Thantirimale will soon be aglow
View(s):As they have done for the past ten years, Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.(WNL) is gearing up to illuminate the Thantirimale temple this Poson Full Moon Day. Organised for the 11th consecutive year since it was first begun in 2004, this year’s Aloka Pooja programme will take place in the temple premises on June 12, 13 and 14 combined with various religious events and activities.
The historical significance of Thantirimale dates back to the time when Theri Sanghamitta brought a sapling of the sacred Bo tree to Sri Lanka from India. On her way to Anuradhapura, she stopped by the Tiwakka Bamunu gama (village of the Brahmin Tiwakka as Thantirimale was then known) named after the Tiwakka Brahmin who administered the village. When king Devanampiyatissa got wind of the impending arrival of Bhikkhuni Sangamitta from India, Thiwakka was informed to make necessary arrangements to receive her with the Bo sapling and the king himself went to Dambakolapatuna port to receive the sapling.
WNL organises the Aloka Pooja as its annual offering at Poson. During the programme, the Chaithya, Vihara Mandiraya and the main road leading to the temple will be illuminated with some 25,000 bulbs.
The programme will begin on June 11with a test run of the lighting up conducted at the temple along with a special bodhi pooja by the WNL staff while the official event will be held from Poson Poya – June12 onwards. It has been the custom of the WNL staff to hold a special bodhi pooja prior to starting the programme.
On June 12, the Aloka Pooja programme will be inaugurated by WNL Chairman Ranjit Wijewardene and MP Ruwan Wijewardene. This event will be combined with various other Poya day programmes, sil programmes, meditation events and other religious ceremonies conducted by Buddhist monks at the site.
WNL staff will donate uniform material and stationery to 500 Dhamma school students of Gnanawimala Maha Vidyalaya in Thanthirimale. A Bhakthi Gee programme organised by the students of the Dhamma school is also part of this year’s programme.
There will be three dansals organised by devotees who come to participate at the Thanthirimale Poson Poya programme, and all measures have been taken by the organisers to ensure the facilities needed for the pilgrims are in place.
Around a million pilgrims attend the Thanthirimale Aloka Pooja programme every year. The pilgrims pay homage at the dagoba atop the rock and at the Bodhi, one of the first eight offshoots (ashta palaruha bodhi) of the original Bo-sapling brought during the time of King Devanampiyatissa and gifted to the village for having extended hospitality to Theri Sanghamitta. The pilgrims are awed by the imposing statues, the sedentary Buddha and the reclining Buddha carved into the rock and the caves with Brahmi inscriptions. The museum at the site holds many artefacts.
On June 13, a meditation programme will be conducted in Tapowanaya, a secluded area close to Thantirimale, while on the last day of the programme (June 14), an Aloka Pooja will be held for the pilgrims.
Thantirimale is a 42 kilometre drive from Anuradhapura through Elayapattuwa. It can also be accessed from Puttalam through Elayapattuwa.
-DS