The Influence of Aryan Civilization on Sri Lankan Society

Table of Contents
01.

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1

02.

Evidences of the Aryan and non-Aryan Influence on Sri Lankan society ........................................ 1

03.

The Religious Background in Ancient India ..................................................................................... 2

04.

The Background of Ancient Sri Lankan Religion and Influence of Indian Religion on it. .............. 3

05.

The Religions of Sri Lanka at present ............................................................................................... 4

06.

Religious Festivals and Rituals ......................................................................................................... 5

07.

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 6

08.

Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................... 6

01. Introduction
A civilization is the complex society. We can characterize that such as urban
development (cities), social stratification, social classes, traditional economy (money), symbolic
communication forms (typically, writing systems), roads and other public works, organized
religion, art and architecture, and a perceived separation from and domination over the natural
environment. There are four main civilizations in the world such as the Indus valley civilization,
The Mesopotamian Civilization, The Egypt Civilization and Chinese Civilization. The oldest
civilization is the Indus valley civilization among them.
When we talk about the topic of The Influence of Aryan Civilization on Sri Lankan
Society and I have discussed about the Indus valley civilization in connection to its religions,
language, foods and so forth. As well as the Sri Lankan early society, beliefs of religion,
language, sources of literature and the connection between India and Sri Lanka.
In connection to this topic I have collected the details from Mahvasa, other texts and
some websites.

02. Evidences of the Aryan and non-Aryan Influence on Sri Lankan society
According to the legend, the civilization of India started from Indus valley civilization.
After Aryans invaded to the land then Indus valley civilization was broken down. They came
from the middle of Asia in 1500 BCE. The term Aryan come from Sanskrit, means noble.
Presently, their descendant populations are in Nepal, Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, and
Sri Lanka. But they do not identify themselves primarily as Aryans. According to the
Mahvasa and Dipavasa, the Aryan migrated to Sri Lanka about 6 century BCE. The
Mahvasa call Vijayagamana. The Pali chronicles, the Dpavasa, Mahvas,
Thupavas and the Clavasa as well as a large collection of stone inscriptions records, which
provides information on the history of Vijaygamana (Vijaya and Kuveni) in Sri Lanka from
about the 6th century BC. The prince Vijaya and his seven hundred followers migrated to the
Tambapai (copper-colored sand) in Sri Lanka 1 . Vijaya was a son of Sinhabhhu in India.
Unfortunately they had an accident in sea and disembarked to Tambapai and came forward
through the Kala Oya (the name of river) to the Anuradhapura. They build a new kingdom (The
1

Web, November 30, 2015. <http://mahavamsa.org/mahavamsa/original-version/06-coming-vijaya/>

Anurdhapura was a new kingdom from 543 BC to 505 BC) with Kuveni after lose grounded the
origin people (Nga tribe, Deva tribe and Yaksa tribe were original inhabitants) of Sri Lanka.
After that the Sinhalese generation started. They started to cultivate in the Malvatu Oya as the
Indo-Gangetic Plain.

According to the chronicles of Sinhala and Pali literature, secondly the Arhat Mah
Mahinda thera2 and Arhat Sanghamitta theran who were son and daughter of Emperor Asoka
were came to Sri Lanka about 247 BC with Theravda canon. They brought Jaya Sri Mah
Bodhi tree and eighteen clans3.

According to discoveries the Chola and Padya were original people in the Indus valley
civilization. They invaded Sri Lanka in few times. The king of Elara (203-161 BC) who was the
Tamil king of Chola origins ruled in Anuradhapura (part of Sri Lanka).

Another one was Rja Rja chola (993AD). He invaded Anuradhapura and conquered the
northern part of the country and incorporated it into his kingdom as a province named
Mummudi-sola-mandalam after himself. The capital was at Polonnaruwa which was renamed
Jananathamangalam. He died after twenty nine years of rule, and was succeeded by his son
Rajendra. Those are evidences of the Influence of non-Aryan. But we cannot decide properly
non-Aryan civilization settle down in the Sri Lanka on that time. There are not enough evidences.

03. The Religious Background in Ancient India

The topic of The Religious Background in Ancient India can be divided into two parts.
They are the beliefs on the Indus Valley Civilization and the Aryan Civilization. We cannot say
properly, what was the religion in the Indus valley civilization. But we can decide according to
the seals which were found in the Indus cities. Major religious beliefs are that the following seals
were discovered.

