According to legend, the first settlement at Anuradhapura was built by Anuradha, the Hindu King Vijaya's first general. Anuradha is said to have founded the Sinhalese race. The city was made capital of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura in the 4th century BCE by King Pandukabhaya.
Anuradhapura remained the capital during the sixty years' rule of Mutasiva, son of King Pandukabhaya. The successor to Mutasiva, Devanampiya Tissa, introduced Buddhism two centuries after the death of Lord Buddha to Ceylon.
The importance of Anuradhapura increased with the introduction of Buddhism. As Anuradhapura grew as an administrative and ritual center, its rulers made arrangements to accommodate the growing population.
At the beginning of the Christian era, two thousand years ago, Anuradhapura was at the height of its glory. The decline of this city began when it was damaged by the continuous wars with South Indian invaders. It was abandoned as Ceylon's capital by the 11 century.
What is remarkable about this bath is the similarity to Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro (link below) from the ancient Indus Civilization which pre-dated it by at least 2,000 years. Indeed, these giant baths are common throughout the subcontinent.
The original owner of this card wrote on the back: "Where the Lion or The Lizard keeps the courts
Where I sat in moonlight thinking of this and suddenly a lizard ran over my feet." |
