We travelled 125 miles north in 4.5 hours in reserved 1st class seats with and electric fan on the ceiling and open windows providing the AC! We passed a lot of rice paddies, with patches of woodland, the odd stand of palm trees or bananas and a scattering of cows, egrets and one peacock.
We stopped at a few of the stations, collecting a succession of hawkers selling snacks and drinks who worked the train and got off at the next stop. We were juddered and jolted as the metal plates between the carriages slammed together at every bump … all the way to Anuradhapura!
One benefit in caching the early train was that we’d won a spare afternoon, so we took a tuk-tuk for an outing.
Mihintale is revered as the place where Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka. The story says that in 247 BC the King of Anuradhapura followed a stag to the top of a hill while hunting and met Malinda the son on the great Buddhist emperor of India who had been sent to convert Sri Lanka to Buddhism. Malinda tested him with a riddle about mangoes and having established the king’s shrewdness shared Buddhas teachings with him. The impressed King gave Malinda a Royal Park which became the centre of the Mavihara monastery while Mihintale meaning Mahinda’s Hill, became an important Buddhist centre.
It is still an important place of pilgrimage today, will many making the entire ascent in bare feet but we came by tuk-tuk and were dropped near the top,
It was lovely wandering round in the late afternoon sunshine and we saw various ruins including the alms house …
… a rather eroded rampant lion and frieze of dancing girls and lions …
… wildlife between the ruins …
… and a lion and some elephants.
Climbing up a number of steps, we had to stop and take off our shoes, continuing in bare feet to the upper terrace where the small ‘Mango Tree dagoba’ stands, surrounded by pillars which once supported a roof.
… and I know your interest is piqued and you want to know what the riddle was about … well here goes!
What name does this tree bear, O king?
This tree is called a mango.
Is there yet another mango besides this?
There are many mango trees.
And are there yet other trees besides this mango and the other mangoes?
There are many trees sir, but those are trees that are not mangoes.
And are there, beside the other mangoes and those which are not mangoes, yet other trees?
There is this mango tree, sir.
This passed over Chris’s head completely even though he likes trees and mangoes …!
Behind is the Aradhana Gala or ‘Invitation Rock’ from which Malinda preached his first sermon, and we did climb up a short way for a view but it was a bit precarious in bare feet … thankfully having come late in the day the stone wasn’t too hot.
There was another ascent to a modern white seated Buddha …
… from which we got a good view of the Mahaseya dagoba which enshrines some ashes and a single hair of the Buddha. The story says when asked what form a memorial to him should take, the Buddha took his robe and folded it into a square then placed his upturned begging bowl and umbrella on top, outlining the basic form.
here’s another view from the terrace …
We climbed up to take a closer look and to watch the sunset.
As the sun lowered a procession approached with an offering and the pipe and drums played as the sun finally set.
Off Travelling Together 