1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Theravada
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Theravāda is a branch of Buddhism that uses the Buddhas teaching preserved in the Pāli Canon as its doctrinal core. The Pali canon is the only complete Buddhist canon which survives in a classical Indic Language, Pali, another feature of Theravada is that it tends to be very conservative about matters of doctrine and monastic discipline. As a distinct sect, Theravada Buddhism developed in Sri Lanka, Theravada also includes a rich diversity of traditions and practices that have developed over its long history of interactions with varying cultures and religious communities. It is the dominant form of religion in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is practiced by minority groups in Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam. In addition, the diaspora of all of these groups as well as converts around the world practice Theravāda Buddhism, contemporary expressions include Buddhist modernism, the Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest Tradition. The name Theravāda comes from the ancestral Sthāvirīya, one of the early Buddhist schools, according to its own accounts, the Theravāda school is fundamentally derived from the Vibhajjavāda doctrine of analysis grouping, which was a division of the Sthāvirīya. Significantly, the Sthāviras in turn comprise three sub-nikāyas, the Jetavanīyas, the Abhayagirivāsins, and the Mahāvihāravāsins, according to Damien Keown, there is no historical evidence that the Theravāda school arose until around two centuries after the Great Schism which occurred at the Third Council. These teachings were known as the Vibhajjavada, emperor Ashoka is supposed to have assisted in purifying the sangha by expelling monks who failed to agree to the terms of Third Council. The elder monk Moggaliputta-Tissa was at the head of the Third council and compiled the Kathavatthu, later, the Vibhajjavādins in turn is said to have split into four groups, the Mahīśāsaka, Kāśyapīya, Dharmaguptaka, and the Tāmraparṇīya. The Theravāda is said to be descended from the Tāmraparṇīya sect, the most distinctive features of this phase and virtually the only contemporary historical material, are the numerous Brahmi inscriptions associated with these caves. They record gifts to the sangha, significantly by householders and chiefs rather than by kings, the Buddhist religion itself does not seem to have established undisputed authority until the reigns of Dutthagamani and Vattagamani. The first records of Buddha images come from the reign of king Vasabha, in the 7th century, the Chinese pilgrim monks Xuanzang and Yijing refer to the Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka as Shàngzuòbù, corresponding to the Sanskrit Sthavira nikāya and Pali Thera Nikāya. Yijing writes, In Sri Lanka the Sthavira school alone flourishes, the school has been using the name Theravāda for itself in a written form since at least the 4th century, about one thousand years after the Buddhas death, when the term appears in the Dīpavaṁsa. According to Buddhist scholar A. K. Warder, the Theravāda, spread rapidly south from Avanti into Maharashtra and Andhra and down to the Chola country, as well as Sri Lanka. According to Richard Gombrich this is the earliest record we have of Buddhist scriptures being committed to writing anywhere, the Theravada Pali texts which have survived are derived from the Mahavihara of Anuradhapura, the ancient Sri Lankan capital. Later developments included the formation and recording of the Theravada commentary literature, the Theravada tradition records that even during the early days of Mahinda, there was already a tradition of Indian commentaries on the scriptures. Of great importance to the tradition is the work of the great Theravada scholastic Buddhaghosa. Buddhaghosa wrote in Pali, and after him, most Sri Lankan Buddhist scholastics did as well and this allowed the Sri Lankan tradition to become more international through a lingua franca so as to converse with monks in India and later Southeast Asia
3.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
4.
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest, Sri Lankas documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lankas recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, in addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the capital and largest city. Along with the Maldives, Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are rated among high human development on the Human Development Index. In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names, according to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni, because his followers hands were reddened by the red soil of the area. In Hindu mythology, such as the Mahabharata, the island was referred to as Lankā, in Tamil, the island is referred to as Eelam. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā or Taprobanē from the word Tambapanni, as a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. The country is known in Sinhalese as Śrī Laṃkā and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai, in 1972, its formal name was changed to Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Later in 1978 it was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years, the era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala and it is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravanas airport, early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. According to the Mahāvamsa, a written in Pāḷi, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600BC and other signs of advanced civilization has also discovered in Sri Lanka
5.
