Description of the attraction
For over 1000 years, Sinhalese kings, and sometimes conquerors from southern India, have ruled Sri Lanka from the palaces of Anuradhapura. It was the largest and most influential of the Sri Lankan royal capitals, but its size, history and the fact that it was under conquerors from South India for a long time made it more difficult to understand than, for example, Polonnaruwa. Today Anuradhapura is a rather pleasant and well-designed city. The spreading crowns of trees cover the guest houses located in the modern districts of the city with pleasant coolness.
Anuradhapura first became the capital in 380 BC. under Pandukabhaya, but the city acquired special importance even under Devanampiya Tissa (247-207 BC), during whose reign Buddhism came to Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura soon became a large and glittering city, only to survive the invasion from the south of India, which was subsequently repeated several times over 1000 years. But soon the Sinhalese hero Dutugemunu led an army from the south in order to reclaim Anuradhapura. The first part of his name "Dutu", by the way, means "rebellious", because his father, fearing for the life of his son, forbade him to even think about how to return Anuradhapura. Dutugemunu disobeyed him, and later, in a mockery, sent his father jewelry for women, thereby showing that he thought about his courage.
After the liberation of Anuradhapura, Dutugemunu (161-137 BC) began large-scale construction. Many of the impressive monuments that can be observed in Anuradhapura have survived to this day from the reign of Dutugemunu. Mahasena (276-303 AD), the last "great" king of Anuradhapura, who built the colossal Yetavanarama Dagoba temple. He also built a record number of irrigation facilities as well as a main canal. Anuradhapura was destined to exist as the capital for another 500 years until, finally, it was replaced by Polonnaruwa.
In the old city of Anuradhapura, there are many monuments of those times, many of which are included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List - bell-shaped stupas of the 3rd century BC. e., Ruanveli II-I century BC NS. with stone statues of Buddha V century BC NS.; the rocky monastery of Isurumuniya, palaces, artificial reservoirs. Also, the place of pilgrimage for Buddhists is the tree and the Mahabodhi temple.
