However, Tissamaharama in itself is also an important historical site, which likes to be called the “Anuradhapura of the South”. During the Anuradhapura period, it was known as Mahagama, the capital of the southern kingdom called Rohana in the Pali language of the ancient chronicles. Excavations carried out in Tissamaharama were of some significance, proving international trade relations as well as Tamil influence on the island’s culture from very early times onwards.
Despite of this, Tissamaharama is of less significance as a tourist destination for heritage and study tips. The huge stupas from the early period, Tissa Dagoba and Yatalas Wehera, are restored in the 20th century in a modern fashion.
HISTORY OF MAHAGAMA – TISSAMAHARAMA (RUHUNA)
The town owes its current name to King Kavan Tissa (also transcribed „Kakavantissa“ in modern English or spelt „Kakavannatissa“ in the ancient Pali chronicles), who reigned until . Kavantissa indeed was an important figure in the history of southern Sri Lanka. It was probably under his reign (205-161) that the tank now bearing his name, the Tissa Wewa, was built. It was Kavantissa who for the first time unified Rohana under a single rule, see below. However, the ancient name mentioned in the chronicles is „Mahanaga“. During most of the Anuradhapura period, it remained to be the most important town in the southern part of Sri Lanka, which was then known as Rohana. It’s highly likely that it is this city that is called Maagramon in the 2nd century AD geography of Ptolemy. „Mahagama“ literally translates to „large village“, but „-gama“ is often used to denote settlement that later on developed into towns as well.
Archaeological findings
Archaeological evidence shows that the history of Tissamaharama dates back to the island’s pre-Buddhist period, this is even prior to Devamapiya Tissa and his brother Mahanaga, the legendary founder of Mahagama alias Tissamaharama. The oldest settlement was dated to the 4th century BC. At that point in time Tissamaharama was only a village consiting of small buildings made of wood and clay and wattle. When Tissamaharama expanded, the newer part of the inner city was fortified. This is why the excavated former core of the city is now called a citadel. It was situated on a mound that is is known as Akurugoda today. It‘s just east of the Tissa Wewa and close to it’s southeastern edge. The unspectacular site measuring about 600 m in length is now crossed by the B464 road to the nearby town of Kataragama.
The former citadel was excavated by the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka in cooperation with the German KAAK (Kommission für Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen (KAAK) in Bonn-Bad Godesberg), an indepentend unit of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI). The Tissamaharama project started in 1987. Excavations in Tissa 1, the highest part part of the citadel mound, were started in 1992.
Similar to the layout of Anuradhapura, the citadel formed only a small part of the city. Large parts of the settlement area and the monastic compleces were outside of the fortified city. The latter are found to the south of the Tissa Wewa, in between the ancient citadel and the modern town centre of Tissamaharama.
Interestingly, a potsherd from the 3rd century found in Tissamaharama bore a graffito of a sailing ship with one mast. This indicates involvement of Tissamaharama in international trade at this early point in time, which corresponds with the legendary founding of the city by a Prince from Anuradhapura.
Early history of Mahagama according to Mahavamsa
According to the ancient Mahavamsa Chronicles, however, the said Prince Mahanaga from Anuradhapura was the founder of Rohana and of ist capital Mahagama. Prince Mahanaga was one of the eight younger brothers of King Devanampiya Tissa. It was during Devanampiya Tissa’s reign in the period of the Indian emperor Ashoka that Buddhism was introduced in the Anuradhapura kingdom. According to the customs of Sri Lankan royal families, brothers of the reigning monarch – and not only his sons - were entitled to become his successors. It was only in the late Anuradhapura period that the rules of succesions were ficed in this way: After the eldest sons death, first all his younger brother became kings, one after another, before the elsdest son of the eldest brother became the first monach of the next generation of brothers on the throne. But in the earlier Anuradhapura period, the succession was often disputed, which frequently led to civil wars.
The 22nd chapter of the Mahavamsa chronicle reports that Devanampiya Tissa's consort Ramadatta planned to bypass the succession of her brothers in law in favour of her son, to bring him to the throne sooner. This is why she attempted to kill Mahanaga by sending him a basket of poisened mangoes. But accidentally it was Devanampiya Tissa's son who ate the fruit and died. Prince Mahanaga understood, that this had been an attempt on his own life and decided to leave Anuradhapura for his safety. His family migrated to the south, where Mahanaga took residence in Mahagama.
