Did the Buddha Visit Sri Lanka?

Buddha’s Visits to Lanka
July 10, 2013
Jay Hettiarachchy

According to Mahavamsa, the Buddha visited Lanka in the ninth month of his Buddhahood. A vivid description of how the Buddha struck terror in the hearts of the Yakka’s who he later transferred to Girideepa (rocky island) by performing a miracle can be found in this account. The Buddha then preached the doctrine to the devas (the gods) at the spot where the Mahiyangana Stupa would be constructed. Many millions of people accepted Buddhism having listened to this sermon.

Buddha visited nagadipa (snake island) again when Culodara (small belly) and Mahodara (big belly) nagas were fighting over a gem-set thrown. The Buddha created fear in the minds of the nagas (snakes) and won them over by dispelling the darkness that he brought over them. Eighty million nagas (snakes) were converted to Buddhism by the Buddha on this visit.

In the eighth year after Buddha’s attainment of Nibbana, once again he came to Kalyani (Near Colombo) accepting the invitation of the naga king maniakkhika (gem-eyed snake king). Where the Buddha sat in Kalyani, the Kalyani stupa was built at a later time. The Buddha then went to Samanthakuta (Adam’s peak, Sripada) and laid his footprint there and after having spent one day there, went to many other places where Buddhist stupas (topes) and monasteries would be built later including the location where the sacred Bodhi-tree would be planted.

Thus according to Mahavamsa the Buddha came three times to Lanka knowing that Lanka will be a haven for his doctrine.

Analysis:

Real historians have had real trouble about these mythical accounts. Some historians discard all these accounts as ecclesiastical stories created by the Buddhist monks to serve an ecclesiastical purpose, others are more forgiving in trying to accommodate these accounts to connect the dots of early history of Ceylon.

Historically speaking, the author of Mahavamsa seems to have had real trouble trying to make Vijaya’s (the first Sinhala king of Lanka) landing on the island on the very same day the Buddha passed away. This is because it was important to the Buddhist monks in Ceylon during the time Mahavamsa was written (5^th Century A.D) to make Lanka the strong-hold of Buddhism when Buddhism was on the decline in India where it originated due to the revival of Hinduism. The Mahavamsa author was obviously trying to narrate events that took place nearly 1000 years before his time. His purpose in writing the Mahavamsa cannot be considered as writing a “history” of Sri Lanka.

Most people in Sri Lanka even today believe whole heartedly that the Buddha visited Sri Lanka and left his foot print on Adams peak to symbolize his visit. Their belief is purely based on the accounts narrated in Mahavamsa about the Buddha’s visit to Lanka. However, we need to admit that there is no real evidence or possibility that the Buddha could have visited Sri Lanka unless we want to accept the story given in the Mahavamsa as absolute truth.