in
the maps. When they landed in Sri Lanka, they thought that that they had found
out the land they were looking for and started calling it as Seylan which
ultimately became Ceylon.
The entire island of Sri
Lanka was known as Lanka by the people of our country as we look for the name
in the inscriptions of Tamil kings. To quote the Tiruvalangadu copper plates issued
by Rajendra Chola a thousand years ago, the name Lanka appears for the entire
Sri Lanka in the context of mentioning Rajaraja Chola crossing the sea with his
naval force. This deed of Rajaraja Chola was compared with Rama who crossed the
sea with his army of Vanaras. It says,
“The lord of the Raghavas
(i.e., Rama) constructing a bridge across the water of the ocean with (the
assistance of) able monkeys, killed with great difficulty the king of Lanka
(i.e., Ravana) with sharp-edged arrows; (but) this terrible General of that
(king Arunmolivarman alias Rajaraja Chola) crossed the ocean by ships and burnt
the Lord of Lanka. Hence Rama is
(surely) surpassed by this (Chola General).” (verse 80)
Though the intent of this
verse is to eulogise Rajaraja as being superior to Rama, these lines offer
valuable evidence for Ravana’s Lanka in Sri Lanka. This is the only copper
plate that states the construction of a bridge by the Vanaras across the sea
between the Chola country and Sri Lanka.
Sinhala and Tambappani in
Sri Lanka
The names Sinhala and Thambapanni
appeared much earlier according to 'Mahavamsa', which describes the royal
dynasties of the then Sri Lanka and the way Buddhism spread. On the day Gautama
Buddha left this world, Vijaya landed at the northern part of Sri Lanka by a ship
from Bengal. On seeing the sand on the shore in copper colour he called the
place 'Thamravarni'. When Buddhism spread, Pali was also spoken there, and it
became known as Thambappani in Pali. This area is Jaffna in the northern part
of Sri Lanka and the whole of Sri Lanka is not given this name.
The origin of the name
Sinhala is traced to Vijaya's story. His father's name was Simhabahu or Sihabaahu
– a name he got for restraining a lion. The city where he lived was also called
Simhapura. His son Vijaya was named Vijayasimha. For these reasons, the region
of Sri Lanka where Vijaya landed got the name Sinhala. The people who came with
him were called Sinhalese. The northern Sri Lanka occupied by them was named
after them as Sinhala. The name didn’t apply to the entire island.
These names arose when
Vijaya arrived around 500 B.C., but Sri Lanka was referred to as Lanka only in
the Mahavamsa. At the time of Vijaya’s arrival, only two cities existed in Lanka:
one was 'Sirisavattu' (a Pali variant of Shirishavastu) in northern Lanka,
and the other was Lankapuri in the South.
The Mahavamsa states that
Lankapuri existed in the hilly region of southern Lanka where Yakshas lived. This
is reiterated in the hymns of Alwars too. For example, Tirumangai Alwar says that
Surpanakha, after getting humiliated, reached the mountain of Lanka (Periya
Tirumozhi: 3-9-4). Similarly, Ravana also told to Sita the location of his
city on a mountain (V.R: 3-47-29).
Mountainous
region of the South
Ravana's capital
Only southern Lanka (we
shall start referring to Sri Lanka as Lanka) is dotted with a group of
mountains. To the east of Colombo and in the central part of the south, there
are mountain peaks, where Lankapuri was situated. A Buddhist text
called, Mahayana Lankavatara Sutra states that Gautama Buddha preached
on the hill of Lanka, the abode of Ravana. It describes Ravana as the king of Lanka
and the chief of Yakshas who came to meet Gautama Buddha to listen to his
preachings. This abode of Lanka mentioned in this text is known as Adam’s
Peak today.
The entire first chapter
of this text is about Buddha’s presence on the hill of Lanka and Ravana
arriving in a flowery chariot to receive him to pay his respects. This can be
easily dismissed as imagination, but what cannot be ignored as imagination is the
reference to the hill as Lanka, the city of Ravana. The setting of this text is
about two thousand five hundred years ago when Vijaya had not yet arrived. The
author had obviously wanted to use Ravana’s name to promote Buddhism in Lanka
and created an imaginary conversation of the Buddha imparting wisdom to Ravana.
