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Once a city, now a land of coconuts
Close to bustling Kurunegala lies the historic 12th century town of
Paranagampura or Badalaththalee nuwara. Kumudini Hettiarachchi reports

Tell-tale signs of a bygone era, shrouded in the dim mists of time, when ancient monarchs ruled. Not hidden in the animal-infested jungles of a remote area but just beyond Kurunegala town, a right turn past the Deduru Oya bridge through acres of coconut leads to an area still called "Paranagam Nuwara".

All along the road, banners scream that the land is for sale. In the Paranagampura estate steeped in legend and history one can see the undulating humps of a fortress wall, proof of a living and breathing city many centuries ago.

"There are many references in the Culavamsa to Badalaththalee nuwara which was later called Paranagampura," says Prof. Nimal De Silva, architect turned archaeologist. Though Badalaththalee seemed to have had its heyday in the 12th century AD, it has references dating back to the 6th century.

The ancient city had been protected on two sides by the Deduru Oya and on one-and-a-half sides by the Bathalagoda wewa and the rest by a moat. In the southwest corner had been a small stupa or chaithya. Within the city area an inner moat still clearly visible had enclosed the royal residence area where the palace would have been. The 40-foot wide moat is presently partly paddyfields, with the other part still having water studded with lotuses, explained Prof. De Silva, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Moratuwa University.

When The Sunday Times visited the area the drought had dried up the water in the inner moat but it was clearly evident along with parts of the outer wall. Detailing the town planning in ancient Ceylon, Prof. De Silva says there has always been a square island on a water mass forming the summer palace, as seen in Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Magama and Kandy. Badalaththalee, close to the Bathalagoda wewa was no exception.

Many ancient kings and one queen, including Parakrama Bahu I, Vijaya Bahu and Queen Kalyanawathie have been linked to Badalaththalee by the Culavamsa in the 12th century.

"On attaining adulthood, Prince Parakrama Bahu had his investiture ceremony wearing the poona nula (sacred thread) there. There are also references that when the prince started his military campaign he came to the city to collect an army," he explains. At that time the city was governed by Sanka Senadipathi who asked the young prince whether he had his father's permission. His father, King Manabarana was ruling from Sankaththali Nuwara, which has still not been identified, laments Prof. De Silva.

Doubting that the prince had got the nod from his father, the Governor had sent a messenger to the King to verify, while asking the prince to rest. When the prince woke up and the Governor bowed his head, inquiring after his wellbeing, the prince, who had come to Badalaththalee without paternal approval, had beheaded him. The murder had triggered a revolt among the city dwellers, compelling the King to intervene and settle the dispute by handing over the city to the Governor's nephew. Prince Parakrama had later collected his army and gone off to fight his battles.

Pointing out the other references to the city, once again in the early part of the 12th century, Prof. De Silva says, "Vijaya Bahu I after defeating the Chola army in Kurunegala city handed over Kurunegala to the army in Badalaththalee at the beginning of that century. Near the location where the draw-bridge had been in Badalaththalee is the stone inscription laid by Queen Kalyanawathie, one of two queens of Nissanka Malla, who later ruled from Polonnaruwa for nine years again in the 12th century. The inscription mentions the renovation of a royal temple carried out by Sanka Senadhipathi”.

Once again this city is mentioned in the 14th century in an inscription at the Lankathilaka Viharaya in Gampola about the people who participated in a ceremony there, among whom were Parana Badalaththalee Nuwara vasiyo (the people), he says.

However, references to Badalaththalee go as far back as the 6th century as a kandawuru nuwara (garrison city). Sentinels posted on the small hills around Badalaththalee would spot foreign invaders -- usually seeking to capture Anuradhapura - coming along the Deduru Oya and warn the army in the city itself who would get into action and ward off the enemy.

Legend and folklore abound about the city and its environs including Rajamalwatte, Udamalwatte, Aliyabendigalwatte and Kumbalanga. Folklore has it that in the Anuradhapura period King Kumaradasa was residing in the area when his friend Kalidasa Panditha, the poet joined him. At that time the king had been paying courtly calls on a comely belle in the Kumbal village but had become suspicious that she was also seeing another lover. Gnawed by jealousy that it was his beloved friend and attempting to confirm his suspicions, the King had scribbled two lines of a poem on the wall above the tryst bed. On his next visit when Kalidasa found the lines he had completed the poem, making the King face an agonizing decision - who should he deal with, the woman or his friend?

The bond of friendship being strong, it was of course, death to the woman. In atonement, the King had gifted the village to her father. “Some people believe this happened in a village in Matara, but links to this area are strong,” says Prof. De Silva. When one visits the area, young and old, speak in awe of a chequered history now buried among the softly waving coconut trees.

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