Pethangoda garden ( Pethangoda Garden-Katu una)

Pin It now!

0

delicious

Tweet

Pin It

It is said that this was a beautiful garden that was at the centre of the Seethawaka kingdom of King Rajasinghe the 1st. It is also said that the king while relaxing in the garden had been pricked by a thorn from this unusual type of bamboo which had fatally wounded him and killed him while he was being hurriedly ferried across the river back home in a copper paruwa(type of boat). Some say that it was the poison of the thorn while others say the King’s vedha mahaththayas(doctors) had poisoned

him on the pretext of treating him in the boat. There are others that say that he was bitten by asnake and that it was not a thorn that pricked him fatally. Some say that being bitten by a cobra was divine retribution for the patricide he had committed and for also having turned his back on

Buddhism.

Though to this day it is not apparent how he died due to all the stories being folklore it is a strong. possibility that it was indeed a snake bite. In recent times there have been sightings of poisonous. snakes that have been seen emerging from the thorn bamboo bushes and there are many well. Established and reputed snake bite healers who have lived in the area for generations from the king’s time. This type of bamboo is considered to have been brought from India and is not endemic to Sri Lanka. As it is not seen anywhere else in Sri Lanka. Some do not even believe that such a variant of bamboo exists until they see the thorns.

On the bank of the river where the boat came to rest with the dead king it is said that there might have been some kind of memorial. Owing to the crime of killing his father and drowning 119 priests, today one can only see a few stones to mark the place the great king died at, which is indicative of the fact that purposefully he was not remembered as he was disliked. During those times anyone against Buddhism was seen as an enemy of the people. Contradictory to the popularity he had or lack thereof, after his death Rajasinghe was worshipped as Ganegoda Deviyo (God of Ganegoda). In the old days Sri Lankan kings were considered divine while they lived, being addressed as ‘Deviyanwahanse Budhuwewa’ – ‘may your godship become a

Buddha’. So the transition couldn’t have been too difficult.

Hotels nearest to the centre of Avissawella

Kitulgala Rest House * (in Kitulgala, distanced approximately 23 km)

The Plantation Hotel ** (in Kitulgala, distanced approximately 26 km)

Royal River Resort ** (in Kitulgala, distanced approximately 26 km)

Field View Holiday Resort Hotel ** (in Habarakada, distanced approximately 26 km)

Rock Chalet *** (in Kaduwela, distanced approximately 27 km)

Hotel Clarion *** (in Wewelduwa, distanced approximately 32 km)

The Sovereign *** (in Colombo, distanced approximately 36 km