About 20 years ago, I had the very good fortune to be in the south of India visiting the ancient city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The photo above shows me (barefoot) being blessed by a sacred elephant in the 800-year-old Meenakshi temple. (Sorry for the terrible picture quality. Digital cameras have improved a lot over the decades).
While in Madurai, at a hotel gift shop, I spotted a very colorful toy truck. I asked the clerk what was written on the little vehicle, but she didn’t know. The words were in Hindi, and she could only read Tamil. Another hotel guest, who was fluent in Hindi, provided the translation. Fortunately, all three of us spoke English.
Before that trip, I knew nothing about the Tamil culture, but I soon learned it was impressive. For example, I discovered that Tamil Nadu has one of the world’s largest motion picture industries, producing nearly 250 films in 2019 (dwarfing the 145 titles made in Canada that year!) There are large Tamil populations not only in the south of India, but also in Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
The latter should not be surprising, as the island nation of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is only a short boat ride of about 25 miles across the Gulf of Mannar from the southern tip of India. And in about 200 BC, that is precisely what the Tamil King Ellalen did when his army conquered the Sinhalese (Ceylonese) King Asela.
There’s a long history of conflict between the Tamils and the Ceylonese. And the silver lining of that cloud remains for us to enjoy today, in the form of a network of caves where a King of Ceylon once hid, staying safe from the invaders from the North.
About 2,000 years ago, King Vattagamani Abhaya needed a place to hide when the Tamils were sacking his castle in Anuradapura. He took shelter with a group of monks in the Dambulla caves. After 14 years in exile, when he finally got his throne back, the king ordered a magnificent rock temple to be built in Dambulla, out of gratitude to the monks who had given him protection.
Today, those caves contain some of the most magnificent Buddhist paintings and sculptures in the world.
The painting on the ceiling of Cave #2 depicts the Buddha at his moment of enlightenment. His right hand is touching the ground, asking the earth goddess, Prithvi, to witness his immovability despite being attacked by an army of demons shooting arrows at him.
In Cave #5 there is a reclining Buddha that’s 10 meters (33 feet) long. No wonder the Dambulla caves were honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But it’s not the only one. Sri Lanka may only be about 250 miles long from top to bottom, but it boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage atractions.
Sri Lanka Tour Will Visit More Than A Dozen Sacred Sites
Body Mind Spirit Journeys is offering a spiritual small group tour of Sri Lanka November 5 to 17, 2023. Hosted by John Blevens, the program also includes these highlights…
- Visit Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara (Buddhist Temple) believed to be the site visited by Lord Buddha 2,500 years ago
- See the oldest planted tree in the world, a sapling of the tree under which the Lord Buddha attained enlightenment
- At a village Buddhist temple, offer a “Dhana” gift of meals as alms to the monks
- Visit the former royal palace with a temple that houses the tooth relic of Lord Buddha
- There’s also an optional private Yoga class with a renowned Sri Lankan guru
Get Full Sri Lanka Tour Details Here
UK Tours Now Guaranteed Departures
Our tours to England, Scotland and Ireland filled up pretty quickly, and they now have enough passengers so the departure of each is guaranteed. As of this writing, we have a few spaces left, and you can still get into one of these small groups if you hurry.
P.S. In the third photo, the exterior of the Dambulla caves complex, did you notice the monkey at the bottom left?