The large stupas found in the Tissamaharam today are attributed to the first generation of princes after Mahanaga came from Anuradhapura, namely Mahanaga and his son Yatala and Kavanthissa, the grandson of Yatala, the father of Duttagamani. The Tissa tank was probably built by Kavantissa in the 2nd century BC. In some analogy to the role the Abhaya Lake played in the development of Anuradhapura roughly a century and a half earlier, this actually laid the foundation for a growing metropolis in the Southern Sinhalese Empire of Rohana.
Indeed, the period of first generations of Sinhalese rulers in Tissamaharama (the „founding fathers“, from the legendary Mahanaga in the late 3rd and to the historical Kavantissa and Dutthagamani in the 2nd century corresponds to an enlargement of the city. The earliest settlement was fortified roughly about this time.
Being a major trading center in Tissamaharama
Tissamaharamaya became a major trading center in Sri Lanka from the 3rd century BC. The peak of its international trade relations lasted until the 5th century AD.
Surprisingly, one epigraphical find in Tissamaharama, a Brahmi inscription on a flat ceramic dish dated to approximately 200 BC, is written in Tamil language. At first glance, it was interpreted as proving the presence of Tamil traders in the Sinhalese capital of Sri Lanka’s southern principality. However, this did not remain undisputed. The wording of the Tissamaharama Tamil Brahmi inscription could even well indicate the presence of a domestic Tamil community of peasants instead of a trade guild of foreign origin. Nonetheless, there can be no doubt that Tamils were involved in the trade Indian Ocean trade network, of which Tissamaharama became a hotspot.
Evidence of trading contacts between Tissamaharama and the southeast and east coast of India is provided by the distribution of a specific ceramic type called „Rouletted Ware“. Apart from Anuradhapura and the harbour towns Mahatittha (Mantota) in the northwest and Kantarodai (Kadurugoda) on Jaffna Peninsula, Tissamaharama is the major finding place of this type of ceramics in Sri Lanka. 2,000 fragments of Rouletted Ware from various periods were unearthed in Tissamaharama. These finds played a significant role in the dating of Rouletted Ware, thereby contributing evidence for a scholarly debate concerning the origins of the Indian Ocean trade (see grey box). Though Rouletted Ware is not considered to be of Roman origin any more, there is also evidence for trade contacts with the Roman empire, as Tissamaharama is Sri Lanka’s major finding place of sherds of Roman amphorae.
History of Rohana
The ancient kingdom of Rohana (called „Ruhuna“ in Sinhalese), of which Mahagama was the capital, developed into a second major agricultural and political centre of the Sinhalese civilisation, next to the old kingdom of Rajarata reigned from Anuradhapura. Similar to Rajarata, Rohana was a hydrulic culture, paddy cultivation in the sem-arid dry-zone depending on irrigation. The chronicles call the old Mahagama a rice chamber. However, there are some differences. The tanks throughout the entire region of Rohana (south to the Mahaweli river) were only small or medium-sized, never as large as the dozens of royal reservoirs in the northern half of the island. Furthermore, they were not integrated in a larger network of canals interconnecting diverse river systems. This is to say: The irrigation schemes in Rohana were confined to smaller regions. This might correspond with a more fragmented character of the Rohana area. Actually, it might have consisted of several principalities instead of only one, although Tissamaharama at the Kirindi Oya was defintely the most important single entity. The fragmented character of Rohana is mirrored in the reports of the chronicles, as the most significant achievement attributed to Kavantissa, father of the later conquerer of Anuradhapura, was the unification of other important principalities under one umbrella. By peaceful incorporation of the eastern region of Seruwawila, Kavantissa’s realm finally bordered the Rajarata reigned by the Tamil king Elara from Anuradhapura.
