The Yatala Stupa Fouteen Minutes Apart

This is Yatala Stupa at Tissamaharama as seen at 6.07 p.m. on 25 January, 2011. I photographed it while birding at the vicinity of this stupa with Jan and Britt last January. 

This is the same fourteen minutes later at 6.21 p.m.

A stupa is a funerary monument built to enshrine bodily relics of the Buddha and such important Buddhist persons. According to the book, "The Stupa of Ceylon" by the eminent archeologist Senarath Paranavitana, all stupas, including those built in modern times, are supposed to enshrine a particle, in most cases a minute one, of the corporeal remains of the Buddha, or a saint, from which they derive their sacred character.

The modern day Tissamaharama lies superimposed on the ancient capital city Magama of the Ruhuna Kingdom (of southern Sri Lanka), which was one of the three principal territorial divisions from 3rd century B.C. to 12th century A.D.  This stupa was believed to be built 2300 years ago by King Yatala Tissa of the Ruhuna Kingdom in the place where his wife gave birth to their son.

In the classification of stupas according to their shapes, Yatala Stupa is believed to be a "bubble-shaped" one. The restoration work was undertaken in 1883, and during that, four relic caskets made of chrysoberyl, amethyst, clear crystal, and rock crystal were found in the debris around the stupa. They were all enshrined in the new relic chamber that was built during the restoration.

This year's provincial T20 tournament in Sri Lanka was won by Ruhuna who defeated reining champions Wayamba in a close game. By the virtue of this win, Ruhuna booked their place in the qualifier stage of the Champions League T20 Tournament to be played in India this year.