Sigiriya : The Story of King Kashyapa and the Ancient Rock Fortress in Sri Lanka

Sigiriya is a small village ten miles off Dambulla in the district of Matale, Sri Lanka. Among the places in Sri Lanka that are frequently visited by both local and foreign tourists, Sigiriya is a place that is full of visitors nearly every day. They climb this huge rock of ancient fame. The place is rich with beautiful paintings on a part of its walls as well as interesting ruins which say about the great history of the place.  Sigiriya is an isolated rock with a steep slope. It is about 600 feet in height. Once upon a time, the rock had a built city around it which was built by King Kashyapa, a king of Ceylon. Based on the ruins found there and tales coming from ancient times, this rock has been used as a fortress by King Kashyapa and he has ruled the Ceylon from Sigiriya for eighteen years. It's obvious that the ancient fame and the natural beauty of this place make it significant in the field of tourism. You have heard of Sigiriya. Perhaps you have visited it. But at the same time, the story of King Kashyapa is an important fact that we all need to know. So here is the story of King Kashyapa.

King Dhathusena who built the Kalawewa tank is a great king of ancient Sri Lanka. He ruled at Anuradhapura about fifteen centuries ago. The king had two sons and a daughter. Kashyapa and Moggallana were the two sons. Kashyapa was not a son born of the royal queen but a woman of low birth. This made Kashyapa has no claim to the throne of Ceylon. Moggallana, on the other hand, was born of the royal queen and was the rightful heir. King Dhathusena's daughter married the Senapathi of the king (the Commander-in-chief of the king's army). But her mother-in-law was a cruel woman and she ill-treated the king's daughter. When King Dhathusena heard of this, he flew into such a violent rage that he burnt the mother-in-law alive! Angered by this wicked deed, the Senapathi now looked out for a way of revenging himself on the king. Knowing that Kashyapa was displeased with his father because his low birth prevented him from becoming king after him, the Senapathi urged him to rebel against King Dhathusena. Then, at that point, Kashyapa promptly concurred. He could catch his father since the Senapathi upheld him. It is said to have stood King Dhathusena against a wall and covered him alive by putting him over with clay! He attempted to hold onto his sibling, Moggallana, and get rid of him since he expected that some time or another Moggallana would bid for the lofty position. However, Moggallana was excessively speedy for him. He ran away to India.

Kashyapa now placed himself on the throne and ruled at Anuradhapura. His subjects, however, were displeased with him over the foul murder of his father, and he lived in constant fear of a rebellion. He also feared that his brother would invade Ceylon at any time with an army from India. So Kashyapa moved his capital to Sigiriya where he built himself a large and beautiful palace on the top of rock. The staircase that had been built there was a wonderful staircase leading to the rock through the mouth of a huge lion carved out of stone. Based on this, the rock has been named by King Kashyapa "Sinhagiri" or "Sigiri" which means "Lion Rock". Around this, he built a moat to protect himself against enemies. On a side of the royal place, he had a large pond made. Several watch towers built on the summit of the Sigiriya rock overlooked the surrounding which provided security for the fortress.

King Kashyapa then ruled Ceylone from this rock fortress for eighteen years as the King until Moggallana came with a powerful army from India to wage war on him. Instead of waiting for Moggallana in his fortress King Kashyapa came down the rock. Then he bravely rode forth with his army to meet his brother. On the way King came across a muddy place and he turned his elephant back to go along with another way avoiding this muddy path. His men from the army, however, thought that the king was turning aside to avoid a battle. Then they fled, leaving the king all alone. After King Kashyapa killed himself by cutting his throat with his sword since the King was feeling shame to fall into his brother Moggallana's hands.

So this was end of the King Kashyapa's life story who was the owner of this amazing rock fortress with ancient fame. The ruins still found there say to the world how amazing it was in ancient times. If you visit there, you will see the ruins of the palace with a pond, and a throne remaining there. Even the paintings which are found on a wall have made this popular among the visitors. One other thing is the frescoes found on the mirror wall which are written by the visitors in the earlier period. So don't forget to visit this beautiful place when you travel to Sri Lanka.