An Ayurvedic hospital from the 1st century AD was excavated on the west side of the citadel. It consisted of a group of smaller and larger buildings for different purposes, e.g. storage in vessels, preparation of herbal medicine with millstones, medical baths in a tub and toilet facilities. The toilets had a filter sytem, which consisted of vessels with perforated bottoms and once filled with pebbles, sand and lime. Several such filters were superimposed on others of the same kind. Actually, this complex in Tissamaharama is the earliest known Ayurvedic structure not only in Sri Lanka but in South Asia at all. This Tissamaharama Hospital is an archaeological record of a very early and nevertheless highly developed Buddhist tradition of medical care, the beginnings of which had previously only been known from literary sources. The oldest hospitals in Sri Lanka previously discovered date from the late Anuradhapura period, around the 8th to 10th centuries. An Ayurvedic hospital from this latter area has been excavated in the monastic complex of Tissamaharama nd is accessible for visitors.
As said, during the entire period of imperial Rome, Tissamaharama was engaged in international trade. Fourty East Roman coins from the 4th or 5th century and an Aksumite coin were excavated in Tissamaharama, several hundred Greek-Roman coins were found in the hinterland. One good imported from the west is lead, as there is no lead source on the island. Metallurgists in Tissamaharama produced leaded bronze icons from around the 4th or 5th century AD onwards. In later centuries, tin was imported to be used for casting bronze statues.
But a decline of the port commenced in the early 6th century. But even after the citadel was abandoned around 500 AD, a settlement continued to exist and the Buddhist monasteries continued to flourish. Though Rohana’s stupas and monastic complexes are clearly based on the models of the northern kingdom and though Rohana in later centuries earned a reputation of being a centre of Buddhist learning, from roughly the 5th or 7th century onwards, Mahayana Buddhism became more dominant in the island’s southern art than in the cultural triangle, particularly with regards to sculptural art. Most statues found in Rohana are Bodhisattvas, the saviours that Mahayanists revered most.
Monastic architecture in Tissamharama was significantly expanded in the 8th century AD. This was one of the rare periods of peace in the Anuradhapura kingdom, enabling it to exercise control over the far south of the island, too. It was in the second half of this century that a remarkable prince from Anuradhapura was appointed Adipada (governor) of Rohana by his father, King Mahinda I. of Anuradhapura. Later on, the said prince became King Aggabodhi VII. However, he denied to become the immidiate successor of his father, as according to the newly established fixed rules of succession the son of the Mahinda’s elder brother and predecessor, Kassapa I, was first in line to the throne. He reigned as Aggabodhi VI, only afterwards his cousin, the said prince from Rohana, became his successor.
Most of the structures and the statues that can be seen in the former monastic complexes of Tissamaharama today are from approximately this period of stability and unity of the entire island. Particularly, Mahayana Buddhist statues are from this late Anuradhapura perios. However, the stupas are much older and some stone carvings are from the mid Anuradhapura period (1st to 5th century AD), for example depiction of celestial creepers (Kalpalatas) and the deity of abundance (Kubera), which are both symbols of prosperity and fertility often found in the decorations of temples in Anuradhapura as well.
After the Anuradhapura period
During the period of foreign Chola occupation of the northern half of the island, in the first half of the 11th century, Rohana became the stronghold of Sinhalese independence. Surprisingly, this did not lead to a reemergence of Tissamaharama’s ancient glory. Rather, the most important town of Rohana those days was Mahanagakula, an old city situated further west at the Walawe river.
During the civil wars of the Polonnaruwa period in the first half of the 12th century, Rohana again became a mighty player in the power struggles on the island. Manabarana of Rohana was the fiercest rival of Parakramabahu, who from his western residence successfully invaded the Polonnaruwa heartland. Rohana then was the very last part of the island that was conquered by King Parakramabahu the Great. Rohana’s resistance against Polonnaruwa was crushed violently in the 1150s. From then on, the south was ruled by a provincial gouvernour of the Polonnaruwa king.
Only one century after this very peak of centralization, that united all Sri Lankan cultural areas under one single administration, the ancient Sinhala civilization dissolved forever. The arid area, which had once been a rice chamber due to irrigation, was left deserted. This period marks not only the fall of the Rajarata (cultural triangle zone) in the north but also of Rohana in the south. Rohana and ist ancient capital Mahanaga alias Tissamaharama silently disappear from historical records.
