Sri Lanka’s ‘Mahavamsa’ is a part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register
UNESCO had declared the inscription of 64 documentary collections on its Memory of the World Register, bringing the all-out number of recorded collections to 494. Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka (covering the period sixth century BCE to 1815 CE), was submitted to UNESCO by Sri Lanka.
Table of Contents
- What is Mahavamsa?
- Cultural and heritage tourism in Sri Lanka
- The History of Mahawamsa
- Compilation of Mahawamsa
- Content of Mahawamsa
What is Mahavamsa?
UNESCO had declared the inscription of 64 documentary collections on its Memory of the World Register, bringing the all-out number of recorded collections to 494. Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka (covering the period sixth century BCE to 1815 CE), was submitted to UNESCO by Sri Lanka.
One of the world’s longest uninterrupted historical records, the Mahavamsa is the first of its sort in South Asia, starting an experienced historiographic custom, introducing Sri Lanka’s history in a chronological sequence from the sixth century BCE. The truthfulness of the information given in the record has been affirmed through archaeological exploration conducted in Sri Lanka and India.
It is a significant historical source in South Asia containing critical data about the lifetime of the Buddha, King Asoka and the ascent of Buddhism as a world religion. The record assumed a huge part in promoting Buddhism in Southeast Asia and contributed uniquely to the character of Ruler Asoka in Indian history.
Cultural and heritage tourism in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is still a leisure holiday destination in the world. However, Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in teh world with one of the longest and uninterrupted cultures in the world. Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle, which is mentioned in the ancient chronicle of Mahawamsa provides ample evidence of a highly developed culture that existed on the island many thousands of years ago.
The History of Mahawamsa
Mahāvaṃsa is the carefully kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka until the time of Mahasena of Anuradhapura. It was written in the style of a poem and the language is Pali. It relates the historical past of Sri Lanka from its legendary starting points up to the rule of King Mahasena of Anuradhapura covering the period between the reign of King Vijaya from India in 543 BCE to his rule and later updated by various writers. It was first created by a Buddhist priest at the Mahavihara sanctuary in Anuradhapura in the fifth century CE.
The Mahavamsa originally came to the consideration of Western scientists around 1809 CE, when Sir Alexander Johnston, Chief Justice of British Ceylon, sent compositions of it and other Sri Lankan chronicles to Europe for interpretation and publication.
Eugène Burnouf delivered a Romanized literal interpretation and interpretation into Latin in 1826, however, these gathered somewhat little attention. Working from Johnston’s compositions, Edward Upham distributed an English interpretation in 1833, yet it was set apart by several errors in translation and understanding, among them suggesting that the Buddha was born into the world in Sri Lanka and built a temple on Adam’s Peak. The principal printed release and broadly read English translation was distributed in 1837 by George Turnour, a historian and officer of the Ceylon Civil Service. A German interpretation of Mahavamsa was finished by Wilhelm Geiger in 1912. This was then converted into English by Mabel Haynes Bode, and revised by Geiger.
Compilation of Mahawamsa
The Buddhist priests of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya kept up with chronicles of the island’s history beginning from the third century BCE. These chronicles were then joined and gathered into a single record in the fifth century while King Dhatusena was administering the Anuradhapura Kingdom. It was composed based on earlier old accumulations known as the Atthakatha (also called Sinhalaatthakatha), which were commentaries written in Sinhala. A prior chronicle known as the Dipavamsa (fourth century CE) “Chronicles of the Island” is a lot less complex and contains fewer data than the Mahavamsa and was most likely gathered involving the Atthakatha on the Mahavamsa too.
The creation of the Mahavamsa is ascribed to an otherwise unknown monk called Mahānāma by the Mahavamsa-tika. Monk Mahānāma is believed to live in a cloister belonging to general Dighasanda and partnered with the Mahavihara, however, no other dependable true-to-life data is known. Mahānāma introduces the Mahavamsa with a section that guarantees that he means to address reiterations and weaknesses that beset the chronicle compiled by the people in the past- this might refer either to the Dipavamsa or to the Sinhala Atthakatha.
Content of Mahawamsa
The items in the Mahavamsa can be broadly divided into four categories:
The visits of Budha to Sri Lanka:
This section relates three visits of Buddha to the island of Sri Lanka. These accounts portray the Buddha repressing or heading out the Yakkhas (Yakshas) and Nagas that were occupying the island and conveying a prediction that Sri Lanka will turn into a significant Buddhist land. These visits are not referenced in the Pali Canon or other early sources.
Chronicles of Kings of Sri Lanka:
This section comprises family histories and heredities of Sri Lankan rulers, now and again with tales about their progression or important incidents in their rules. This material might have originated from previous royal chronicles and ruler records that were recorded orally in vernacular dialects and are critical sources of information about the historical background of Sri Lanka and Indian Kings.
History of the Buddhist Sangha:
This part of the Mahavamsa manages the mission sent by King Ashoka to Sri Lanka, the transplantation of the bodhi tree, and the establishment of the Mahavihara. It remembers the names of unmistakable priests and nuns for the early Sri Lankan sangha. It additionally incorporates records of the early Buddhist gatherings and the primary recording of the Pali standard recorded as a hard copy. This is a critical source of material about the improvement of the early Buddhist people group and incorporates the names of evangelists dispatched to different areas of South and Southeast Asia, some of which have been affirmed by inscriptions and other archaeological proof.
Chronicles of Sri Lanka:
This material starts with the migration of Ruler Vijaya from India with his retinue and goes on until the rule of Lord Mahasena, describing wars, progression questions, the structure of stupas and reliquaries, and other noteworthy incidents. An extensive chronicle of the conflict between the Sinhala King Dutthagamani and Tamil invaders, and later ruler, Elara (861 sections in the Mahavamsa contrasted and 13 verses in the Dipavamsa) may represent the joining of a well-known epic from the vernacular tradition.
While a large part of the items in the Mahavamsa is gotten from extensions of the material found in the Dipavamsa, a few entries explicitly managing the Abhayagiri vihara are discarded, recommending that the Mahavamsa was all the more explicitly connected with the Mahavihara.
The presence of a number of original copies of Mahavamsa in a few nations as well as the literal interpretation and interpretation of the text to a few Southeast Asian and European dialects stand declaration of its huge historical, social, exacting, phonetic and academic qualities.
