Ruwanwelisaya monastery, (in) Anuradhapura, North Central Province, SL

Raw data

"The Ruwanwelisaya is a stupa in Sri Lanka, considered a marvel for its architectural qualities and sacred to many Buddhists all over the world. It was built by King Dutugemunu c. 140 B.C., who became lord of all Sri Lanka after a war in which the Chola King Elara, was defeated. It is also known as Mahathupa, Swarnamali Chaitya, Suvarnamali Mahaceti (in Pali) and Rathnamali Dagaba.
This is one of the Solosmasthana (the 16 places of veneration) and the Atamasthana (the 8 places of veneration in the ancient sacred city of Anuradhapura). The stupa is one of the world's tallest monuments, standing at 300 feet (91 m) and with a circumference of 950 ft (290 m).
The Kaunghmudaw Pagoda [est. 1636 - tmciolek] in Sagaing, Myanmar is modeled after this stupa."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruwanwelisaya

Input by: tmciolek, 8 Sep 2012

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 09 Jul 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Ruwanwelisaya monastery, Sri Lanka.

General location of the Ruwanwelisaya monastery, Sri Lanka.
lat=8.3500 long=80.3964
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://maps.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=8.3500+80.3964+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Ruwanwelisaya%20monastery,%20SL)&ll=8.3500,80.3964&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name


2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Sri Lanka:North Central Province

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx. Lat 8.3500 Long 80.3964 - based on the visual identification of the site in satellite imagery, maps.google.com - tmciolek, 8 Sep 2012.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries


6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names


8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Theravada

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

MBM chrono-tag <=0200 - tmciolek 09 Jul 2014
<=0200 0200-32c 0233-66c 0267-99c 0300-32c 0333-66c 0367-99c 0400-32c 0433-66c 0467-99c 0500-32c 0533-66c 0567-99c 0600-32c 0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99p 1100-32p dated-el


12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • Deserted soon after 1070 A.D. when the capital (together with its civilian population and monks) has shifted from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruva for strategic reasons - Kulatunga (1999:3-4)

MBM chrono-tag 1067-99p - tmciolek 09 Jul 2014


14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data]

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

18. Available Printed Literature

  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 1]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 2]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]


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