H

l)alkhlna Thupa not Dutu~cnaunu~ ronab

The O.alJJuna thup.i ( outhcm O.,goba) 1n Anur.1dhJ
pn hat for ,1 ccnrury been kno\vn as rhc romb of Elnra.
lhc: JU"' Tamil ling of II couple of 1hous:1nd )Ca~ ago II
..-. rc,cttd by one and all. " ho kepr fo11h w11h the orders
ol lhc: ,1C1or. King Durugcmunu, 1h01 p:isscrs-by hould
rMJ1tC1 and worship the mcmonol dugoba he hod builr 1n
ffltfl")' of EJana. where he had fallen ,n comb.It (Ml11..
15-73) near the south gore of the cny of Anur.tdhapuru
(,Win lS-69). The Vwnsa11lu1ppakmini {commcnwy 10
die Mahavamsa) dcscnbcs the site of the combar as
*Nlllrudhap,,,rusa tloH./1i1111dist1bl1ag(' .. i.e., 10 the south
lade ol lhc city of Anurodhapura.

In 1948, Elana's tomb ceased 10 exi11 officially, and

111 l1S place there appeared the signboard a11hc monument
detenbing it as Du1ugemunu'1 tomb, even !hough there 11
no mcn11on in the chronicle of any memorial monument
for !has hero-king of the Sinhala people. The Dlkkhina
dlupa was i ~ by Paranavilana as a monlllllCd
built oa ~ cremauon site or Dutugemunu. and so it WII
ckacnbed n official publications (c.1-, AcbninillllAID
"PCWt ol the Archaeological Suney for 1948; Oddi ID
~ 1952: Ancient Anuradhapura by ADuladlll'
fJin~.... 1994 p.196) The limo-honoured IDfflDJ
C'Mlb..xl in the poptlaty recoatdred .......
..,1111mccn1.tictloa the c:biYIJmua act of l)uh,pnmu.
be fCIIJi)t1011 - -.mwepc. unhonomed and

' - ... s' new lindi WIii DOI

--,,,l&JtC here, thOSC on"n,11 obp;fllflll.S u( h.ilf a life

Ii'
cl,, I l'(oP'* 10 di'4;:U\J l.ina

111"'-,.;

.,.,.

,n I 96 I 100'- KltOO '"'ard~ rt'.IJOf\

f ~ h.id the ocnJtng \llflbourd n:plllttd

ml":="
"" onr
,hut ,

tlc:,Cnbcd the monument .u lhc D.ikli,hl~

lhunl founded 1n Ille n:,gn of King

,I

t,ualt ,n
..,..__
Ablw)'il {Vllla&Jmbahu). , ,,..re '"CfC no ;r.i,
1
\ ~ L e from Pn,un11 ,1ana or 11n)OOC: elk'

....
~

whJCC' of Outug,emunus tomb b;imc: nc:'"

T1lt n In 1978 when the ~ltn15tcr of Cultural

,.c,rdl:,
Edwin Hurullc ..,as told by a n:11,on.sl
" ~ f ~ I 1hlal II parcel of e.,c11va1ed matcnal con- ~Ml could .. en be Dutugcmunu~ as,...,.
~- WU Iying
'*"'IC ~n:d ,n the stores of the Arehiacolog1c11l
Mu,,tUIII. Anunadhllpur.L As 1nstruc:1ed by the M1n1S1cr.

:=,

~-. --

Oo.kkhina Thupa, dctnil showing carved llcb

Counesy S111Jlo nm,s.

Nine years later, Paranavi tann's conclusion was a.

tested by me in an anicle titled "Dakkhina thu _
Dutuge~unu 's tomb" published in the Sunday ~
o~ 4 Apnl 1957 (~ppen~ix E). Par.inavitnna did 11111 ~
\ u1date my reasoning with the muriatic ink IN! ~
from the. pen th~t he was wont to wield with thcdeual)
of a rapier against his presumptuous critics. I~ !r
w~ gentle enough to afford me. his fonmjiii:r
Ass1slanl Commissioner, tacit encoumg.cment insdm
sli1p by maintaining an eloquent silence. I do not ~
96

;,_ ,-al. whlCh was wrapped in brown paper. wa.. dull

cd widloul. hAndled w11h care. and ploccd 1n the hands of
ARL W,pekcna. lhcn Deputy Oovcmmcnt Analyst. for
IOCll(lfic c.uminauon and for curbon-14 daung. The 1111ier crc:1sc was to be handled by Granville
l)harmlWardc:na. Ch:ummn of the Atomic Energy Au1honty.