Under British rule, historical research of the island’s ancient monuments started in the north but neglected the south. This is due to the fact, that the rediscovered ancient chronicles, which were helpful in identifying ancient sites, had been focused on the area of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Tissamaharama was not totally neglected. Ancient stupas were restored in the late 19th century, but the results are completely new buildings the construction of which was more interested in size than in historical accuracy. It was only after independence that the ancient Rohana became a focal point of scientific archaeological research. One reason is an increased interest in the study of the Indian Ocean trade, a research for which Rohana in general and Tissamaharama in particular turned out to be of some significance.
Sandagiri Stupa
Only recently, one of Tissamaharama's ancient stupas has been reconstructed in a historically adqaquate way. The Sandaragiri Dagoba is situated within paddy fields about half a kilometre to the northeast of the modern town centre. Built in the 3rd century BC; the Sandagiri Stupa is considered to be the oldest Buddhist monument in the Deep South of Sri Lanka.
According to chronicles, India’s Emperor Ashoka from India had sent several gifts sent to Anuradhapura's King Tissa, later known as Devanampiyatissa. Local legends in the south have it that several of these gifts were later on enshrined within the Sandaragiri Dagoba, after Mahanaga had fled from Anuraddhpura and brought them with him to his new residence in Rohana. Furthermore, his grat-grandson, King Kavantissa, is said to have additionally enshrined an original Buddha relic in this shrine, viz. the forehead relic.
The shape of the stupa was changed several times in the course of the centuries. The curent form of the brick dagoba is the result of the last restauration, which was conducted under the reign of the first Sinhalese Polonnaruwa king, Vijayabahu I, in the second half of the 11th century. The chronicles mention a Chandana Vihara Dagoba being renovated by King Vijayabahu I, which may refer to the Sandagiri. 360,000 bricks were burnt for reconstruction works in recent decades. The reconstructed monument now measures 18 m in height and 33 m in diameter.
In the vicinity of the temple was found an octogonal stone column carrying inscriptions from the early Lambakanna dynasty of Anuradhapura (1st century AD). The inscriptions record that taxes collected from the water supply of tanks called Duratisa anse Abagamaka tank and from paddy fields at Patigama had been donated for religious ceremonies in the temple.
Just west of the stupa was a Bodhigara, a shrine for a Bo-tree. The Bo-tree was rooted in the brick-edged square pit in the very centre of the building, of which only the circumabulatory was roofed, whereas the tree was set in a kind of atrium in the centre, growing to a height that the crown was overarching the roof. One of the eight first saplings of Anuradhapura’s Bodhi Tree was ceremonially planted in in a village called Candana. The later Bodhigara is considered to be the place of the first sapling in the south.
Most remarably, to the southeastern corner of the stupa terrace, a Janthagara was excavated, a type of monastical architecture that is usually not found close to a stupa.
Further south are the ruins of an image house and an Uposathagara, the monks former chapter hall for the higher ordination ceremonies. The image house (also called statue house in English or Pathimagara in Pali or Pilimage in Sinhalese) is situated roughly 200 m south of the Sandagiri stupa. The image house is placed on a much wider terrace and surrounded by circumambulatory (called Pradakshinapatha in Pali). The shrine is built in the so-called Gandhakuti tradition, which is a somewhat misleading term.
Tissa Dagoba
The ancient kingdom of Paduvasnuwara, once a thriving medieval capital in Sri Lanka, offers a fascinating glimpse into the island's rich history. Established during the reign of King Parakramabahu I in the 12th century, Paduvasnuwara served as a pivotal administrative and religious center. Its archaeological treasures include remnants of royal palaces, Buddhist temples, and intricate stone carvings, reflecting the architectural and artistic prowess of the era. Despite its eventual decline and obscurity, ongoing excavations continue to uncover artifacts and structures, shedding light on its historical significance. Today, Paduvasnuwara stands as a testament to Sri Lanka's illustrious past, attracting scholars and tourists alike.