Dutugamunu
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Dutugamunu, also known as Dutthagamani duṭṭhagāmaṇī and Gāmaṇī Abhaya, was a Sinhalese king of Sri Lanka who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for defeating and overthrowing Elara, the usurping Tamil prince from the Chola Kingdom, Dutugamunu also expanded and beautified the city of Anuradhapura and projected the power of his native Rajarata region across the island of Sri Lanka. Due to his significance as one of the most potent symbols of Sinhalese historical power, Dutugemunus story is swathed in myth and legend. However, many aspects of the accounts of his life have been verified by inscriptions. Dutugemunus given name was Gamini or Gamani as the first name, a traditional Buddhist name still popular in Sri Lanka today, the prince stated that If father were a man he would not speak thus and sent him a piece of womens jewellery. The resulting fury of the king caused many of his friends to flee to Malaya region, after his death, he was referred to as Dharma Gamini, but it is as Duttha Gamini or Dutugemunu that he is known to posterity. The Mahavamsa constitutes the source on Dutugemunus reign and dedicates some six chapters to his tale. In chapter 22 he is described as being descended from the ancient royal family of Rajarata through Devanampiyatissas brother Mahanaga, Kavantissa is portrayed in the Mahamvamsa as devoutly believing in the three gems, he provided the brotherhood continually with. needful things. Dutugemunus mother was Viharamahadevi, daughter of Tissa, king of Kalyani, legend has it that as punishment for Tissa slaying a Buddhist monk, Kalyani had been subject to a series of deluges from the sea. To placate it Tissa placed his daughter Devi in a boat with the words A Kings Daughter written on the side. Miraculously the princess washed ashore, alive and well, in Ruhuna, during her pregnancy with Dutugemunu, Viharamahadevi had a series of peculiar cravings, including the urge to sleep on a pillow made of honeycombs. Viharamahadevi gave birth to a son named Gamani Abhaya some time later, and after that to another child, around the time of Gamanis birth, an elephant of the six-tusked race brought his young one thither and left him here and went his way. Named Kandula, he went on to become Gamanis mount and accompanied him through much of the princes adventures, Dutugemunus sister Recent archaeological studies have found evidence proving that King Kavantissa had a daughter who was a sister to King Dutu Gemunu. New evidence to this appeared in The Island of March 27,2017, by the age of 16 Gamani was vigorous, renowned, intelligent and a hero in majesty and might, if a little wayward. Determined to expel the king of Rajarata, Gamani levied an army from around Rohana. Kavantissa is known as a brilliant strategist who recognized early that he needed to make his kingdom powerful before waging a war against the invaders. He assembled armies and gave made his kingdom prosperous in rice, the legendary ten great giants - men who had great strength - are brought into the army at this time. Kavantissa repeatedly makes Dutugemunu and Tissa swear that they would never fight one another and he also makes the ten giants swear never to pick sides in a war between the brothers
6.
Stupa
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A stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation. Stupas originated as pre-Buddhist tumuli in which śramaṇas were buried in a position called chaitya. After the parinirvana of the Buddha, his remains were cremated, the earliest archaeological evidence for the presence of Buddhist stupas dates to the late 4th century BCE in India. Buddhist scriptures claim that stupas were built at least a century earlier, however, some later stupas, such as at Sarnath and Sanchi, seem to be embellishments of earlier mounds. The earliest evidence of monastic stupas dates back to the 2nd century BCE and these are stupas that were built within Buddhist monastic complexes and they replicate in stone older stupas made of baked bricks and timber. Sanchi, Sarnath, Amaravati and Bharhut are examples of stupas that were shaped in stone imitating previously existing wooden parts, the stupa was elaborated as Buddhism spread to other Asian countries, becoming, for example, the chörten of Tibet and the pagoda in East Asia. The pagoda has varied forms that also include bell-shaped and pyramidal styles, in the Western context, there is no clear distinction between a stupa and a pagoda. Stupas were built in Sri Lanka soon after Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura converted to Buddhism, the first stupa to be built was the Thuparamaya. Later, many more were built over the years, some like the Jetavanaramaya in Anuradhapura being one of the tallest ancient structures in the world, the earliest archaeological evidence for the presence of Buddhist stupas dates to the late 4th century BCE. In India, Sanchi, Sarnath, Amaravati and Bharhut are among the oldest known stupas, the tallest is the Phra Pathommachedi in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand, at a height of 127 metres. The Swat Valley hosts a well-preserved stupa at Shingardar near Ghalegay, another stupa is located near Barikot, in Sri Lanka, the ancient city of Anuradhapura includes some of the tallest, most ancient and best preserved stupas in the world, such as Ruwanwelisaya. The most elaborate stupa is the 8th century Borobudur monument in Java, the upper rounded terrace with rows of bell-shaped stupas contained Buddha images symbolizing Arūpajhāna, the sphere of formlessness. The main stupa itself is empty, symbolizing complete perfection of enlightenment, borobudurs unique and significant architecture has been acknowledged by UNESCO as the largest buddhist monument in the world. It is also the world’s largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world. Object stupa, in which the items interred are objects belonged to the Buddha or his disciples, such as a bowl or robe. Commemorative stupa, built to commemorate events in the lives of Buddha or his disciples, symbolic stupa, to symbolise aspects of Buddhist theology, for example, Borobudur is considered to be the symbol of the Three Worlds and the spiritual stages in a Mahayana bodhisattvas character. Votive stupa, constructed to commemorate visits or to gain spiritual benefits, the shape of the stupa represents the Buddha, crowned and sitting in meditation posture on a lion throne. His crown is the top of the spire, his head is the square at the base, his body is the vase shape, his legs are the four steps of the lower terrace
7.
