ANCIENT CAPITAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 284, 12 September 1938, Page 7

ANCIENT CAPITAL

CEYLON’S DEAD CITY. ONCE AS BIG AS LONDON. Although tho sites of many of the world’s vanished cities Babylon Tyre, Thebes, and India’s Fa tell pur SiUri, to name only a few—are visited by modern travellers, Anuradhapura, ancient capital of fabled Lanka (Ceylon) is seldom heard of, writes George Brandt in the “New York Times.” Yet it was once as large as the London of to-day and fdled with imposing temples and dwelling-places. Now if is merely a jumble of scattered rock, inhabited only by chattering birds that fly about tiie lush foliage where once were city squares and palaces. The rise and fall of Anuradhapura is best understood by! students of the early history of Ceylon. In the fifth century, 8.C., Vijaya, a Prince of Northern India, is supposed to have vanquished the natives of the island and inaugurated the Singhalese nation. Later the rulers of Lanka, as it was known to the ancients, turned the tables. In the twelfth century Parakrama Bahu conquered Southern India and extended his empire to Siam. But, eventually, Ceylori’s king was taken by a Chinese army. Still .later the kings of Kandy, in their capital eighty-five miles from Anuradhapura, held power for a considerable time, only to be deposed by the British in 1815. Within the time boundaries of this brief historical outline Ceylon rose to greatness and then subsided into a minor role within the British Empire as a tea producer. Ancient Capitals. Among Ceylon’s ancient capitals the first, between 505 and 437 8.C., was Upatissa Nuwara. Anuradhapura was the second and most opulent, flourishing between 437 B.C. and 1109 A.D., during which period Polonnaruwa (771 A'.D. to 1288 A.D.) shared with other lesser cities the temporary honour of being capital. The people of Anuradhapura (which comprised two cities built in an inner and outer circle and embracing 256 square miles, spent all their time in spiritual contemplation, hoping to attain the bliss of Nirvana, or absorption in the Infinite. Thus, practically this was a gigantic Buddhist monastery, dependent upon others less pious for sustenance. This may help to explain the city’s fall. Anuradhapura’s characteristic moonstones —semi-circular stone carvings beautifully patterned with animal and floral designs in concentric circles — recall Mexico’s calendar stones,. They are found at the foot of each flight of stairs. Apparently astronomy was a favourite study in this city, named after the constellation Anuradha, by its founder , King Pandukabaya. One building that local citizens probably showed their country cousins was the Brazen Palace with its nine stories and 1600 pillars, each twelve feet high. A Tree of 240 B.C. As one scrambles over the ruins it is easy to visualise the life that once went on here at the height of the city’s power. Then an object, of special veneration was the 80-tree, planted about 240 B.C. from a branch of the tree at Buddh-Gaya in India, under which Buddha had sat in contemplation. Parts of this tree still remain in Anuradhapura; probably the most ancient historic trees on earth. To-day a well-kept Buddhist library stands at its side.

Scattered about in tho jungle of Ceylon are ancient columns, foundations and other relics of the past. Best preserved are tho enormous dagobas, or domed temples, built of brick and tile, as were most of the structures. Many buildings, such as the Brazer Temple, which consisted of 900 rooms, were roofed with sheets of brass. Today most of the domed temples are covered with grass, but those still exposed reveal a high degree of craftsmanship. Their proportions are truly colossal. Aghayagiri Dagobn, built in 87 8.C., was 401 feet in diameter and 320 feet high.