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Keys to the kingdom
By Ven. Dhammika
Looming above the small village of Bakkiella which sits on the main road from Maha Oya to Ampara, is a rugged and thickly forested mountain called Rajagala. The area is sparsely populated, more so since the war, and the mountain sees few visitors. I have long known that there are extensive ruins at Rajagala and recently had the opportunity to explore the place carefully.

I arrived at Bakkiella and went to the nearby shop to ask directions. The lady there told me that I might find my way to the top of the mountain but I would never find the ruins by myself and offered to find a boy to show me where everything was. Soon the boy Gamini turned up, gun slung over his shoulder, and we set off down the unpaved road that very quickly became a barely discernible track. A well constructed stairway once led up the mountain but over the centuries tree roots have dislodged its stones and rains have washed the earth from under them and now it is hard to make out. In places the way leads over huge boulders with stairs cut into them.

A view from the top
After about 45 minutes we were at the top, sweating and panting. Even right up here there were signs of elephants everywhere - droppings and freshly broken branches. It is astonishing to think that elephants can climb so high and through such rugged terrain.

Soon the jungle gave way to a vast area of bare rock gradually sloping downwards and with clumps of mana grass and trees here and there. There is a large natural pond with the remains of a wall around it which must have been used for washing in ancient times.

The view is out of this world. To the north is an endless carpet of jungle, at the foot of the mountain is the old Divulana Tank and to the west is the spectacular and appropriately named Friars Hood peak pointing skywards for 658 metres.

We walked down the slope to where there are the ruins of at least ten temples, their pillars leaning at various angles and their steps, balustrades and moonstones hidden in the grass. A little further down are the more natural rock ponds with the ruins of a large stupa and another temple next to them.

Incomplete clues
We went down a long stairway cut into the side of a gradually sloping boulder and plunged into the jungle again. There in a small clearing is one of the most interesting and unusual objects I have ever seen - a huge block of stone some 16 feet long with a Buddha statue carved out of it. The unique thing about this image is that it is half finished, it is only the outline of a Buddha. All the lines of the statue are straight and at right angles to each other and there are no details. It seems that apprentice sculptors did the work up to this stage and the master was supposed to round it off, fill in the details and do the finishing touches, only in this case he never completed the job. One would think that this half-finished statue would be of considerable interest to art historians as it shows exactly how ancient sculptors worked but it remains unknown.

In the jungle beyond this statue are more structures, in particular a large stupa, probably the main one in the complex. As we approached this stupa I saw fresh earth and bricks strewn all over the place. Treasure hunters had been at work and have dug a huge hole in the stupa right down to its foundations. Gamini asked me whether I had a nidan vadula which indicates where treasure is hidden. I looked at him disapprovingly and he lowered his eyes and kept walking.

Next to the stupa is a large stone umbrella which was originally raised above it and also a large asana, now also dislodged by treasure hunters. On the side of the large boulder at the edge of this area is an inscription from the reign of King Mahinda II (777-797) recording land grants to Arittara Vehera, probably a reference to the nearby stupa. From here a processional way curbed with large stones and with temples on either side leads to what appears to have been a large square.

A large area of stone has another long inscription on it in letters from the 8th century and on the far side near a huge rock is yet another interesting object - a huge stone pattara or bowl. Right up to the Kandyan period similar bowls, although usually made out of clay or bronze, were commonly found in temples where the first rice of the harvest was placed in them as an offering to the Buddha. This bowl is beautifully worked and is no more than 2 inches thick. Near to it are the fragments of a second bowl of similar size.

Etched in stone
Next we fought our way through the jungle to have a look at some of the numerous caves around Rajagala. Twenty of these caves have inscriptions in them dating from the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE and five of them mention two of the sons of King Saddhatissa (161-137). The oldest of these sons, Maha Aya, later became King Lanjatissa (119-110). One inscription, slightly mutilated, bears the name of the place and seems to read Dhanatisa Pavata. This might be a hint to Rajagala's ancient identity.

The Dipavamsa says that Gothabhava, the ruler of Rohana and the grandfather of King Saddhatissa, founded a monastery named Dana Pabbata and this may well refer to what we now known as Rajagala. Other than this there is no mention of either Rajagala or Dana Pabbata in any ancient records.

Monks lived at Rajagala for centuries and judging by its numerous and imposing remains it must have been a place of some note. But all that is left of these monks’ lives and their achievements is silence.

There were other ruins that I wanted to see but the sun was getting low and Gamini was anxious that we get out of the jungle before dark. As we proceeded back up the mountain we came to a large area of exposed rock with yet another long inscription on it. Much of the rock was covered with burnt wood, charcoal and large chunks of rock.

Treasure hunters have burnt the rock hoping that it would crack open and reveal gold and jewels. Fortunately none of the inscriptions had been damaged. These treasure hunters are not just very stupid in thinking that treasure could be hidden in solid rock but in their stupidity they are destroying Sri Lanka's priceless heritage. We climbed up the mountain, down the other side, had a refreshing wash in the spring at the foot of the mountain and arrived back in Bakkiella just as the sun set.

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