2
3

Web, November 30, 2015. <http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap013.html>

Geiger, Wilhelm. trns,. The Mahvasa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon. Delhi: 2000. chapter 18.

01. The Mother Goddess and Father God (great male god). (They worshiped the
Mother goddess and Father God in addition to male and female deities.
02. Some kind of trees. (They worshiped to a tree which is depicted in the seals as a
Pipal or Acasia tree,
03. Seals of animals (Many Indus valley seals show animals and the homed figure
surrounded by animals namely Pashupati is similar to Hindu Shiva and Rudra.
04. Some stones (the phallus and vulva) - (They worshipd some stones as Sivalinga
today).
05. Yoga and meditation (We can find out figure of seals that look like sitting in a
yoga or meditation.
06. Seal of swastika (some Indus seals show swastika that related to Hindu religion.
Aryan religious beliefs and practices were professed in their religious literature called
Vedas. Vedas mean knowledge. Those are ancient texts written in Sanskrit. There are four
Indo-Aryan Vedas:
01. The Rig Veda (contains hymns about their mythology).
02. The Sama Veda (consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals).
03. The Yajur Veda (contains instructions for religious rituals).
04. The Atharva Vedas (consists of spells against enemies, sorcerers, and diseases).

The Brahmanas who gave instruction on religious rituals were leader in religious society.
They prayed to many gods. According to the hymns of the Rig Veda, the most important deities
were Agni (the god of fire), Indra (the god of heavens and war) one who protector of the Aryans
against their enemies, Surya (the sun god), Vayu (the god of wind), Prthivi (the goddess of earth)

04. The Background of Ancient Sri Lankan Religion and Influence of

Indian Religion on it.
The Sri Lankan history includes in the Stone-Age4. The peoples who inhabited the island
worshipped the natural phenomena like trees, snake (tribe of nga) demons (tribe of yaksha)
deities (tribe of deva) and spirits5. These practices were continued even after Aryan migration to
Sri Lanka. The Mahavamsa states that King Pandukabhaya built a temple for the demon
Chiththaraja who has been identified as a water spirit. He was like a Parjanya god in Aryan
civilization. Other spirits like Kalavela and Vibhishana were worshipped in Sri Lanka. King
4
5

Web, December 02, 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory_of_Sri_Lanka>

Web, December 02, 2015. <http://mahavamsa.org/mahavamsa/original-version/01-visit-thatagatha/>

Pandukabhaya is also said to have planted a banyan tree near the western gate of Anuradhapura.
This tree is supposed to be the abode of the deity Vaishravana. Vaishravana was similar to one of
the four quarters Devas (vessrsns). There was also a belief that the Palmyra tree was the abode of
Vyadhadeva. Spirit worship and tree worship which began in the times of the Stone-Age people
of Sri Lanka appear to have existed after the Aryan migration and has continued in some form or
the other even to this day.

It is also possible that there was a sprinkling of Janis among the early Aryan migrants to
the island, according to the Mahavamsa, the Pandukabhaya said to have built cells for the
Nighanthas or Jains. If among the early Aryan migrants to the island were Jains and Brahamins it
is also possible that there were some Buddhists. The chronicles contain references to the
presence of Buddhist in Sri Lanka even before 500 BCE. Maniakkhikha, the King of the Nagas
of Kelani is said to have embraced Buddhism, during the Buddha's first visit to the Sri lanka.
During the second visit, the Budddha is said to have preached his doctrine to a large number of
Nagas. The Mahiyangana temple, according to the chronicle records, was built long before
Arahant Mah Mahinda Thera's arrival in Sri Lanka and a lock of the Buddha's hair was
enshrined in it by the Deva Mahasumana. The Mahavamsa also contains references to various
wandering ascetics in Sri Lanka before 247 BCE. For instance Pandukabhaya is said to have
built dwellings for the Parivrajakas and Ajivakas. Therefore, we can say there were various
religious sects in Sri Lanka before the coming of Arhant Mah Mahinda Thera. However, there
is no enough evidence that these sects and their beliefs existed in Sri Lanka. But, the majority of
the people held some primitive religious beliefs and worshipped among other things such as trees,
spirits and departed ancestors (Malavun Pidma) shows the earlier existence of various religious
movements.

