Hi my loving travelers,

Greetings from Sri Lanka. How are you? I hope you are having a great weekend. Actually I got the opportunity to travel after a long time due to a small break that I had. Accordingly, last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Kataragama, a region of Uva Province in Sri Lanka, which has high religious and cultural value. From Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, one has to travel about 278 kilometers to reach Kataragama. You can reach it very easily by using the Southern Expressway. Apart from this, Kataragama has the opportunity to travel through the coastal road. If you use the normal road instead of the expressway to reach Kataragama, you will be able to see many natural sights. My friends and I used the normal road to reach Kataragama from Galle. It is our fortune that all of us have the opportunity to see many natural scenes through that. Kataragama can be mentioned as the abode of Kanda God mentioned in Hindu mythology. Besides, this is considered a land of miracles, so many devotees come here because of the belief in it. So, this content that I hope to present today refers to my visit to Kataragama city.

Many shops are ready to provide various facilities for the devotees who come to Kataragama puja town. Devotees who wanted to offer offerings to God saw many fruit shops in this city of Kataragama. In comparison with the prices of fruits in other cities, the prices of fruits in Kataragama city are high. The reason for this is because of the constant offering of fruits to God. There is a belief among the devotees that by offering fruit bowls to God Kataragama and other Gods, their desired goals will be fulfilled.

From Kataragama town one has to walk a short distance to reach Kataragama Pooja town. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is to find a suitable place to park your vehicle. The villagers of Kataragama are always ready to provide service for that. While walking to the Kataragama Pooja ground, one sees many beggars and stalls selling various goods.

When we reached the Kataragama Pooja ground, we saw many devotees waiting there. Also, Menik river, a famous place in Kataragama, also flows very close. The specialty here is the abundance of crocodiles. No matter how many crocodiles hang around, the villagers and some devotees do not forget to bathe in this menik river. One of the reasons for that I can mention is the belief that sins can be forgiven by bathing in the Manik river. These days, as rain is falling in many parts of Sri Lanka, the water level of the Menik River was also high. It can be mentioned that it is not a very suitable condition for swimming because crocodiles are likely to come in abundance in such a condition.

Several branches of the Bodhi tree, which are devoutly accepted by many Buddhists in Sri Lanka, are located in the Kataragama Pooja ground. After crossing the bridge over Menik Ganga, we reached Kataragama Pooja City. A Bodhi tree branch was first seen there.

Several innocent and evil elephants can be seen in the Kataragama Pooja grounds. Such evil elephants are chained far away from the pilgrims' path. The reason for that is to provide protection to the devotees from such evil elephants. We saw an innocent elephant on the way. Because there is a belief that when a devotee walks under the belly of the elephant, his goals will be fulfilled, so it can be achieved by giving a small amount of money to the elephant farmer who takes care of the elephant.

The uniqueness that I saw in Kataragama Pooja City is that all races living in Sri Lanka have been given the opportunity to worship their own religion. Kataragama has set up separate shrines for Sinhalese citizens who follow Buddhism, Tamil citizens who follow Hinduism and Muslim citizens who follow Islam. But a Catholic shrine was not seen here. A Muslim friend came with us for this trip, so we took the opportunity to reach the Kataragama Mosque. It was indeed a unique experience for me to reach a mosque after about 15 years.

After passing that place, we all had to move forward. We used to visit Kataragama on a Sunday, so on that day the Dhamma school for teaching Buddhist teachings was held in this Kataragama puja ground. Children in Dhamma schools run in other temples in Sri Lanka wear white clothes. But the children of the Dhamma school in Kataragama Pooja City wear yellow clothes.

After reaching the Kataragama Pooja ground, you will see a strip of sandy earth. The reason is to give purity to the land. The pagoda, which is highly regarded by the Buddhist devotees of the world, was seen here, but it was shining white due to the reflection of the sun. I have experience that the small pagoda was built very recently. Because when I visited here before, I got to see the necessary preparations for its construction.

Next we had to enter a holy land, so we had to take off our shoes to enter. It was an advantage for us to have a separate place to protect shoes in Kataragama Pooja City. We have an opportunity to provide the amount we can for that. We entered the road to reach Kataragama Kiri Vehera, an ancient pagoda in Sri Lanka. All the things required for Kirivehera worship like flowers, lamps, incense sticks can be bought from the small stalls on this road. Many young women are kept in these small stalls to attract devotees. However, I am very proud of the efforts these young women are making to raise their voices and do business. Because there is a lot of sadness behind their hidden life. Their lives are truly miserable as they roam the lakes and rivers where the crocodile population is high and pluck lotus flowers and other flowers. They wake up very early in the morning and pluck lotus and other flowers to give fresh flowers to their devotees, which increases the respect of Buddhism.

Many devotees who come to Kataragama Kiriwehera wear white clothes. This is because it is a pure land. Kataragama Kiriwehera is a very unique place. Especially Buddhist religious devotees offer flowers, incense sticks and lamps to this place with devotion.

Several Buddha statues have been gathered around Kataragama Kiriwehera Pagoda. The way the Buddha statues are made with different hand signs and different colors is amazing. I think it is a testament to the artist's ability to be full of architectural elements from the past.

The ancient pagoda known as Kataragama Kiri Vehera brings a great antiquity to the whole of Kataragama. In fact, it gives a great shape to the Buddhist genealogy. According to my experience, many Buddhist people as well as other religious people come to this place because of the proud shape of this pagoda.

The coolness provided by the kohomba trees throughout the Katagama area, which has a dry weather, brings us great relief. I am telling you that the mental relief and the meditation experience I got from it while I was wandering around the area around Kiri Vehera are excellent. Because the shade provided by kohomba trees and the coolness that comes through it is something that has the ability to forget all the problems in our mind.

After that, I entered the Bodhi tree in Maha Dewala, which is another major junction in Kataragama. I have already mentioned to you the reason why the Bodhi tree, which has been highly revered by Buddhists since ancient times, is surrounded by a golden fence, so I do not wish to provide more details. Because it is a waste of your time. You can find out about it if you visit any of my older content.

In fact, through this trip, we were able to gain a lot of experience and educational knowledge. This was because we had the opportunity to meet many knowledgeable people and learn about their experiences. In the city of Kataragama, your dignity should be considered more important because it is not just a place for entertainment, but a place to gain cultural and educational as well as religious value.

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