Chola dynasty
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The Chola dynasty was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, as one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century CE. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra was united and held as one state for a period of two centuries and more, the Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. During the period 1010–1200, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka, Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia and Indonesia, the Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan Dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. The Cholas left a lasting legacy and their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship and they pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture, the Cholas are also known as the Choda. There is very little available in regarding their origin. Its antiquity is evident from the mentions in ancient Tamil literature, Later medieval Cholas also claimed a long and ancient lineage. Mentions in the early Sangam literature indicate that the earliest kings of the dynasty antedated 100 CE, Cholas were mentioned in Ashokan Edicts of 3rd Century BCE as one of the neighboring countries existing in the South. A commonly held view is that Chola is, like Chera and Pandya, the annotator Parimelazhagar said, The charity of people with ancient lineage are forever generous in spite of their reduced means. Other names in use for the Cholas are Killi, Valavan and Sembiyan. Killi perhaps comes from the Tamil kil meaning dig or cleave and this word often forms an integral part of early Chola names like Nedunkilli, Nalankilli and so on, but almost drops out of use in later times. Valavan is most probably connected with valam – fertility and means owner or ruler of a fertile country, in Tamil lexicon Chola means Soazhi or Saei denoting a newly formed kingdom, in the lines of Pandya or the old country. There is very little evidence available of the Cholas prior to the 7th century. Historic records exist thereafter, including inscriptions on temples, the main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period
8.
Ellalan
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Ellalan, was a member of the Chola dynasty, who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, in present day Sri Lanka, from 205-161 BCE. Ellāḷaṉ is traditionally presented as being a just king even by the Sinhalese, Ellāḷaṉ is a peculiar figure in the history of Sri Lanka and one with particular resonance given the ongoing ethnic strife in the country. Although he was an invader, he is regarded as one of Sri Lankas wisest and most just monarchs, as highlighted in the ancient Sinhalese pali chronicle. According to the chronicle, even Ellāḷaṉs nemesis Dutugamunu had a respect for him. Often referred to as the Just King, the Tamil name Ellāḷaṉ means the one who rules the boundary. Ellāḷaṉ is described in the Mahavamsa as being A Tamila of noble descent. from the Chola-country and he has been mentioned in the Silappatikaram and Periya Puranam. His name has since then used as a metaphor for fairness. Despite Ellāḷaṉs famously even-handed rule, resistance to him coalesced around the figure of Dutugamunu, towards the end of Ellāḷaṉs reign, Dutugamunu had strengthened his position in the south by defeating his own brother, Tissa, who challenged him. Confrontation between the two monarchs was inevitable and the last years of Ellāḷaṉs reign were consumed by the war between the two, the Mahavamsa contains a fairly detailed account of sieges and battles that took place during the conflict. Particularly interesting is the use of war elephants and of flaming pitch in the battles. Ellāḷaṉs own war elephant is said to have been Maha Pambata, or Big Rock, the climactic battle is said to have occurred as Dutugamunu drew close to Anuradhapura. On the night before, both King Ellāḷaṉ and prince Dutugamunu are said to have conferred with their counsellors, the next day both kings rode forwards on war elephants, Ellāḷaṉ in full armour. with chariots, soldiers and beasts for riders. Dutugamunus forces are said to have routed those of Ellāḷaṉ and that the water in the tank there was dyed red with the blood of the slain, following his death, Dutugamunu ordered that Ellāḷaṉ be cremated where he had fallen, and had a monument constructed over the place. The Mahavamsa mentions that even to this day the princes of Lanka, unfortunately this monument has not been found - the stupa which was earlier considered as Ellāḷaṉ Sohona is today identified as the stupa, Dakkhina Stupa. The identification and reclassification is considered controversial, the Mahavamsa contains numerous references to the loyal troops of the Chola empire and portrays them as a powerful force. They held various positions including taking custody of temples during the period of Parakramabahu I, there were instances when the Sinhalese kings tried to employ them as mercenaries by renaming a section of the most hardcore fighters as Mahatantra. According to historian Burton Stein, when troops were directed against the Chola empire. But they continued to exist in a state by taking up various jobs for livelihood
9.
