Kirinda
The small port of Kirinda on the south coast
about 10km south of Tissamaharama is a small
town bypassed by most visitors both local and
foreign. Situated 160 kilometers from the capital
Colombo Kirinda is a town which has begun to
earn its value as tourist site in the recent
years. There is a rocky outcrop from which can
be obtained some magnificent views of this desolate
coast with its long stretch of sand dunes and
the ocean beyond. On a clear day the lighthouse
on the Great Basses Reef appears like a needle
in the far distance. That's not all, for if
you reverse your gaze you can see Tissamaharama
in detail, especially the glistening dome of
the Maharama dagoba.
With such an atmosphere, Kirinda is the appropriate
setting of one of those popular legends that
constitute early Sri Lankan history. In the
2nd century BC, a king by the name of Devanampiyatissa
reigned over the west of the island from his
capital at Kelaniya.
Devanampiyatissa suspected a monk of being involved
in an intrigue between the Queen and his brother.
When the king had this monk put to death in
a cauldron of boiling oil, both his ministers
and subjects were horrified. Furthermore,
the gods were annoyed and caused the ocean to
flood the land.
Overcome with remorse, the king decided to atone
for his sacrilegious act by making a sacrifice
that would impress on his people the sincerity
of his repentance as well as appease the gods.
Accordingly he built a boat of gold, provisioned
it with enough supplies for one person for one
month - and placed in it his eldest daughter.
The boat was then cast adrift, with an inscription
to inform anyone who should come across it that
aboard was a princess.
Days later a lone fisherman spotted the strange
looking craft as it drifted off Dovera, near
Kirinda. Drawing closer he read the inscription
and carried the news to the King of this southern
region, Kavantissa, who resided nearby. The
princess was rescued, brought before the king,
and given a warm welcome. Eventually Kavantissa
married her and named her Viharamahadevi. She
bore him two sons who were to become national
heroes. The eldest, Gemunu, became King Duthugemunu
(161 - 137BC), who united the Sinhalese for
the first time after defeating the Tamil king
Elara.
Several kilometres inland from Kirinda, at a
place called Gotimbaragodella, there are traces
of the ruins of a palace, where it is said Kavantissa
welcomed and later wed Viharamahadevi There
are also some ancient monuments at Magul Maha
Vihara, near Palatupana, just within Yala National
Park, where the pair are said to have spent
their honeymoon.
The popularity of this romantic legend makes
Kirinda a focal point for pilgrims. They come
specifically to the rocky outcrop - a group
of boulders piled up in bizarre fashion - to
see a modern statue of Viharamahadevi and make
offerings at a dagoba built on the ruins of
an ancient one erected to commemorate the safe
conclusion of the princess's voyage.
Kavantissa's royal coat of arms - featuring
the sun and the moon - were carved on a boulder
nearby to mark the landing place. Kirinda is
sometimes used as a base by divers who wish
to travel by boat to the Great
and Little Basses Reef. In 1961 Kirinda
achieved a place in the history of underwater
exploration in Sri Lanka with the discovery,
during the filming of Mike Wilson's underwater
short film Boy Beneath the Sea, of a wreck of
unknown origin on the Great Basses Reef, containing
several cannon and thousands of silver Moghul
rupees, all dated 1702.