05. The Religions of Sri Lanka at present

There is a multi-religious society in Sri Lanka and among them, Buddhism is the major
religion. Other religions are Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. About 70% of the population in
Sri Lanka follows Buddhism. Buddhism came to Sri Lanka from India during the reign of
Ashoka in third century BC. Buddhism is regarded the highest ethical and philosophical
expression of Sinhalese culture.
Hinduism is mainly practiced by Tamils in Sri Lanka who came around the fifth and the
sixth century A.D. The Chola dynasty of South India usurped the throne of the Sinhalese
Kingdom and conquered the island, leading to the considerable number of immigrants from
South India into the north Sri Lanka. Major Hindu Gods are worshipped such as Vishnu, Shiva,
4

Kali, Ganesha and Skanda. Muslims comprise nearly 7% of Sri Lanka's population. In ancient
times Arab traders from the Middle East visited the southern part of Sri Lanka for their business
and later settled in Sri Lanka. The Christianity first came to Sri Lanka upon the arrival of the
Portuguese in the sixteenth century.

06. Religious Festivals and Rituals

There are many festivals in Sri Lanka presently because of the three main religions. They
are Vesak festival, Poson festival, Dalada perahera, Deepawali, Navaratri festival, Maha Shiva
Ratri and Thai Pongal etc 6 . Vesak festival for the Buddhist people to commemorate birth,
attainment of Buddhahood and passing away of Buddha, is celebrated by lighting vesak lanterns,
pandal and etc. Other includes in Buddhist festivals are Poson festivel, Daland perahara
(procession of tooth relic of the Buddha). Deepawali is a Hindu festival. It relates to the Aryan
civilization because they emphasize the Goddess Lakshmi the one who is the wife of Vishnu.
According to the Puranas in Upanishad literature and Vedic, the people considered lakshmi as
Durga or shakti. Furthermore, the nine day long Navaratri festival is also celebrated by Hindus to
commemorate the Goddess Durga. Another festival is Mah Shiva Rtri. In this festival, the
people call to mind the Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Thai Pongal also another festival
celebrated by Hindus where they remember the Sun God. The Sun God is similar to Agni or fire
god in Vedas.

The majority of Sinhalese people celebrate a ritual called Thovilaya. Thovilaya is a form
of Psychodrama. It has been used to treat mental and physical ill. We can say that this ritual
resembles to that of Vedic ritual but there are no harmful acts like killing animals where a vedic
ritual have (Yga-Homa). The ritual precession is perform by some people namely Aduru (Guru)
wearing wonderful clothes representing as a demon and kind of god. They dance and pray to
bring fortune to the sick people and get recovered.

Web, December 02, 2015. < http://intravelin.com/festivals-in-sri-lanka>

07. Conclusionsss
The Sri Lankan chronicles shows that among many civilizations, the Aryan and Indus
Valley Civilization had played an important role in the development of human society, language,
literature and so forth. Moreover, ever since the arrival of Buddhist mission brought by
Venerable Mahinda Thero, Sri Lanka have been the origin of Theravda Buddhism. With the
establishment of Buddhism as the state religion of Sri Lanka, there had been peace, sovereignty
and harmony among the people. Also, the arrival of Bodhi tree and the Tooth Relic of the
Buddha from India have been considered as significance for the promotion of Buddhist ethics
and values among the nations, and the Sri Lankan people to enjoy the continuous joy for being
the home of Buddhas Ssana.
With this, I can conclude the influence of Aryan civilization on Sri Lankan society was a
factor that led Sinhalese for the development of human society. Some of ancient religion, the
architecture and life styles of the people are influenced by Aryan civilization

08. Bibliography
Prasad Varma, Vishvanath. Early Buddhism and its Origins. India: 2003.
Geiger, Wilhelm. trns,. The Mahvasa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon. Delhi: 2000.
Devid J, Kalupahana. The Wheel of Morals. Sri Lanka: 2008.

Internet sources
Web, November 12, 2015. < http://www.everyculture.com/South-Asia/Aryan.html>
Web, November 13, 2015.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sri_Lanka#Prehistoric_Sri_Lanka>
Web, November 13, 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anuradhapura_period>
Web, November 30, 2015. <http://mahavamsa.org/mahavamsa/original-version/06-comingvijaya/>
Ven. Dorapane Chandananda
International Buddhist College
Thailand
05.12.2015