Several findings are placed on the platform of the dagoba. The Tissa Dagoba was the centrepiece ot the largest monastery of Rohana. In the Mahavamsa Chronicle, it is known as Silapassa Pirivena and attibuted to King Kavantissa. The monastery, however, is more commonly referred to as Rajamahavihara. This translates to „Royal Great Monastery“ and obviously indicates that it was intended to be the southern counterpart of the Mahavihara in Anuradhapura. The term „Mahagama Rajamahaviharaya“ is given in an inscription of King Mahanama (406-428 AD). Even the term „Mahavehera“ found in an inscription of King Dappula (661-664) might refer to this most renowned monastery of Mahagama alias Tissamaharama. Several Buddhist saints (Arhants) are believed to have lived in the Rajamahaviharaya of Mahagama.
Yatalaya Dagoba
The Yatala complex is situated at the road leading from the Tissa Wewa to the even larger Wirawila reservoir further west. The smaller tank called Debara Wewa is in only 1 km distance to the northwest. Only half a kilometre west of the Yatalaya Dagoba is the Manik stupa.
The Yatalaya Dagoba (also spelt „Yatale“ or „Yatala“ or „Yattalaya“) is named after the second king of Rohana. Yatalatissa was the son of the legendary founder Mahanaga. It is believed to have been built to commemorate the birth of Yatalatissa himself or of his son and successor Gothabaya. However, according to inscriptions, the original name was Dalada Dagoba, which translates to „tooth stupa“. Another name on record is Mani Chetiya.
The stupa is built on a platform, which is made of large flat granite stones. The boundary wall is features sculptures of elephants in frontal perspective. This arrangement resembles that of the famous Ruwanweliseya Dagoba in Anuradhapura. The stupa has been completely restored in the modern style of a white bubble-shaped dome since the late 19th century, but a small opening has been left to see the underlying brick structure. A large number of relic caskets in the form of midget stupas has been found in the stupa. They can give an idea how the stupa originally might have looked like. Some caskets are made of Chrysoberyl, the polished translucent yellowish variants of which are known as „cat’s eye“ .
Buddhist statues and guard stones have been excavated at the Yatalaya Dagoba. Some of them are placed on the stupa platform. A small museum is attached to the complex. Extraordinarily large carved stones depicting the wish-fulfilling creeper, Kalpalata (Kalpalatika), and the deity of wealth, Kubera (Kuvera) are among the exhibits.
Yoda Wewa
Leaving Tissamaharama to the south, either to the main gate of Yala National Park or to Kirinda Beach, the road (B 422) runs along the Yoda Wewa, not to be confused with the even larger reservor of the same name at the Anuradhapura-Mannar road. The name of Tissamaharama’s Yoda Wewa (also spelt „Yodha Wewa“) is modern, it simply translates to „Giant Tank“. The name given in the Pali chronicles is „Duratissa Wewa“. It’s construction is attributed to King Ilanaga from Anuradhapura, who reigned in the 1st century AD. Actually, this was the largest reservoir in the southern principality once called Rohana. But the current size of the dam and lake were not reached before the Polonnaruwa period, though the first tank at this site is attributed to Mahanaga, the very founder of Rohana.
Tissa Wewa
One main attraction of Tissamaharama is the lake called Tissa Wewa just to the north of the town. Originating from the earliest Buddhist centuries, it’s one of the oldest reservoirs of this scale found anywhere in Sri Lanka. It was part of an irrigation network, which was second in size only to that of Anuradhapura at that point in time. Four other large reservoirs are situated near Tissamaharama, namely Yoda Wewa, Weerawila Wewa, Pannegamuwa Wewa and Debarawewa Wewa.
The large number of water surfaces, including the river called Kirindi Oya which has ist source in the Ella gap, is the reason why the are of Tissamaharama is rich in bird life. The northern and eastern shores of the said former city reservoir, Tissamaharama Wewa, are part of the Wirawila Tissa Bird Sanctuary, the main water area of which is the even larger western neighbouring tank Wirawila Wewa. Numerous bird species, including kingfishers, storks, ibises, herons and water pheasants, inhabit this reserve. As in the case of the even more important bird areas, namely Bundala in the south and Kumana in the east of Tissa, migratory birds arriving from Inner Asia stay here during the northern winter months. Wirawila Wewa also is a good place to observe mugger crocodiles. Elephants are roaming in the area to the west of Lake Wirawila.
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