The choice of the location, that is the Hill of Lanka was meant to make the
story of Ravana meeting the Buddha appear real. So, one cannot doubt the
identity of the hill - the Adam’s peak as the location of Ravana’s Lanka.
It is said that the
account of Ravana's arrival was not there in an earlier version of this book.
However, there is no difference of opinion that the place where the teaching
took place was the city of Ravana's Lanka. This story might have helped to
spread Buddhism in Lanka, but it is a moot question why the knowledge about Ravana’s
Lanka in that mountain remained unknown to the people of Lanka. The probable answer
lies in the fact that this text was not popular as Mahayana was replaced by Theravada
Buddhism long ago in Lanka.
However, the hill
remained in memory as an important location where Buddha stayed. Ravana was
forgotten, and the hill is remembered for Buddha’s association. Lanka's
Buddhism has made the Ramayana forgotten. Buddhism, which took root in Lanka
2,500 years ago, has destroyed the links to the Ramayana that happened many
years ago. The city of Ravana, which refers to the main peak of the hilly
south, was used to take advantage of the old history.
The description given in
Valmiki Ramayana applies to this peak. Lanka was like Amaravati; yes, it is. For
most times, the pinnacle of the hill is obscured by clouds and mist looking as
though it is hanging from the sky. This mountain is referred to as Swarga, and
named Swargarohana, which corrupted into 'Rohana' mountain in course of
time. This mountain is also known as
Malaya and Lanka. It is a place of natural beauty that almost every religious
community claimed ownership of this mountain whenever they gained an upper hand
over others.
Adam's Peak
The Ramayana refers to
Ravana's Lanka as 'Trikuta' peak (V. R. 5-2-1). Trikuta means
three peaks or three humps. There is no mountain with three peaks in
southern Lanka, but with three facades, Adam’s peak fulfils the meaning of
Trikuta. The Ramayana says that Ravana's Trikuta mountain resembles Mount
Kailash (V.R: 5-2-23). Amazingly, the peaks of Kailash and
Trikuta appear similar.
Mount
Kailash and Ravana's Trikuta Mountain
Perhaps that is why
Kubera, who had built the city of Lanka moved to Mt. Kailash when Ravana took away
Lanka from him. Protection by Lord Shiva residing in Kailash was another reason
for his choice of Kaliash.
Since Ravana was a
devotee of Lord Shiva, the Trikuta hill in which he lived came to be known as
'Sivanolipaada Malai' (Mountain of the Light of Shiva’s Feet). In course of
time this changed into 'Samanoli Malai' (Mountain of the Light of Saman)
It is said in Manimekalai (twin epic of Silappadhikaram) that Buddhist pilgrims
used to circumambulate the Samanoli Hill in Lanka before visiting the Buddhist
Viharas of Kanchi (Manimekalai: Ch- 28: line 107). Saman refers to Saman
Deva, a Buddhist who lived on this hill who became the guardian deity of
this mountain after his death. It is said that when Gautama Buddha came to Lanka,
he met Saman and imparted knowledge to him. The worship of Saman on this hill
also paved the way for completely erasing the memory of Ravana long ago when
Lanka was less populated.
Saman
Deva in the Temple of Kelaniya
Standing on top of this
hill, Hanuman observed the surroundings and thought about how to enter the city
of Lanka (V.R.: 5-2-32). From the structure of the hill, this version of
the Ramayana looks plausible, as the peak is tapering on a raised mountainous
area. Ravana’s city must have been widespread on the entire hill region with
the peak uniquely rising as a cone, often hidden by clouds. It must have been
bound by a triangular wall, which the Tamil Sangam texts say was broken by
Rama.
Adam’s
peak (Mount of Lanka)
On top of the hill there are
two caves called 'Bhagava Cave' and 'Dheeva Cave'. Sita could have been
imprisoned in the forest on the slopes of the hill. From the top of the hill,
the sea is visible on the west, and whoever comes through the sea can be seen
from the mountain itself. The fact that gems are found around the hill also concurs
with the Ramayana version of abundance of gems (ratna) in Lanka. For thousands
of years, people have climbed the hill from a place called Ratnapura at the
foothills.
