Visit the Historic Seetha Amman Kovil – A Sacred Site in the Heart of Seetha Eliya

Discovering Seetha Amman Temple

Under its Sanskrit name of Lanka, the island figures prominently in the epic poem, the Ramayana, written around 2,000 years ago by the sage Valmiki The Ramayana, together with the Mahabharata, are the two great epics of Hindu literature upon which ancient Indian history is based. The initial setting of the Ramayana is Ayodya, capital of the Kosala kingdom in northern India. However, the story mainly concerns an invasion of Lanka by Rama, a prince of the Kosala kingdom. The poem's length is 350,000 words, divided into seven parts. Thankfully, it has been translated into English rhyming couplets.

To be familiar with that part of the Ramayana concerning the island provides an understanding of the way poetry, legend and religion often pass as history in Sri Lanka, as it does in India. Nevertheless, legend usually stems from some historical fact: there is a theory the Ramayana is a dramatisation of the first of many Aryan invasions of Lanka that were crucial to the island's destiny. In relating the part concerning Lanka it is necessary not only to describe the events but also ex- amine the considerable local legend regarding the main characters, Rama, Sita, Ravana and Hanu man. First, the religious element of the story needs to be understood. The deity that permeates the Ramayana is Vishnu the Preserver, second in the Hindu trinity of gods. Rama, the hero of the story, is believed to be one of the nine avatars the manifestations in mortal form of Vishnu. The other deities in the trinity, Brahma the Giver of Life and, Siva the Destroyer, also make an appearance in the Ramayana.

Nevertheless, the relevant part of the story centers on Ravana, the 10-headed, 20-armed king of the Raksha tribe of Lanka, described as a giant able to assume different forms. The story appears quite modern and appeals to the special-effects aficionados of the 21st century as it features beings that change shape at will or fly like Superman Ravana worshipped Brahma with such devotion that the god promised him he could not be destroyed except by mortal hand. This, however, was impossible, for there were no mortals capable of conquering Ravana. Secure in this knowledge. Ravana started to abuse his powers, which caused the gods to confer and request Vishnu to resolve the problem. Vishnu agreed, descended to earth. and manifested as Rama, one of the four sons of King Dasaradha of Kosala. A brother, Lakshman. also features in the story.

In his mortal form as Rama, Vishnu started by performing the hitherto impossible feat of breaking Siva's bow. As a reward for such strength and daring he won as his bride Sita, the beautiful daughter of King Mithila. However, Rama was impelled to give up the right to succession to his father's throne and lived with Sita in a forest hermitage.

When Rama cleared the surrounding forest of the demons that plagued the ascetics, Ravana decided to take revenge and travelled to the hermitage disguised as an ascetic. Seizing the unsuspecting Sita, the demon-king used an intriguing flying machine a peacock-powered sky chariot called the “dandumonara” - to transport Sita to his capital in Lanka. This was called Ravana-Kotte, "Ravana's Fortress", an impregnable stronghold renowned for its seven concentric ram- parts and battlements of brass. The Ramayana represents Lanka as a large island consistent with Brahmanical tradition. Indeed. ancient Indian astronomers accepted the capital of Lanka as the equinoctial point in their system of the Universe, calling it "the meridian of Lanka". Over half the landmass of Lanka is said to have been submerged by the sea as punishment by the gods for the misdeeds of Ravana: for instance, Ra- vana-Kotte is believed to have been located off the south coast, where the Great Basses rocks now thrust up from the sea.

Broken-hearted by Ravana's act, Rama started to plan Sita's rescue. Realizing he stood little chance of success on his own, he formed an alliance with Sugriva, "king of the monkeys" - possibly the leader of a semi-civilized tribe from South India. Sugriva owed Rama a debt for restoring him to the throne, which had been wrested from him by his brother. To repay this debt, Sugriva placed his army of monkeys, under the generalship of Hanuman, at Rama's disposal.

Being a military strategist, Rama was keen to reconnoiter Ravana's kingdom before attempting an invasion. This was easier said than done, because between India and Lanka in those times - so the legend goes - was a vast sea. However, Hanuman was so agile he easily leapt across this channel. His mission became more difficult because Ravana had heard of Rama's plans, removed Sita from Ravana-Kotte, and hidden her in his pleasure garden. Local legend says that this Asoka Aramaya, as it was known, was situated in a valley in the mountainous Nuwara Eliya region.

After a long search, Hanuman arrived in Nuwara Eliya and learnt that Ravana had taken Sita deeper into the forest. There, he came upon her seated beneath a tree weeping and talking to herself, cursing the evil Ravana and swearing fidelity to Rama. While Hanuman was on his return journey to report this news, Ravana's guards captured him. He was released, but punished by having a fire- stick tied to his tail. Using his divine power, Hanuman jumped from hilltop to hilltop, setting fire to the forest far and wide, before escaping to India. It is believed this conflagration forever cleared Nuwara Eliya and other patanas (up- land plains or slopes of grassland) of flora.

On hearing the general's report Rama conceived the idea of building a bridge across the Gulf of Mannar in the Palk Straits. He solicited the aid of Hanuman, who, relying on the powers given to him by Brahma, caused trees and rocks to float, forming a bridge. When half the work was completed, thousands of palm-squirrels (Funambulus palmarum) came to the seashore to assist. They rolled in the sand, picked up grains in their fur, ran to the bridge and shook them off, thereby filling the crevices. By stroking the squirrels in gratitude, Rama conferred on this familiar species the brown lines on their backs.

