Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura was an ancient Sri Lankan kingdom and capital city that became a major center of Buddhist political and monastic life.

Pandukabhaya: A legendary early king of Anuradhapura credited in Sri Lankan chronicles with founding and organizing the city. Chronicles associate his reign with Anuradhapura’s early urban and political foundations.
Anuradhapura irrigation system: A network of reservoirs, canals, and waterworks that supported agriculture in ancient Sri Lanka’s dry zone. Stored and managed water sustained the capital’s population and agricultural base.
Dutugemunu: A second-century BCE king of Anuradhapura remembered for unifying much of Sri Lanka and sponsoring Buddhist monuments. His reign became a model of royal support for Buddhism and monumental building.
Ruwanwelisaya: A large Buddhist stupa in Anuradhapura traditionally commissioned by King Dutugemunu in the second century BCE. Its scale embodies the relationship between royal authority and Buddhist monument building.
Pali Canon: The collection of scriptures preserved in the Pali language that forms the textual foundation of Theravada Buddhism. Sri Lankan monastic scholarship helped preserve and transmit this Buddhist canon.
Devanampiya Tissa: A third-century BCE king of Anuradhapura during whose reign Buddhism was established in Sri Lanka. His rule connects the kingdom’s early history to Buddhism’s arrival.
Tissa Wewa: An ancient reservoir near Anuradhapura traditionally attributed to King Devanampiya Tissa. This reservoir illustrates how water storage supported the city and its surroundings.
Valagamba: A first-century BCE king of Anuradhapura whose reign included political upheaval and the restoration of royal power. His story is closely tied to the fortunes of the Mahavihara tradition.
Jetavanaramaya: A massive brick stupa in Anuradhapura built under King Mahasena in the third century CE. Its construction reflects the scale of Anuradhapura’s religious institutions and engineering.
Aluvihara: A Buddhist monastery in central Sri Lanka traditionally associated with the first writing down of the Pali Canon. The textual tradition linked to Anuradhapura later found a lasting written form at this site.

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