Mirisavetiya Chaitya

 

The Mirisavetiya Chaitya

The Mirisavetiya Chaitya is known as the first stupa built by King Dutugemunu the Great, who reigned in Sri Lanka between 161 and 137 BC. The king's scepter (the weapon symbolizing the king's power) containing the omniscient relics was offered as a treasure and this stupa, which was built at a cost of 190 million rupees, was originally sixty feet high and five hundred and sixty feet in circumference. It has been renovated and enlarged by various kings who ruled Sri Lanka in later times. This pagoda is mentioned in historical legends as one of the most important pagodas of that time

Location

Located in the sacred city of Anuradhapura in the Anuradhapura district of the North Central Province of Sri Lanka, this pagoda is believed to have been built in a place that was made sacred by the touch of the feet of Gautama Buddha. It is said in history that one hundred and ninety thousand arahants visited the place when this pagoda was built and consecrated. Anuradhapura was the capital of Sri Lanka during the period 161 - 137 BC when this pagoda was built. 

 

Legend

 

The Mahavamsa states that King Dutugemunu had a custom of offering the first part of whatever food he ate to the monks, and that one day the king, due to some mistake, ate a chili fish without offering it to the monks, and that this stupa was built as compensation for that mistake. However, another opinion states that the king, who went to the Tissa lake for a dip, one day left his Jaya Konta, which contained his omniscient relics, at this place. When he returned after the dip and tried to retrieve the Konta, it could not be moved, and the king then surrounded it and built this stupa. It is said that the king saw the six-colored Buddha's head covered with the omniscient relics of the Buddha spread out like a ring around the head, and therefore gave it the name "Mirisawatiya", which means "ring of the ring" (the Pali and Sanskrit words "Marichi" meaning "ring" are broken down into Charichi -> Marisa -> Mirisa, and the Sanskrit word "Vrutta" meaning "ring" is broken down into Vatta -> Ivatti -> Vati).

Renovations

The Mirisawatiya pagoda, which has been the object of worship for the kings who ruled the country since its construction, was damaged by the Indian invaders who came to Sri Lanka in the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries. This pagoda was demolished several times. King Gajaba I, who reigned between 114 and 136 AD, built a protective cover for this stupa, and King Voharikatissa, who reigned between 209 and 231 AD, renovated its canopy. Later, King Kasyapa V, who reigned between 914 and 923 AD, renovated all the buildings here, and King Parakramabahu II, who reigned in Polonnaruwa, raised it to a height of two hundred and six feet and donated it to the monastery and temples. Later, in 1888, this stupa, which had fallen into disrepair, has been renovated by the government and preserved so that devotees can worship it. Among the buildings belonging to this place are a chapel built by King Dutugemunu, a large palace built by King Kassapa II (650 - 659 AD), and a building called "Chandana Prasada" built by King Kassapa IV (898 - 914 AD) to house the hair relic of the Buddha.

Pilgrimage verse

Abhaya Raja Sadhatuka Kuttavaram - Sunichyayakatam Bahumanikam Sakalahitham Panamesada - Marichwattika Chetiya Muttaman

Translation

I bow to the Mirisavetiya Chaitya, which was built by King Dutugemunu as a treasure house for the noble Jaya Kontha, which is endowed with all the knowledge.