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| Year and Month | 2010 August and some places before that |
| Number of Days | Mostly one day trips, some two nights |
| Crew |
Most often 3 adults between 35 and 45 left Colombo but more joined on the way.
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| Accommodation | Homes of friends |
| Transport | Land rover (…for us, and wings for the malagirawa!) |
| Activities | 🙂 Exploring? And in this trip report trying out a new (old?) form of guide book? |
| Weather | Various, its all in Sabaragamuwa |
| Route | Colombo –> Mawanella –> Hemmathagama –> Salawa –> MadiliyaColombo –> Kuruvita –> Ratnapura
(as this report is a combination of trips, this route is not very accurate) |
| Tips, Notes and Special remark |
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| Related Resources | Related Discussion: Walking the old Kandy Kataragama route (Following ancient palm leaf manuscripts) |
| Author | NG |
| Comments | Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread |
It was a discussion on Lakdasun that made me think what great potential our Sandesha Kavya has to act as guide books (Topic: Walking the old Kandy Kataragama route (Following ancient palm leaf manuscripts). I managed to find a small book that gave me a summary of all the routes in the මග සලකුණු (land marks along the route) sections of the 8 main sandeshayas. But when I tried to get the details from the original poems…the language was just too hard! I definitely needed to find someone (in real life or in the virtual world of Lakdasun!!) whose classical/literary Sinhala is much better than mine…so the project was put on hold for the moment.
But then, I got unexpectedly lucky! We went to visit friends in the Hemmathagama area with the intention of climbing Rahalgala. It poured with rain and that plan was washed away. In the idle time, our friend’s mother gave us a book she (Kamala Somaweera) had just published – මාලගිරා සංදේශය (Malagira Sandeshaya), thankfully written in 21st century literary Sinhala!
We have not quite managed all the places the Malagirava travelled to, but since we hardly ever visit every place named in a guide book, I decided to do a ‘work-in-progress’ trip report.
God Saman from mural inside the Viharaya at Madiliya where the Malagirawa receives instructions on the route and landmarks for his journey from Madiliya to Ratnapura Maha Saman Devalaya, where he is entrusted to deliver the message to God
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 Madilya village, Kalotuwa Kanda (verse 14) from the Ambalama in front of the Viharaya |
 Madiliya Rajamaha Viharaya, Tampita Budu Geya |
Salawa Raja Maha Viharaya
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 Naipena gala, Madiliya village |
 නයිපෙණ ගල අසල…. |
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 Devanagala: the tiny white dagaba on a rounded rock deep in the valley you see from Kadugannawa |
 Devanagala |
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 Inscriptions (Verse 39) – Click image to enlarge |
 Paddy fields (Verse 40) |
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 Danagiri gala: Stairs that lead to the len viharaya |
 Danagiri gala: a playground in the sky… |
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 There are lots of waterfalls that the Malagirawa is advised to fly over or rest by. The Kavya is filled with the beauty of nature in Sabaragamuwa. |
 The Kavya is filled with the beauty of nature in Sabaragamuwa. |
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 Pathangoda: Historical, yes..and there might be a biodiversity interst? (Click image to enlarge) |
 No idea if this particular veriety (not in photos!) is common |
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 Bairande Kovila If you look carefully there are all sorts of animals carved in the stone, in addition to the famous parrots. |
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 Maduka Vila (Verse 206) |
 Divaguhawa (verse 208) |
Batathota Lena, generally believed to be Divaguhawa
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 And finally, the destination: Maha Saman Devalaya, Ratnapura |
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 …and the message entrusted to the malagirawa to be delivered safely to God Saman: |
 Tucked away in a crevice of the main wall of the Maha Saman Devale is a stone carving of a dark period in our history, in contrast to the events that generated the message carried by the Malagirawa. |