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Unawatuna
Unawatuna is a beach resort, located on the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
Mythical roots
From Ramayana
It is believed that the description of the beach paradises in Valmiki's epic Ramayana includes a description of Unawatuna:
:a seashore dotted with thousands of trees, coconuts, and palms dominating, strings of houses and hermitages along the coastline, human beings and superior beings such as Gandharvas, Siddhas, and ascetics, living in them and countless bejewelled celestial nymphs thronging the shore, the coast intermittently visited by heavenly beings, Gods and demons.
Unawatuna traces its roots to the epic Ramayana. In the epic, the monkey-warrior Hanuman was sent back to India to fetch the four medicinal herbs, namely, mritasanjeevani, vishalyakarani, suvarnakarani, and sandhani from the Himalayas in order to heal Lakshman who was wounded trying to save the abducted princess Sita from the demon king Ravana. Hanuman failed to identify these herbs, so he lifted the entire mountain and carried it to the battlefield to try to save Lakshman, but in the process, a chunk of it "fell-down" in the location of the present day Unawatuna, the name of the village meaning "fell down".
Currently, an edifice is being built in honour of Hanuman on the harbour end of Rumassala Hill by Japanese monks of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism.
Alternate mythology
A banished Indian Prince was shipwrecked and the Goddess of Earth, Manimekala, taking pity created a rocky shelf for him to save his life and that subsequently he headed to Unawatuna. The Goddess of chastity, Pattini, created a wall of fire to prevent him coming ashore, but being a person of some supreme power, he set in motion a tsunami with his foot to extinguish the fire and set foot on the shores of Unawatuna.
It is said that he lived in Unawatuna and helped the people in various ways. Over the years he has been venerated and worshipped, and the Koil (or Devalaya) on the west end point of the bay which has a history of over a thousand years is believed to be the abode of this Devol deity.
Dagoba
In later years a Buduge, or House of Buddah, and the Swethamalee Chaitiya, or Dagoba, was built on the hillock abutting the Devalaya, or House of Gods. Thousands of pilgrims throng to this place of worship every month of Esala to offer poojas. This festival is a new rice offering so most cultivators bring a share of their crop and pray for timely rain and plentiful harvest. Some others save a fistful of rice from their daily meal and offer that rice, still others would purchase a few measures or even full gunnies of rice along with coconuts to offer.
This rice is pounded and mixed with coconut milk and treacle and made into a porridge which is then offered to the deities at the devalaya and given as alms to thousands of devotees who will trek to the devalaya for this alms giving or Maha Deva Dana or Kiri Dana. Fisher folk save and offer part of their...
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