Exploring the ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka, the Indian Ocean island paradise

The driver was used to the area and having traveled extensively in rural Sri Lanka, he chose more inland roads than main roads in the last few hours of our trip.

He asked all of us if we would like to visit an ancient Island Kingdom and ruined fortification and archeological interests.

Although I heard about the Kingdom of Panduvasdeva in Panduwasnuwara, I had not visited it. I thought it was a good opportunity. There was also apparent emotion on the faces of Steffani, Yong, and Romy.

He was driving through a narrow passage through isolated rural areas. The remaining walls of the ancient Kingdom in ruins were the first sight for all of us.

Still, the walls stood taller than ever, proclaiming their majestic glory days centuries ago.

Panduwasnuwara, the oldest of the Panduwasnuwara capitals, which according to legend, was the capital of King Panduvasdeva, who succeeded Vijaya, the first king of Sri Lanka around the 5th century BC.

The moated tower where princess Unmada Chitra, so beautiful she drove men mad, was confined due to a sinister prophecy of untimely death in the family. A wooded mound is also identified as the tomb of King Vijaya.

The many other archaeological remains of Panduvasnuwara date back to the 12th century, when it was known as ‘Parakramapura’ and was used by the great medieval king of Sri Lanka, Parakramabahu I, as a stepping stone to his great capital: Polonnaruwa.

Among the many impressive ruins are the walls and moat of the citadel, the royal palace with carved pillars and protective stones, and a beautiful Bodhigara, the building around the bo tree, sacred to Buddhists.

Street vendors sold various flowers and ritual items to those visiting the adjoining Buddhist temple. Everywhere were small shops selling various items, aimed at those visiting the ruined kingdom. When we visited some areas of the old kingdom, I saw a sewer with a Tamil inscription indicating the Tamil influence in the kingdom.

That the ancient culture of the island of some thousands of years was a mixture of Sinhala and Tamil was evidenced in the sewer.

Yong was asking me, when we entered a Buddhist temple, many questions for which I had no answers.

We bought some brown sugar which was filled into little pockets woven from some sort of grass or palm leaves. My German friends were getting the most out of the culture and way of life there, which has not lost its centuries-old purity in that rural area so isolated from the rest of the world.

The calm and silence that permeated the surroundings was enchanting. We walked among the ruins of the old Kingdom that were shaded by large trees that could be centuries old.

The great trees and ruined remains of the kingdom were reminiscent of Angelina Jolie’s scenes in the casting of the Hollywood blockbuster “Tomb Raider”, which was filmed around the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, one of the most isolated and devastated countries. by the conflicts of the world.

It was a wonderful experience to walk into the ruined palace where memories of the Kingdom’s past glories captivated my mind and came true, even though I had never heard of the Kingdom in the past.

Romy was capturing the ancient wonder with her digital camera. I also went up to a ruined Buddhist statue and took some photos to remember the lost kingdom and its centuries-old wonders.

We left after reliving something of the ancient past and our passage was once again through the rural area of ​​the island passing many beautiful lotus ponds and rice paddies.