A c:ornnutlCC of enquiry was appoin1cd by Miruller

Hurulle IO cxanunc: whether lhc Dakkh1na thupca was
~
s tomb. lxshamanya ND Wijc:sckara was
dlt Chainnan: Raja de Silva. Saddhamangala Kan,na.
11111e. Roland Sliva and MH SniJoma. all or whom have
tcncd ~logical Commisslonc:n in tum weae
IODj lhe mernben of the commince 100 IIUIIICRIUI IIO
IIICIIIIOn here by name; lhc Sc:m:wy was Klaturi VV
~Wll'dcne. In the illlereltl ol .,.
97

Contmiuce ,villi their enquiries, copies or

were dis1ribu1cd by me to the n1embers tll\y 19s7
01
ing them 10 commence by considc . Ile 0U1sct,~
against taking the monument conccm~ng Illy ~~,
tomb.
as Dutugc~
1

After a few meetings of the Co .

response was fonhcon1ing from my ; 111111~ si11tt
retired unhurt from its deliberations cllow.ltlc,Ill
I
to the conclusions arrived at nor h.. was thuslltlta ...'
.
. .

ave I ,...
subm,ned to the Minister. Prof. Abaya """" _the ~0
reported to have been a dissent
,\ryasing1ie.
.
.
. .
ing lllenibc
-~
Comm11tce. The Comm11tee 1s said to h
r or l1ic
the Dnkkhina thupa was indeed bu"lt aveconclucfed.._

I 0nDut
..,
cremauon sue; the organic material (ch ugcl11lillii
assumed revered proportions as cont . .illtoal ind 'I)
.
.
a1ning the
the national hero-king. With honours d
~ ti
hitherto neglected charcoal and ash ~uc to l'O)'afty, ~
. was brought (under the ractt0n r.,...
excavation
..,, ill!
Ministry of Cultural Affairs) in a moto~at~
of 6.
Ruhuna to Rajarata to find repose in the
as the ashes of Dutugemunu in h'is
dqii
~ ... 1cnt C
lpl(
Anuradhapura. What went out from Anuradhapura .
brown-paper parcel returned in a gilded um p~uit? What pipes and timbrelsr
-----c

~
:f!Qi
.ft..

more popular Dutugcmunu 's tomb. Rutnam

.,.ai, was the was t,euayed in the subsequent elevation of
(cll
hal'G()al mid lumps of ash" 10 the status of
national hero. The question before us now
die
ii:,...,..
.....,nunu betrayed?

dlll El':

"6~.,;
asht!...,....

Ewllll ice
gard 10 the report of the commincc of inquiry,
111
~ of the carbon dating laboratory (said to be a
die :llllltution), and the scientific examination said to
Fte. bccll clone by ARL Wijcsekcra at the Government
~
Deparunenl, the following relevant questions
cldCIW 10 be answered: The replies would constitute the
ridenCC lhll sorely needs publicity, if only IO allay fears
C
.
.
~, ,u the Jaffna Umversity.
1. ~ human remains present in the nwcrial
examined?
2 (I), What was the date assigned to the organic
fflllerill by the Praich Laboralory?
(b).. Did the answers to these questions lend suppon IO tho findinp of the Conunittcc based on lit

"Whal:

The generality of Sinhala Buddhists was ~

the Tamils, especially the intelligentsia. \1-culd ht"
viewed these proceedings with chagrin. Dr. }amt$ I
Rutnam delivered a lecture at the Jaffna Unilfflity1
March 1981 on Elara's tomb, since published (rmJXI.
veli). He spared no words of censure in assail~ Ir
scholarship of Paranavitana, and the role of the ~
tee of Enquiry in reporting that the once-populu Elli

98

awy documcnll?

3. On whit p,unds did Prof. Abaya

cl11111t?

Ok

Ila

I ' l l ~ leat wrllidHIUde ID Ida

Ibo DekWu 1hupa (ca. 19-77 BC, 11E1e
AiJha.p). l DWEIJIU llallt 00 ' 1,l?

might hove been built a smn.ller dil

aflcr 1hc funcml of 1he king: he ad &~a SC1 up
1his question was not settled by re.' m'.11ed, '1o1o.- Oclc. ~
v.n!on (Glimpses of Ceylo n's i>ast. ;;ng lO fu~ ~
1
csung 10 no1e that 1he truth was be2 p. 18), It~~
Central Cuhural Fund Guide Book
nt 8cu1e1y 1..~
198 1 p 4J
.., ~
'"The Dakkhina dagabn \\<n
:
.
..., an en1
earI ,er construction over th
nrgclllt
(sic)".
c ashes of Du1h:1 Of Ill

2'

Furthermore. whereas p
.
.
amnnvitn
among l he d,scovcries in the

na Stated

ransacked
,1,
.
tlil(
vanous 1eve1s, "fragments of cha .
'""oob:i "'7t.
lhe CCF ?uide B ook (probably
lulllJ>3 or~~
the comnuttce of inquiry) replac .d
ng lbc ......_
"
h
"
h

e
thew-
"'"'it
..s es w en II stated that
v,u ~:ui,, illi

~:~;d

,''traces. of chm:c oal and ashes we~

,ound 1n the centre of the thupa".

It w as also suggested that

fli
..
.....

. The long wo uld have been crethe Ruvanveliseya

;:7

........

whcrC the great thupa

_,111111C11 '

( ..

