KAMALIKA PIERIS

The ancient Buddhist monastery at Kurundi in the Mullaitivu District is probably one of the most discussed ancient monasteries and heritage-related topics in recent times, said Ama H. Vanniarachchy.

Kurundi got into the news because of its location. Kurundi is the first ancient Buddhist temple to be conserved in Mullaitivu. Mullaitivu is the district that links the north to the east and the introduction of Buddhist worship in Mullaitivu will hamper the rise of Eelam. 

Therefore, Kurundi has met with great opposition from the Tamil Separatist Movement.   The media however, supported Kurundi and Kurundi got much publicity as a valuable ancient Buddhist temple.

A strong case can be made out for the conservation of Kurundi. Its origins are known. King Kallatanaga built it. There is much archaeological evidence, such as mounds, sculptures, inscriptions at Kurundi itself. Kurundi is   mentioned in the literature. Samantapasadika and Kankavitarani say Kurundi attakatha was compiled at Kurundi.  Culavamsa, Pujavaliya   and Nikaya sangrahaya   speak of Kurundi padimana. H.A.P. Abhayawardhana’s Kadaimpot Vimarsanaya refers to Kurundugamu rata.

The Bauddhaloka Foundation signed a MoU with the Department of Archaeology to sponsor the excavation and restoration of the site and the Department started the excavation of the stupa mound in January 2021. Upon completion of the excavation in May 2021, they started the restoration of the stupa. The excavation work of the image house of the Kurundi Ancient Buddhist Monastery commenced in March 2022 and was completed in May 2022.

The necessary labor contribution to complete the work in such a short time was mainly provided by the Sri Lanka Army (24th Lion Regiment of Alampil Army Camp).All excavation work was supervised and conducted by the Vavuniya Regional Archaeology Office and the Excavation Unit of the DoA, following the advice and guidance of the Director General of Archaeology.

Kurundi vihara must be recognized as a new place of worship.  The Kurundi archaeological project is not complete, but work on the stupa has been completed. The relics have been deposited and the chamber sealed. The stupa is ready for worship. Kurundi is not like Pyramids, simply to look at.  Kurundi has a connection to us. We go to worship at these stupas,” said lawyer Nuwan Ballantudawe.

Kurundi must now be included in the Buddhist pilgrim route. Until now, Mullaitivu has not been considered a part of the contemporary Buddhist culture of Sri Lanka. Kurundi will change that.  Kurundi will open Mullaitivu and Vavuniya districts to Buddhist pilgrims and local tourists. Kurundi will end the isolation of Mullaitivu.

A lot of people come and worship here already, Ven.Santhabodhi said in 2020. Bhikkhus at temples such as Sapumalgaskada were available to conduct proceedings at Kurundi as  there are no resident bhikkhus at Kurundi.   When the stupa is completed, a large number of pilgrims and tourists will visit the place on a daily basis. This will provide an income for the villagers. Already shops are starting on the route.

In 2023, Santhabodhi announced that there is a comfortable pilgrims rest for about 20 persons, near the Tannimurippu tank, with water, electricity, and cooking facilities. The place is scenic as well. There are better places to stay at Alampil and Mullaitivu, where the army is running a hotel called Green Jacket.

Santhabodhi invited his listeners on chat shows to extend their pilgrimage to the north east as well and come to Kurundi. Young groups as well as elders can some here on pilgrimage. We hope to revive several Raja Maha viharas in the area and we need your help. Come and see. We can revive Buddhism in the north east only with your help, he said.

Buddhist are now undertaking long trips, which include both pilgrimage and sightseeing. Unlike in the past, there is now a good road network, plenty of buses for hire and plenty of places to stay, making the trip   easy, pleasant and affordable.

Buddhists now make the maximum use of their annual pilgrimages, taking in as many places as possible. A pilgrimage will   start in the south, go northwards, worship at Anuradhapura and Nagadipa, then go on   to the east coast, to   Trincomalee, and return home. Kurundi can be easily added to this route.

Worshippers will not hesitate to come to Kurundi. They speedily responded to an SOS from Mullaitivu in 2023. Mullaitivu has just one pirivena, Sri Thilaka Pirivena, with 25 monks, located at Kiri Ibbanwewa Sri Dharmapraneetharama vihara. Derana news announced on   3.7.23 that this vihara   was finding it difficult to obtain dane, as it was in a very poor area. Please help, said Derana.

 Buddhists responded immediately. They arrived from all over the island, bearing dry goods and other items. Kelaniya viharadipathi   also visited. If Buddhists can rush to this Pirivena when it is in need, it will not be difficult to get Buddhist pilgrims to visit at leisure.

Vavuniya and Mullaitivu have several temples that could be included in such a pilgrimage, also many Buddhist ruins which would interest   those touring the area. There is Madukanda vihara, which is already a place of rest for pilgrims and travelers to Vavuniya. The temple provides accommodation and other basic facilities to pilgrims and other travelers free of charge. Then there is Agbo vihara which has several historical inscriptions, Vadunagala, where there is a vast meditation cave complex,   Sapugaskada vihara, and lastly, Kurundi vihara. Mullaitivu and Vavuniya will become Buddhist again.

These temples are not completely ready for pilgrims just yet. Access is difficult. To reach Sapumalgaskada you have to go through 4 km of dense forest. But this will not deter youthful tourists and Buddhist pilgrims. Most of them seem to like pushing through dense forest, and climbing up hilly areas. They do not mind if the road is not motorable.

There is a second temple conserved by Santhabodhi, Sapumalgaskada vihara, 35 km from Kurundi. When work on Kurundi stopped due to a law suit, in 2018, Santhabodhi turned his attention to Sapumalgaskada. By 2020, the Department of Archaeology had completed its excavation.

Sapumalgaskada is a well preserved pabbata temple like Kurundi. It has a ramaneeya parisaraya, said Santhabodhi. It is dated to 7 AD or 8 AD. They discovered the ruins of stupa, pilimage, sima malaka and additional ruins that ran to about 100 acres. The stupa, like that of Kurundi, had a yupa gala at the top. There was a moat of 20 feet around the main area of the monastery, about one acre, Indicating that there may have been a valuable item held in it.  There is a legend that the Tooth Relic was kept there at one time.

 Tamil Separatist Movement stated on Tamilnet and other media complete with photo of Santhabodhi, that Sapumalgaskada was theirs. They visited several times and were getting ready to build a kovil there. So I looked for evidence that this was Buddhist, Santhabodhi said.

The stupa mound could be interpreted as non-Buddhist, so Santhabodhi decided to look for evidence in the pilimage. He asked the government to provide funds to excavate the pilimage, government refused. That government did not help with Buddhism in North east, Santhabodhi said.

The pilimage was excavated by the Department of Archaeology, using donations.  Four statues were unearthed. Usually the head is missing, but in this case we found the heads, so the statues were complete.  In addition to a Buddha statue, we found a Bodhisattva statue and one of Tara. This was a Mahayana temple, with royal patronage. In 2020, Santhabodhi was asking for further donations, giving a Bank account at Sampath Bank, Borella. Help with even one brick, he said. https://youtu.be/YL_QBySHXTY (continued)