Rama recognized that a monkey army was not enough for the campaign ahead, so he trained an army of bears. With these curious followers Rama is said to have invaded Lanka around 2,386BC and found Ravana. The fortunes of war swayed back and forth. Rama at one point was killed but was brought back to life by a display of incredible agility on the part of Hanuman.

The monkey-general featured in a similar episode when Rama's brother Lakshuman was wounded in battle. A lifesaving medicinal herb was required and Hanuman was dispatched to the Himalayas to fetch it. However, by the time he arrived he had forgotten its description, so be brought back a slab of the Himalayas containing many herbs twisted in his tail. Unfortunately, the slab slipped and fell while Hannan was over Lanka and it broke into three fragments.

These landed in different locations, one of which was Ritigala, near Sigiriya in the Centre of the island. The meaning of Ritigala is uncertain, it could be "dreaded rock" or, in contrast, "safety rock". What is certain is that Ritigala is the highest prominence between Sri Lanka's north-central region and India.

The second fragment fell six miles (10km) from Nuwara Eliya to form what is the area's most enigmatic yet unassailable outcrop, Hakgala, 7,116 feet (2,169m) high - the seventh tallest peak in Sri Lanka - which, not without reason, means "jaw rock". The third fragment landed at the southern coastal resort of Unawatuna: curiously, this name means "it fell down". The rock, known as Rumas- sala, has the world's highest specific gravity that is thought to be the result of a meteorite strike.

After a great battle at Hakgala, culminating in a duel between Rama and Ravana, the latter was slain, and Rama appointed the new king of Lanka. However, Rama no longer accepted Sita as his wife because of doubts as to her innocence in captivity. His misgivings gave her such pain of mind that she threw herself onto a pyre, but the fire god Agni refused to consume her. Having proved herself, Rama was satisfied and together they joy fully returned to Ayodya…

As mentioned, a considerable number of places in Sri Lanka are associated with the Ramayana. There are a cluster of locations in the mountainous, central area around Nuwara Eliya. One of the most important locations is Ravana's Asoka Aramaya, mainly composed of groves of the Ashok tree (Saraca asoca). Here Sita was taken after her captor realized Rama was planning to liberate her. It is also believed to be the area where the final battle between Rama and Ravana took place. As a result, there are many locations hereabouts associated with Sita in particular.

For instance, there is Sita-talawa, "Sita's plain" and Sita-eliya, "Sita's mountain". Then there is Sita-ela, "Sita's stream", which is said to have originated when Hanuman set fire to the countryside. The heat and smoke from the forest fires that raged around Sita caused her to cry out for water. Miraculously, a stream of pure, cold water gushed from the mountain, carving for itself a sinuous course through Sita-talawa. Hindu pilgrims believe that the water of the Sita Ela is sacred and pause to follow the ancient observance of drinking it as Sita did.

There are few references to the Ramayana by the early British writers on Ceylon of the 19th century. An exception is Major Forbes of the 78th Highlanders, who describes an 1831 visit to Nuwara Eliya in Eleven Years in Ceylon (1840): "Having skirted the rocks of Hakgala, we were within the precincts of the pleasure-grounds of Ravana…. After passing through swampy jungle, in which I remarked fern-trees 30 feet [10m] in height, we reached an open valley fringed with barberry- bushes: the dell was surrounded by hoary forests, whose rich but sombre coloring was unable to counteract that sullen gloom which shade and silence threw over the scene. This is Sita talawa ("Sita's plain"), where it is believed the goddess was concealed."

Sita-kunt, "Sita's pond," is nearby. It is believed that once, when Sita was relaxing on the pond's ledge, Ravana suddenly appeared. The rock on which Sita sat miraculously opened and she disappeared into a subterranean cavern before the cleft closed, leaving her safe from Ravana's clutches. So incensed was Ravana that he set elephants to pound the rock with their feet in an endeavor to break into the cavern, but to no avail. Apart from the belief that Hanuman carried Hakgala from the Himalayas, the rock is also sup- posed to be the location of the final battle between Rama and Ravana, and the subsequent death of the latter in a duel with his adversary. There are indentations and furrows on the face of Hakgala that have been attributed to Rama's fire-arrows. These were discharged in such numbers that they were said to have obscured the sun. Today, in the shadow of the prominence, nestles Nuwara Eliya's most beautiful natural attraction the Botanic Gardens, Hakgala.

The gardens, popular with tourists, are situated close to the road from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. A little further on, literally adjacent to the road, is another place where coaches often stop. The Sita Amman Kovil (kovil is Tamil for "temple"), is believed to be where Sita prayed for Rama to rescue her while she was held captive in the Asoka Ara- maya. It is a beautiful spot. Hakgala looms nearby, and at the back of the temple runs a fast-flowing mountain stream. There is a rock on the opposite bank where Sita, it is believed, sat and meditated. There are also strange shaft-like depressions said to be made by the feet of Ravana's elephants. Surprisingly, the kovil was built as late as 1998, although years ago three idols, including one of Sita, were discovered, probably worshipped at this spot for centuries. Three new statues of Rama, Sita and Lakshman have been installed in the new structure. Hailed as "the only Sita temple in the world", it is a sanctified place that has steadily attracted Hindu devotees and Ramayana enthusiasts mainly from southern India.