Tragic story behind one of the oldest landscape gardens in the world

Tragic story behind one of the oldest landscape gardens in the world
Thereupon the wicked ruler called Kassapa sent forth his groom and his cook. But as he was unable to
slay his brother, he betook himself through fear to Sihagiri which was difficult of ascent for human
beings. He cleared the land about, surrounded it with a wall and built a staircase in the form of a lion.
Thence it took its name of Sihagiri.
Dhatusena (459-477) ruled from Anuradhapura and had two sons, Kassapa by a wife of unequal birth,
and Moggalana born of the anointed queen. The king also had a charming daughter on whom he
devoted to. She was given in marriage to Dhatusena's sister's son, Migara, who had been appointed
commander of the army. One day Dhatusena noticed the blood stained garments of his daughter, and
learned that her husband had brutally whipped her on the thigh although she was blameless. In high
dudgeon the king ordered the general's mother, his own sister, to be burnt to death. From then on the
army commander resolved to wreak vengeance on the king, and planned with Kassapa to conduct a
coup d'etat. The king was kept a prisoner, Kassapa assumed kingship and proceeded to purge the
kingdom of the loyalists. Meanwhile Moggalana, the rightful heir, escaped to India to raise an army
there.
The army commander bent on further revenge induced Kassapa to believe that Dhatusena was hiding
his treasures for his son Moggalana, and he obtained orders to have the ex-king put to death. This,
Migara, cheerfully proceeded to do by having Dhatusena plastered, in a wall.
Kassapa, fearing the inevitable return of Moggalana whom he had unsuccessfully attempted to have
assassinated decided to seek refuge in the inaccessible stronghold of Sigiriya, as recorded in the
Mahawamsa quoted above " He collected treasures and kept them there well protected and for the kept
by him he set guard at different laces. Then he built there a fine palace, worthy to be hold, like another
Alakamanda and dwelt there like a God." Hoping to atone for his crime Kassapa patronized the cause of
Buddhism in Anuradhapura and founded a monastery there. In the eighteenth year of his rule he
received tiding that Moggalana had returned from India and was preparing for war. Kassapa, feeling
assured of victory, set forth from Sigiriya to engage his brother in battle, but an unforeseen maneuver
caused the tide to turn against him. A stretch of marshy ground lay across the path of advance and
Kassapa turned his elephant to take another course. His troops misunderstanding this move as a sign of
retreat, gave the alarm that their lord was in flight, lost their morale and broke up in disorder. Kassapa
seeing his army in flight realized that his capture was imminent and slashed his throat with his own
dagger, "raised the knife on high and stuck it in the sheath".
Moggalana attended to his brother's obsequies and came to Anuradhapura, where he established
himself as king. He handed Sigiriya to the priesthood and this fortress disappear from public record for
about a century; in the early 7th century two kings were executed in order or near Sigiriya. The village
Sigiriya is mentioned in a 16th century book of Sinhalese verse entitled Mandarampurapuwata.
In the 19th century the vestige of the glory that was Sigiriya were explored and rediscovered by British
officers and administrators. The earliest recorded visit paid to Sigiriya in modern times was by Major

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H.Forbes who rode in search of the fortress in 1831 and revisited the rock in 1933. He recorded his
impression of these visits he made to the base of the rock and the walled gallery.

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