Where no man nor beast is vile

From a hungry jumbo to little squirrels, the chief incumbent of Sithulpauwa Raja Maha vihara welcomes all of them with food and loving kindness

By Rohan Abeywardene, Pix by Lakshman Gunetilleke

Gentle charge: ‘Baby’ has a go at the food given to the monkeys in the vicitnity of the temple.

A wild female elephant freely roaming the jungles surrounding the historic Sithulpauwa Raja Maha vihara complex in the Yala National Park is also a welcome guest at the temple day and night thanks to the loving kindness practised by its chief incumbent Ven Mevaramba Hemaratne Thera to all living beings.

The wild jumbo affectionately named ‘baby’ by everyone in the temple, including the large contingent of soldiers stationed there since recent attacks by the LTTE in the area, is more docile than any tamed and chained elephant. He roams freely not harming a soul. The only problem is that for this friendly creature anytime is meal time and you will find him poking his trunk through any opening in the monks’ living quarters to satisfy its voracious appetite.

The monk somehow seems to find food for everyone, including us journalists who suddenly descended there soon after the LTTE overran the army’s tiny Talgasmankada camp. As there was no place in the vicinity to have a meal, the monk insisted that we have something to eat before we left and in next to no time got a superb meal prepared, even though it was long past the usual lunch hour.

And when “baby” gets a bit out of control in its search to satisfy its limitless appetite, there is no iron spike-embedded pole--henduwa--that mahouts usually use against even tamed elephants, to control him. For Ven. Hemaratne it is only a sharp verbal rebuke like “baby go” that normally does the job. But when the jumbo smelled something nice in our double cab and wanted to climb all over it to get at what was inside, the monk had to use more than the verbal rebuke by giving the jumbo a gentle tap with the cane, and out went “baby” without even a hint of a challenge.

What we saw was simply unbelievable. There were also many house birds going in and out of the living quarters having their own homes behind picture frames, ventilation holes in addition to nests specially left for them inside the temple. There were even squirrels darting in and out of the building virtually oblivious to the presence of even total strangers like us.

Sithulpauwa: A gentle giant roams	Knock, knock: “It’s jumbo meal time”	Sharing a special bond: Ven Mevaramba Hemaratne Thera with ‘baby’