The hill was claimed by
many from the time Buddhism spread in Lanka until the recent British rule,
however, for most part in the last two thousand years, the hill was associated
with Buddhism only. The image of a foot
carved on a boulder found on the summit is venerated as the footprint of
Gautama Buddha commemorating his visit to the mountain. The sacredness attached
to this footprint has made this mountain a pilgrim spot for the Buddhists
besides lending its name ‘Sripada’ to the mountain. Today no one recognises this mountain by its
olden name as Lanka but only as Sripada.
Sripada
Although it is believed
that the engraved foot represents Gautama Buddha, there is no evidence in
support of it. The carving had existed since before the Common Era and no one knew
about it until king Valagambha discovered it in 104 B.C.E. The king was on
a hunting spree chasing a deer that climbed this peak when he accidentally discovered
this footprint. In course of time, people began to believe that it was the foot
of the Buddha.
In the absence of
knowledge of who created it and for whose memory, its location on the Mountain
of Lanka raises a question on whether it was a pre-historic carving created to
represent Rama’s victory over Ravana. Knowledge about Ramayana did not
disappear in Lanka before Buddhism entered – a fact confirmed by the existence
of folk stories on Ramayana that were said to have been enacted during the
reign of Panduvasadeva, the second Sinhalese king who succeeded Vijaya. Though
the folk versions differ from the original Ramayana, the prevalence of those
stories among the local people before Buddhism got rooted in Lanka is proof of historicity
of Ravana and hence the Ramayana. This must be borne in mind while analysing
the pre-historic carving of Sripada.
In the long history of
more than two thousand years of Buddhism in Lanka, only for a short period of a
couple of centuries, i.e., the 16th and the 17th century,
this hill became sacred for the Hindus when the nearby Kandy region was ruled
by the Hindu kings. At all other times it remained sacred to the Buddhists as Sripada
Mountain. As a result, the history of Ramayana has been forgotten and distorted
in Lanka. Until recently, Sri Lankans did not believe that the Ramayana was a
true history, one reason being Ravana was a negative character; another reason
was the sway of Buddhism over the masses. Only archaeological excavations in
the Sripada peak and surrounding mountainous region can bring out the secrets
buried in this mountain.
Vibhishana remembered in
Lanka.
Vibhishana, however, is
remembered and venerated throughout Lanka since time immemorial. The kings of different
regions of Lanka have not forgotten Vibhishana, even though Ravana was
forgotten. After the death of Ravana and the burning of his capital by Rama,
Vibhishana did not seem to have lived on the hill. Based on the Sandesha
Kaavyas of Lanka, we deduce that Vibhishana lived in a place called ‘Kalyana’
which is known as Kelaniya in Pali (or Kalani in Tamil). This place is
close to the western shore near Colombo. Vibhishana is mentioned as ‘Utpalavarna’
(lotus coloured) in these texts.
Many literary works of
Lanka written in different periods in different kingdoms speak about the temple
of Vibhishana at Kelaniya. Many kings have worshipped Vibhishana, seeking his
blessings to get back or retain their kingdoms, like how he was given the
kingdom by Rama. Some texts refer to him housed in the temple of Kelaniya as
Rama and some others as Vishnu. However, the text Hamsa-Sandeshaya (the
Swan message) tells in clear terms that Vibhishana was anointed as the king of
Lanka by Rama.
This temple also is
converted into a Buddhist shrine and Vibhishana’s memory is confined only to the
outer walls of this temple. Murals depicting the crowning of Vibhishana are the
only reminder of Ramayana connection to this place. The existence of this
temple of Vibhishana and the literary works of Lanka connecting this place to
Vibhishana stand as testimony to the fact that Lanka of Ravana was in Sri Lanka
only.
The identity of Ravana
The Mahavamsa says that
the Yakshas were the original inhabitants of Lanka. Kubera was a Yaksha, and
Ravana himself told Sita that he had taken away Lanka from Kubera (V.R:
3-48-5). Kubera must have looked like his Yaksha mother, 'Ilavila'. Visravas, the father of Kubera, was born to Pulastya
who must have belonged to the Maanava clan (Manu’s lineage). He fathered Ravana by his marriage with Kaikasi,
born in the Rakshasa clan.
