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ID: 168812

Explorations in the Transmission of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka / Henry, Justin W

Henry, Justin W	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

This essay explores the identification of the island of Sri Lanka with the ‘Lankapura’ of Ramayana literary fame, tracing the transmission of the mythical geography of the epic from late medieval South India to Sri Lankan Tamil temple literature. The invading Cholas of the tenth century were the first to identify Sri Lanka as the ‘Lanka’ of the Ramayana, a geographical equivalence maintained by the Arya Cakravarti rulers who dubbed themselves ‘guardians of Rama’s bridge’ (cētu kāvalan). I highlight the uniquely sympathetic treatment of Ravana by the Hindus of eastern Sri Lanka, and explore the likelihood that Tamil impressions of Ravana impacted his appearance in Sinhala Buddhist literature from the fifteenth century onwards.

Key Words

Sri Lanka ; Puranas ; Theravada Buddhism ; Ramayana ; Saivism ; Tamil Literature ;
Sinhala Literature

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ID: 168811

Lankapura: the Legacy of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka / Henry, Justin W

Henry, Justin W	Journal Article
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The five articles which make up this special issue of South Asia explore the role of the Ramayana in Sri Lankan art, literature, religious ritual and political discourse in shaping Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil Saiva perceptions of the island’s distant past. Contributors work to answer the question as to when and how Sri Lanka came to be equated with the mythic ‘Lankapura’ of Valmiki’s epic, exploring both positive and negative portrayals of Ravana (ruler of Lanka antagonist of the Ramayana) in Sinhala and Tamil literature from the late medieval period to the present day. Authors work to account for the politicisation and historicisation of the Ramayana in twenty-first century Sri Lanka (including similarities to and differences from the contemporary Indian situation), along with the appropriation of Ravana as a Sinhala Buddhist cultural hero, and the incorporation of Vibhishana as a ‘guardian deity’ in the Sinhala Buddhist pantheon.

Key Words

Lankapura

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