RASSL lecture on "The Mahayana influence on the Magul Maha Vihara"

The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL)’s monthly public lecture "The Mahayana influence on the Magul Maha Vihara" will be held on tomorrow, January 27, at 5 p.m. at the Gamini Dissanayake auditorium, No. 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7. It will be delivered by Ven. Miriswaththe Wimalagnana Thero , Head, Department of Buddhist Culture, Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies.

The ruins of the Magul Maha Vihara close to the eastern coast of Sri Lanka portray complex Buddhist art and architecture. The place could be memorable to the general pilgrims, probably not because of visible art and architecture, but because of the legend associated with Viharamaha Devi and King Kavantissa, the royal couple who got married at this site.

It is also said in the legend, that the king met the princess who sacrificed herself to the sea to protect the subjects and whose boat had been carried over the ocean waves to the beach at the site of Muhudu Maha Vihara. The present researcher, going in search of the possible reasons for linking the two sites in this legend has confirmed with evidence that both these places were undergoing the influence of Mahayana ideals starting from the 5th century CE to the late Anuradhapura period.