Ravana must have resembled
his mother in appearance. In a couple of places, Valmiki says that Ravana was
big like mount Mandara, and dark as a black cloud and had a good neck structure
(V.R: 5-22-24). Earlier we pointed out that Sumali, the maternal
grandfather of Ravana might have lived in Somalia in East Africa. If this is
true, the description of Ravana’s appearance appears to be of African descent.
He controlled Yakshas, the natives of Lanka who must have appeared like Kubera
that we see in paintings and statues in temples.
His younger brother
Vibhishana was not like Ravana, either in character, or in appearance. His name as “Utpalavarna” shows that he was
not dark like his brother, Ravana. Perhaps he resembled his father in colour, like
a Manava. He didn’t seem to have ruled the Yakshas who were under the control
of Ravana. (Even Lankavatara Sutra refers to Ravana as the Lord of Yakshas).
They were left to fend themselves after Ravana’s death it seems. Perhaps the
migration of Vibhishana from Lanka to Kelaniya indicates that he cut off any
connection with the Yakshas having allegiance to Ravana.
As we search for the
location of Yakshas and what happened to them later, we come across some
amazing inputs in the caves around Ravana's mountain. There are many caves at
the foothills of the hills of south-central Lanka where archaeological studies
have been conducted.
The
caves where the Yakshas lived at the foothills of Trikuta Hill
Early human skeletons are
found in these caves. It is now established that a different kind of human
beings – though anatomically similar to homo sapiens – were living in these
caves since 35,000 years ago. Based on the location, they were named as 'Balangoda
Man'.
From the skeletal remains
it is known that they had large body, short neck (neckless appearance), chubby
nose, protruding eyebrows and conspicuously large teeth. By these descriptions,
they almost resembled what we see as the figure of Kubera, the Yaksha. Such
figures are seen in South Indian temple walls as weight bearers. Throughout
Southeast Asia, such kind of images are found. He was the primordial man of
Lanka.
Balangoda
Man
Ravana, the son of
Kaikasi, made these Yakshas obey him.
Ravana's neck was well-structured (V-R: 5-22-24). For the Yakshas
who did not have a prominent neck, Ravana must have looked like a man with ten
necks! Perhaps that made them address Ravana as 'Dasagriva' – the one
with ten necks! In course of time, it gave rise to the name ‘Dasanana’ –
the ten faced.
The Yakshas (Balangoda
man) and the Rakshasas (black people from Ravana’s maternal home) must have
been controlled by Ravana. He maintained an army consisting of these people.
Those who could not be controlled or satisfied were sent to Dandakaranya to
trouble the hapless sages living there. Rama came and destroyed them all. Many
of the Yakshas in Lanka would have survived by the grace of Rama and Sita.
There is evidence of Yakshas living in Lanka up to 6500 years B.C. They continued to live but their identity seemed to have undergone changes after that. Today, the aborigines of Lanka known as Veddas (Veduvar or hunter) are found to resemble the Balangoda Man genetically. It appears that they had mingled with Manavas and started looking like modern man. King Vijaya married a Yaksha woman only. Mahavamsa gives her name as Kuveni who hailed from Lankapuri in the southern mountainous region. According to this Buddhist text, Yakshas were confined to the hills of the south and led a secluded life. They were fierce and didn’t mingle with others. In fact, Lanka was not occupied by outsiders until Vijaya landed around the 5th century BCE. The Yakshas resented the marriage of Kuveni with Vijaya whom they killed later – so says Mahavamsa.
There is no evidence of the Rakshasa clan living in Lanka after Ravana’s demise. With no roots in Lanka, those who migrated along with Ravana’s maternal relatives might have gone back. Only the Yakshas remained in Lanka.
The above inputs give
rise to an opinion that Ravana’s time was only a few thousand years ago. Can it
be so, given the fact that Rama lived in Treta Yuga, many lakhs of years ago? Let's examine that part too in an upcoming
article.
References:
Adam’s Peak / Sripada : https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/sri-pada.htm
Mahayana Lankavatara Sutra: https://huntingtonarchive.org/resources/downloads/sutras/08technicalMayayana/Lankavatara%20Sutra.doc.pdf
Saman Deva: https://sripada.org/saman.htm
