SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Lohapasada,

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Lohapasada Ruins, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka bunpeiris
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Walking a short distance from the northern gate of the Sri Maha Bodhi Tree towards the Goden Sand Stupa (Ruwanweli Dagoba), on the right, is seen a veritable forest of stone pillars, ruins among the numerous intact & renovated ancient monuments of Mirisavatiya Dagoba, Jethavana Dagoba, Abhayagiri Dagoba, Ruwanvelisaya, Isurumuniya of the glorious ancient monastic city of Anuradhapura (437-845BC) of Sri Lanka. It has 40 rows of pillars of even size in each row, making 1600 pillars altogether, laid out in a square with sides of about 70m. The pillars are about 3.5m tall.
These standing pillars are the remains of an edifice of great splendor at the great monastery ‘Mahavihara’ of Anuradhapura. Looking at the ruins, we must remember that the great building was not built on pillars, like on stilts, but it was built directly on the ground. It had a large tall wooden structure covered with thousands of copper tiles, shining in the bright light.

The original building
The original building was built by King Devapiyatissa (303-270 BC) following the advice of Thera Mahinda, the son of King Ashoka the Great of India, who brought the message of Buddha to the island of Sri Lanka.

The prophesy & the realization of it.
Mahinda Thera prophesied that a future king by the name of Duttagamani would build an Uposathagara here. The Mahavamsa (the Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka) mentions that the king had the prophecy engraved on a golden plate. Having read the inscription narrating the prophesy, King Dutugamunu (161-137 BC) had the Chapter House, the Uposathagara.built on the location.

King Dutugamunu, the hero of the nation
King Dutugamuni, having defeated the marauding Dravidian invaders of Southern India, set to construct a magnificent array of Buddhist temples & stupas. His first task was to construct Mirisavatiya Dagaba enshrining the Jaya kunta, the imperial scepter of victory, in which was deposited the relics of the Buddha. His next major work was to construct the nine storey Brazen Palace. This was followed by the construction of most adored Buddhist stupa of Lanka, the Ruwanwelisaya (Golden Sand Stupa). Having set about to take the final stronghold of marauding Dravidian invaders from Southern India, Vijitapura fortress, King Dutugamunu proclaimed ‘Not for the joy of sovereignty is this toil of mine, my striving had been ever to establish the doctrine of the Sambuddha” (Mahavamsa 25, 17-18). The king was true to word.

Chapter House
An Uposathagara is a building meant for religious purposes, i,e, to perform monastic obligations, holding assembly, preaching & also for the residential purposes for the bhikkus.

The extraterrestrial design
The name of the magnificent building, Lohaprasada or Lohamaypaya meaning The brazen Palace derived its name from its bright copper-tiled roof. Mahanama Thera, the author of Mahavamsa (The Great Chronicle of Lanka), has narrated that the design for the palace was based on a building seen in one of the heavens by a group of monks, who drew the design with 'red arsenic on linen' and dispatched it to the king.

The magnificent building of nine stories
The Lohapasada was a nine storey building, each level reserved for a different profile of monks. The basement was for the monks who attained higher ordination. The next one, for those knowledgeable in Tipitaka (the sacred books) & the following three levels were reserved for the monks who attained different paths of salvation (Sotapatti, Sakadagami & Anagami). The upper floors were for the arahats (one who has vanquished all passions). Each storey had a hundred rooms & the center of the building was occupied by a pavilion of stone pillars studded with precious gem stones.

The accidental fire
Not long after King Dutthagamani passed away, during the reign of King Saddatissa, the Lohapasada was completely burnt down as a result of an accidental fire caused by a lamp. King Saddhatissa reconstructed it to be seven storeys. Since the building was completely burned down, we could safely deduce that the stone pillars were part of a subsequent renovation.

Renovations
King Khallatanga (119-103BC): constructed 32 other beautiful other buildings which could have been used for residencies of the monks

King Bhatikabhaya (19-9 BC): repaired damages
King Amanadagamini Abhaya (23-31 AD); built a beautiful pavilion
King Siringa(195-214AD): rebuilding Lohapasada to be five storeys
King Abhayanaga (236-244 AD): built a pavilion in the court-yard of the Lohapasada
King Gothabhaya (253-266AD): replaced the wooden pillars with stone pillars
King Jetthatissa(266-276 AD): completed the replacement of wooden pillars with stone pillars & rebuilt the building to seven storeys.
King Sirimeghavanna(303-331AD):reconstruction
King Dhatusena(459-477AD): renovation
King Agrabodhi the fourth (667-683 AD): the central pinnacle of the Lohapasada was covered.
King Manavamma(684-718 AD): renovation
King Sena the Second (853-887 AD): renovation
King Kasspa the fifth (914-923 AD): renovation