Pali
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Pali is a Prakrit language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of much of the earliest extant literature of Buddhism as collected in the Pāli Canon or Tipiṭaka and is the language of Theravāda Buddhism. The word Pali is used as a name for the language of the Theravada canon, Childers translates the word as series and states that the language bears the epithet in consequence of the perfection of its grammatical structure. However, modern scholarship has regarded Pali as a mix of several Prakrit languages from around the 3rd century BCE, combined together and partially Sanskritized. The closest artifacts to Pali that have found in India are Edicts of Ashoka found at Gujarat, in the west of India. There is persistent confusion as to the relation of Pāḷi to the vernacular spoken in the ancient kingdom of Magadha, Pali, as a Middle Indo-Aryan language, is different from Sanskrit more with regard to its dialectal base than the time of its origin. A number of its morphological and lexical features show that it is not a continuation of Ṛgvedic Vedic Sanskrit. Instead it descends from one or more dialects that were, despite many similarities, however, this view is not shared by all scholars. Some, like A. C. Woolner, believe that Pali is derived from Vedic Sanskrit, Paiśācī is a largely unattested literary language of classical India that is mentioned in Prakrit and Sanskrit grammars of antiquity. e. Evidence which lends support to this interpretation is that literature in Paiśācī is fragmentary and extremely rare, many Theravada sources refer to the Pali language as Magadhan or the language of Magadha. This identification first appears in the commentaries, and may have been an attempt by Buddhists to associate more closely with the Maurya Empire. The Buddha taught in Magadha, but the four most important places in his life are all outside of it and it is likely that he taught in several closely related dialects of Middle Indo-Aryan, which had a high degree of mutual intelligibility. There is no attested dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan with all the features of Pali, Pali has some commonalities with both the western Ashokan Edicts at Girnar in Saurashtra, and the Central-Western Prakrit found in the eastern Hathigumpha inscription. In Sri Lanka, Pali is thought to have entered into a period of decline ending around the 4th or 5th century, the work of Buddhaghosa was largely responsible for its reemergence as an important scholarly language in Buddhist thought. Another scholar states that at time it was a refined. Modern scholarship has not arrived at a consensus on the issue, after the death of the Buddha, Pali may have evolved among Buddhists out of the language of the Buddha as a new artificial language. According to K. R. Norman, it is likely that the viharas in North India had separate collections of material, in the early period it is likely that no degree of translation was necessary in communicating this material to other areas. Around the time of Ashoka there had been more linguistic divergence, following this period, the language underwent a small degree of Sanskritisation
10.
Solosmasthana
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Solosmasthana are 16 sacred places in Sri Lanka, believed by Buddhists to have been hallowed by visits of Gautama Buddha. These places of worship are among the most important religious locations in Sri Lanka, ancient Buddhist and historical sources of Sri Lanka assert that the Buddha visited the country on three occasions. These three visits are given in detail in the ancient chronicle Mahavamsa, which describes his journeys to eleven of the Solosmasthana. Other sources such as the Pujavaliya, Samantapasadika and Butsarana also mention these visits, the first visit was made to Mahiyangana in the ninth month after the Buddha attained enlightenment. In the eighth year after enlightenment, the Buddha made his third and this visit was to Kelaniya and was due to an invitation by a Naga king named Maniakkika, who had asked the Buddha to come to his kingdom during the previous visit. The Samantapasadika mentions that the Buddha also visited Muthiyangana during this visit and it is possible that the other sites may have been included in Solosmasthana because of the monumental stupas built by Buddhist kings at these locations. With the decline of the ancient kingdoms of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa and it was not until the 20th century that all of them received the attention of the Sangha and Buddhists in the country and were renovated. A Pali gatha, praising the Solosmasthana, is in use among Buddhists and this gatha, which lists all of the Solosmasthana, is recited especially when making offerings to the Buddha
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