Anuradhapura: Ancient Capital of Sri Lanka and Its Stupas

Anuradhapura was the first great capital of Sri Lanka, the seat of Sinhalese kings from the 4th century BC until AD 993. Traditionally made a capital in 437 BC, it became the centre of Theravada Buddhism on the island, with some of the largest stupas ever built and a network of reservoirs that fed a densely farmed plain. Today its ruins form the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Sacred City of Anuradhapura and remain a major place of pilgrimage.

Founding and early history

The early history of Anuradhapura is told in the Pali chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, written down between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to the Mahavamsa, King Pandukabhaya made the town his capital and laid it out with quarters, cemeteries and a reservoir. The traditional date of 437 BC comes from the chronicle’s reckoning and is not precise.

Archaeology shows that the site is older. Excavations in the citadel area found evidence of an Iron Age settlement from around the 10th to 9th century BC, which grew into a substantial town by the 5th or 4th century BC.

The coming of Buddhism

The turning point came in the reign of Devanampiya Tissa, traditionally dated to about 247–207 BC. According to the chronicles, the monk Mahinda, son of the Indian emperor Ashoka, arrived at nearby Mihintale and converted the king, an event described in Mahinda’s mission.

Devanampiya Tissa founded the Mahavihara, the Great Monastery, which became the centre of Theravada orthodoxy. Mahinda’s sister, the nun Sanghamitta, is said to have brought a cutting of the Bodhi tree from Bodh Gaya. The tree grown from it, the Sri Maha Bodhi, is still venerated in the city. Its planting is often given as 288 BC, but that date follows the chronicles’ own reckoning, which runs several decades earlier than the corrected chronology most historians use, under which Mahinda’s mission and the planting both fall around the mid-3rd century BC.

Stupas and monasteries

Anuradhapura’s skyline is dominated by stupas, solid domes of brick built to enshrine relics. The Thuparamaya, built under Devanampiya Tissa, is considered the earliest. The Ruwanwelisaya was begun by King Dutugemunu, who reunited the island in the 2nd century BC after his victory over the Tamil king Elara, told in Dutugemunu and Elara. Restored in the 20th century, it stands over 100 m tall.

Near the Ruwanwelisaya stood the Lovamahapaya, or Brazen Palace, a multi-storeyed monastic building attributed to Dutugemunu, of which about 1,600 stone pillars survive. The site is also known for the Samadhi Buddha, a seated stone figure in meditation usually dated to around the 3rd or 4th century AD.

Two rival monasteries later challenged the Mahavihara. The Abhayagiri Vihara was founded by King Vattagamani Abhaya in the 1st century BC, and the Jetavana monastery by King Mahasena in the 3rd to 4th century AD. Mahasena’s Jetavanaramaya is estimated to have reached about 120 m, making it one of the tallest buildings of the ancient world, built from tens of millions of bricks.

The Chinese monk Faxian lived at Abhayagiri around AD 410–412 and described a city of thousands of monks and a large jade-coloured Buddha image.

Reservoirs and daily life

The dry zone around Anuradhapura depends on stored rainwater. Kings built large artificial reservoirs, called tanks or wewa, including Abhaya Wewa (Basawakkulama), Tissa Wewa and Nuwara Wewa, linked by canals to rice fields. This irrigation system supported a large population and a wealthy court and temple economy. Several of these ancient reservoirs, restored over the centuries, still store water for farmers today.

The city also traded widely. Finds of Roman coins and Indian goods show that Sri Lanka was part of Indian Ocean trade networks linking the Mediterranean, India and Southeast Asia.

Decline and rediscovery

Anuradhapura was attacked several times by invaders from south India. In 993 the Chola Empire under Rajaraja I captured and sacked it, and the capital moved to Polonnaruwa. The old city was largely abandoned and overgrown by jungle.

British officials and archaeologists began clearing and recording the ruins in the 19th century. Anuradhapura was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, and today the sacred precinct is again an active Buddhist pilgrimage centre.

Timeline

• c. 10th–9th century BC: Earliest Iron Age settlement on the site.
• 437 BC (traditional): Pandukabhaya makes Anuradhapura his capital.
• c. 247 BC: Mahinda brings Buddhism; the Mahavihara is founded.
• c. 250–240 BC: The Sri Maha Bodhi tree is planted (traditionally dated 288 BC).
• 2nd century BC: Dutugemunu begins the Ruwanwelisaya.
• c. AD 273–301: Mahasena’s reign; construction of the Jetavanaramaya.
• 993: Chola forces sack the city; the capital moves to Polonnaruwa.
• 1982: Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Why it matters

Anuradhapura was the heart of Sri Lankan civilisation for over a millennium. Its monasteries preserved the Theravada Buddhist tradition later spread to Myanmar and Thailand, and its giant stupas and reservoirs are among the greatest engineering achievements of ancient South Asia.