Tour Guide, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| 3 mins read
Everyone will be welcome to the Sigiriya Lion Rock to know the history and see the amazing ruins of a palace was in here. More than explaining the history here, let’s know about the recent history of the Lion Rock from the 19th century when Sri Lanka was colonized by the British.
In the year of 1890, this rock was founded by a tax collector named H C P Bell. Later, he was named the father of archaeology in Sri Lanka. He was eager to find the value of this historical place because this was filled with lots of valuable things.
Once Mr. Bell came to this place; they were surprised by seeing the most beautiful entrance to go into the palace area. With the head of a lion or a similar animal, as Mr. Bell explained and two legs of a lion as he saw. For this reason, Mr. Bell decided to name this place the Lion Rock. This lion rock translated to Sinhala became “siha giriya”, later named Sigiriya.
Everyone can look carefully that this is really the leg of a lion or any other animal. This will make you confused. This shape cannot be the shape of a lion's leg. This must be another animal. So let’s find out what is the real history of this rock.
A long history about a greater king, Ravana, who was in Sri Lanka. This is about 4600 years old history in Sri Lanka. Before King Ravana’s period, the region also had very developed civilizations in Sri Lanka. These people wore head covers similar to a bird (eagle). Also, there are factors about this civilization. In some civilizations, these people were known as gods since they could fly. So today, Sigiriya is thought to be a creation of those people.
In Gautama Buddha's time, there was an arahant monk named Kashyapa. According to history, this monk Kashyapa lived here, and it was named "Kukkuta Parvatha," which is a bird similar to a rooster or Garuda, which is an imaginary bird. So these legs are similar to those of this imaginary bird or rooster, not a lion. Around 400 AD, a monk named Pahian came to Sri Lanka. He wrote about Sigiriya as a place where the arahant monk Kashyapa lived, and supposedly his remains are still here somewhere. And these legs were described as "Guru Paada." So, the history we now know from the British describes this as the palace of King Kasup, but with the real history, it must be the monastery of the arahant monk Kashyapa. Also, there are no inscriptions or evidence to prove King Kasup was in Sigiriya. Another problem is one inscription found in Sigiriya written as "Brahmadatta Guhawa," which means Brahma Datta Cave.