Kaudulla

Sri Lanka’s reservoir building technology was at its peak during the mid Anuradhapura Kingdom era to  Polonnaruwa Kingdom Era ( 1017-1236) and most of the largest reservoirs in the country was built during this period. The Parakrama Samudraya, is the the largest,  constructed with a 14 kilometer dam encompassing 5 reservoir s within it was built by King Parakramabahu the Great during the 12th century. But some other gigantic reservoirs such as Minnerya Wewa and Kaudulla Wewa are some of the earlier work belong to the 3rd Century.

The greatest reservoir builder king Mahasen  (276-303)  who ruled in Anuradhapura is credited with building the Kaudulla Wewa along with 15 other reservoirs and 2 canals. This reservoir dam (bund) is 15 meters tall and with a width of 120 meters at the base and runs for a distance of 9.2 km with a capacity of 64 million cubic meters covering an area of 24.5 sq. km.

Acccording to the chronicles, both King Vijayabahu (1055-1110) and King Parakramabahu the Great, (1153-1186) respectively had carried out rehabilitation work on the reservoir which was formed by building a bund across Kaudulu Oya. The reservoir receives water along the Elahera-Kantale Giant Canal which begins at Elahera Anicut on Amban Ganga, built by King Vasabha (65-109).

The Kaudulla Wewa lies off the main roads of Sri Lanka and attracts very little attention except for the Kaudulla National Park, which surrounds this reservoir , very little is spoken of this gigantic irrigation wonder of the 3rd century which in fact is a much larger construction that the popular Minneriya Wewa.

Kaudulla Wewa and the Minneriya Wewa are also set deep in the folklore and legends. One of the traditional tales suggests that after King Mahasens’s death, when a prolonged drought took toll of the country and unfavorable seasons for cultivation produced famine and disease, the people of Minneriya turned to their great leader who was said have supernatural powers to carry out such mammoth tasks and made offerings to Mahasen Deviyo begging for his protection.

King Mahsen was a controversial figure in the history of Sri Lanka. Misguided by his teacher, he destroyed the Maha Viharaya of Anuradhapura, the center of of Theravada Buddhism. He used the material from this temple to build a competing temple Jethavanaramaya where the Mahayana Buddhism was practiced.

As told by an villager in Polonnaruwa, according to legend, Mahasen had a sister call Princess Bisobandara. She fell in love with a common man and Mahasen, enraged by this action chased away princess Bisobandara from the palace to live in exile with the husband.

Seven years after Mahasen stared work on the Minneriya Wewa which was to be his greatest achievement of all,  he was still unable complete it with the massive bund breaching at the same place every time the work was nearing completion. Then one of the sooth Sayers in palace informed him that this breaching was due to a evil sprit who was angered for not offering him a sacrifice. This could only be avoided by making a human sacrifice. This was no normal sacrifice which had be done, but he had to sacrifice a prince.

Mahasen was horrified of the thought of sacrificing one of his sons, but then he remembered that the princess Bisobandara now had a son who was living in exile with his mother.  The king ordered his chief minister to bring the prince and carry out the sacrifice. The minister who was fond of this child instead killed a wild bore wrapped it with a cloth and dropped it to the pit where the bund was breached. The workers soon covered this body with earth and started building the dam with the body buried inside.

Finally the dam was completed without a further incident and when the day of the ceremonial opening approached, the king was grieved by the act he had done to satisfy the daemon. When the chief minister realised this he disclosed his secret and informed that the son of Princess Bisobandara was well and alive. Thrilled by this news, he decided to forgive his sister and invited her for the grand opening ceremony of of his most proud achievement in his life.

It is said that Bisobandara attended this ceremony and Mahasen showed her his achievement with great pride, she told him, My King, I too have not been idling while in exile. I have built a greater reservoir than this with the help of people and took him to show her achievement, the Great Kaudulla Wewa .

Although the history gives credit of building the Kaudulla Wewa to King Mahasen, even today one of the roads leading the Kaudulla Bund from Habarana – Minneriya Road carries the name of this forgotten princess, Bisobandara.

Minneriya

Minneriya tank[1] is a reservoir in Sri Lanka made by an old civilisation; the Anuradhapura Kingdom. King Mahasena ordered a dam build across the Minneriya River, which made the lake. The tank covered 4,670 acres (18.9 km2).

The Minneriya Tank was built by the great tank builder, King Mahasen (276–303) who ruled in Anuradhapura. This tank occupied 4670 acres and its strong 13-meter-tall dam running along a distance of 2 km held over 20 billion gallons of water. The water arrived from Amban River, the main tributary of Mahaveli River, 48 km away, along the Elahara canal built by King Vasabha (65–109) before his time.

This, along with other reservoirs created an irrigation paradise in the east. It was this growth in agriculture that opened up the massive trade with South East Asia through the Trincomalee harbor. From then onwards, Trincomalee harbor became one of the busiest in the region.

In 1820 AD, British Inland Revenue Officer Ralf Bachaus recorded that the whole area can be irrigated if this reservoir is restored. In 1856, British Governor Henry Ward recorded that it must have been an amazing reservoir which had been built very strong. They recorded the beauty of the vegetation, the wildlife which surrounded the reservoir.

The Mahavamsa, chronicle of Sri Lanka, states that Mahasen constructed sixteen large tanks and two irrigation canals. The largest among these is the Minneriya tank about which Henry Ward, a governor of Sri Lanka in a British crown colony, had stated

Angamadilla

Angammedilla National park is a primarily dry evergreen forest with a mix of wet zone and dry zone plants, situated in Polonnaruwa. This park is one of the new national parks in Sri Lanka established in 2006 which is under the Department of Wildlife Conservation governance. 

The main aim of this park is to protect the drainage basins and catchment area of historic Parakrama Samudraya and irrigation tanks of  Giritale and Minneriya irrigation tanks. Angammedilla National park is a small-scale forest, providing habitat for a large variety of flora and fauna.

The southern part of the park is bounded by Amban River which supplies water for Parakrama Samudraya and a mountain range stretches across the park from Girithale to Minneriya.

Sri Lankan elephant, Sri Lankan sambar deer, Indian muntjac, Sri Lankan axis deer, water buffalo, wild boar, and peafowl are commonly seen within the park. Sometimes Sri Lanka leopard, sloth bear, grizzled giant squirrel and Sri Lanka junglefowl are also seen. Spending time in this national park gives a soothing feeling and peaceful mind.  

Exclusive wildlife safari at Angammedilla  National Park will create a  great opportunity to come across herds of wild elephants and 12th century relics and artifacts such as Angammedilla Gal Amuna (stone weir) which creates one of the main feeds to the Parakrama Samudraya, a mammoth reservoir credited to king Parakramabahu of Sri Lanka. This is a best place to experience the touch of nature and the flavour of Sri Lankan history.