. fad, outside the pn:c1nc1s II ISSIITUI ,,,,,,, ..., ~-80), 1bc "precincts" may well ha,e
Pts
viharl of the Ruvanveli dagoba. ~f, o n
..,.. ..,.
....., 111cc:mnation site was funher south, ~n the
.,.,_ bins ctwpa premises, the above-menuo~
(11111) IIIIllelonlilll co the mo118$1C,Y of the Ruvanvch
i,altl 7I' cJbllrUC1ed the vicW of the Ruvanveliscya
800 yards due nonh of the D ~ina
ali$
(copc,jiaphieally) ruled out that the site of

"';;!

-"'::,,red

11111111111
:i;..WM
dlupa w the site of the cremation.

A11ts s11,::e1
1111 1111 of die royal cremation, ref'cned

lO

in the

It is recorded in the chronicle that in k .

.
d

.
,
ecping W\i
h1s y1ng
1nstrucnons, Dutugcrnunu was crel!lalcd
11 1
spot where the Ruvanveli dagoba can be seen, 00 lhciir,
race for the ceremonial acts of thc .s angha (kammu._

dli pk,11 die royal ten-.e (raja-motaka), should

(...,.IDdted..:c,ryof Pmanavitana) have been 11 the
lillalO.-, Dakkhina lhupa. Was lhis so?Thc plat
fanl b' tlll lillleral ~ would have been above lhe
,.... 1n11 o11ca1n1na lhll dme. 111c burnt can11 and
cllllnd .....,.. mnnrial from lhe funeral pyre ahouid
ltdea. IIM'O becm found ll lhis WI)' lewl. BIii ll wi._
IMI . . h+Millm find lhe "ample IIWWW oldie
JIii 111;1 M'd clwcoll" which led bim IIO
,, In 1t~-llpyaillod&ln? ll wt.

ka) (Mllv., c h. 32, v. S8].

. .. . . . . . . . b,llowthe

" they were probably the actual

remains of the legendary hero."

Topographical

There would have been various buildings to 1ht

south of the Ruvanveliseya, si:ch as those of die
Tissarama, the royal dwelling of Devanampiyatissa 111d

100

...

....tion...

tbllp&.'Ibia:

,na:c. On th,s count alone. ,1 follows

that,,

dial the piculo tree was situ11tcd to

t11..
es royal dwelling ( Vamsa11lu1ppak.asi11i
oldie 27) 11 lhcrdon: follows that the tcr 1 5 , ~ ~-malaka of the sangha w~
IO tho royal dwelling and the &x/111

matcnal, charcoal and 11$h could TIOI have be

funcm.l pyre and the person of Du1ugcmunu.l0o~ '\
Utcrary
'The site of the tcmiee for the ccrc
.
sangha, where the crema1ion took pl:ic':on' 111 q CIC\
gated from the point of view of the av.~ bt
Paronavitana drew attention to the ~.il>lc
tree or the time of Mahinda n,ero wh h .or the"""
'
lC ISlhe ~
the terrace of the octs of the snngha as
~ 11
Mhv. 15- 27. He a.lso cited the tmdition i::rdtd ,.,
tcenth century) S0ddl1nm1oln11lu,ro that he I.it(~
1
thupn was built on a terrace known as the
1
the p11lilo tree. He equates this terrace wilh
c1t.tt,
ula trcc/kan1n10-111aloka of the sangh~ me . or~~
v,
Rb<lned
111 tt
Mhv. Let us see what the chronicle and its
have to say about this lancr site in relation 10~
monuments and sites.
~

111,
S

1111

.,,""1"'...
L,.,..
t D.:n JOO

thupa. however, as admitted by

yards in the southern direction from
II
Ila ;; t n - IIIJlWilhllllldng the (late) tradition of the
It ii evident, from the literature quotJI .. . . die l)elddlina lhupr could not have .....__
.,.,...,
11
.i : 1111 ol the mm,na-malaka of the sanghallerplr.. uwJraJa-malaka, where Dutugemunu
... fl 7
II ClCJMWallions lend w!dcd support IO
:.
_,lplltld contention _of 1957 that the cvi1 90
ellLacF, .. werd ~ Pannavatana to ~ thal ~

-1!""--., --..

'
.,;a:
8::
ti.

0~ the occasion of the ccremorua1 i n ~

Buddhism to Lanka. Devanampiyatissa visited~
Thera, who had spent his first night in A n ~
the royal dwelling in the Mahamegha park. Toa~~
was situated 10 the west side of the western gate ci tt
sacred &x//1i-tree enclosure (Vamsattl10ppO.Wmi, t\~
v. 12). On receiving jasmine flowers from the ~
Mahinda Thero went to the royal dwelling and SCll!IM
eight handfuls of blossoms about tl,e picwla 1ru -"I
on the south side ofit (Mhv., 15-28). Then Mahindallm
announced that the picula tn:e site, which was thc1malaka of the sangha in the time of three former~
will once again be serving the same purpose-. The cm,

102

';1

~tt r.t .... ~ovcr~scmnabOII

........lfilfOII Ilia concFusion.