Day 79: Sri Lanka - Sita Rama Trip - 108 Days Across Eurasia by Martins Ate

So today I'm leaving from point - A - Anuradhapura – Sacred City, where I stayed almost one week in a Boa Vista hotel where I must admit - I was treated like a King with all those incredible views and walks in Royal Pleasure gardens which where just across the street and I used to go there for to call to my friends and family as because of amazing atmosphere in there.

So today I'm going to my next city - Dunuwila, where Lord Rama fired the Brahmaastharam (something like a bomb just 10 thousand years ago) at King Ravana (who was a King of Sri Lanka and 10 more countries that time), which eventually killed him. Dhunu means arrow and Vila Means Lake. This place got its name because Lord Rama fired his arrow from this lake. But this arrow reached Ravana at the other side of Sri Lanka.

And I will share my further plans which are as follows and according to the points in a google map:

B. Sigiriya Wewa. Rock garden. Asia's oldest surviving landscape garden. It is also believed flamboyant Kasyapa aspired to be The god king with the Sigiriya palace as the very personification of his divinity, to rule his kingdom up high, like the god king Kuvera up on the Mount Kailash of Hindu mythology.

C. Wasgamuwa. Dunuwilla.

D. Hiripitiya, Dolu Kanda. Herbs dropped by Hanuman for healing of Rama when he was unconscious after Ravana hit him.

E. Bandarawela - Ravana Cave & Tunnel Network This Buddhist shrine at Kalutara

F. Welimada – Sita / Ravan Caves – Ishtripura. This was one of the places to which King Ravana shifted Sitadevi as a precautionary measure which he was forced to take by Lord Hanuman's advent. There are lots of intruding tunnels and caves in this area. This seems to be a part of a great ingenious network of paths, which is interconnected to all the major areas of King Ravana's city. Sitadevi took bath in this very stream and had dried her hair sitting on a rock and put clips to her hair,hence this rock is known as Konda Kattu Gala. This is situated in the Welimada Area.

G. Nuwara Eliya - Ashok Vatika is a garden where Rāvana held Sita captive. This is in the area of Sita Eliya, close to the city of Nuwara Eliya. The Hakgala Gardens located at the base of the Hakgala Rock forms part of the famed Ashok Vatika. The Sita Pokuna is a barren area atop the Hakgala Rock Jungle where Sita was kept captive. Sita Devi is set to have bathed in a stream at Sita Eliya.

The Sita Amman Temple is located at this spot. The stream that runs from the hill, catered to the needs of Sitadevi during her stay at Ashok Vatika. She is said to have bathed in this stream. About a century ago of three idols were discovered in the stream, one of which was that of Sita. It is believed that the idols have been worshipped at this spot for centuries.

Now there is temple for Lord Rama, Sitadevi, Laxshmana, and Hanuman by the side of this stream. It is interesting to note that foot prints akin to Lord Hanuman's are found by this river and some are of small size and some are of large size, which tells us of the immense powers of Hanuman transforming himself into any size.

H. Rattota - Rama Temple. There are a few Rama temples in Sri Lanka, this is one of them.

I. Chilaw. Munneshwaram Temple. Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was located here before Rama came. God Shiva blessed Lord Rama here and advised installing and praying for four lingams at Manavari, Thiru Koneshwaram, Thiru Ketheshwaram and Rameshwaram in India, as the only remedy to get rid of the dosham. The first Lingam was installed at Manavari about 5 Km from here, near the banks of Deduru Oya. I hope it wont take too long!:)

I spent morning by saying warm bye-bye's to the great host and so nice person Boa Vista's guest house owner Shani. It was so nice to meet her and it was so amazing how she and her team treated me. I want to go back there some day for sure.

After breakfast at around 12 she dropped me till the bus station which led me further down my track and around 3 PM I reached Dambulla. I visited Golden temple and Rock temple which was just behind the Golden temple. It was a long way up through monkey companies.:)

Afterwards I went to Sigiriya to the the old Sigiriya Rock kingdom. It is told that this place may have been inhabited through prehistoric times.

It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves, garden and palace which were built by King Kasyapa.

Following King Kasyapa's death, it was again a monastery complex up to about the 14th century, after which it was abandoned.

Entrance tickets are enormously high in price in here. Like to visit that rock temple costs about 8 euros but Sigiriya - about 15. I think it's to expensive! Well but anyways - once I'm here - I had to go there. :)

So tomorrow I'm leaving at 6AM towards my next checkpoints - passing few of them without stopping.

(I was there on a top):)

I met a girl from N.Y. on my way to this place so she told me about some cheap hotels she read about in Lonely Planet guide book (G., I even didn't know about existence of such a book until I was in Tibet!:)) so I stayed a night there.

We had some beer and afterwards I went sleep in my bed covered by mosquito net to keep me safe from many diseases mosquitoes are happily giving away for free in this area, including malaria.:)