After 24 years of the LTTE attack on Dalada Maligawa Former Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan breaks the ice

 The blast in 1998 and the debris

• The seventh casket which carries the Sacred Tooth Relic is in the original casket that was brought into Sri Lanka by Prince Dhantha and Princess Hemmali
• When the blast occurred the doors were not closed at the Inner Shrine as the ‘Buddha pooja” was been conducted by the then Service monks
• Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Cabinet approval offered the Maligawa one hundred and twenty million rupees for the reconstruction

When the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations of the country were readied to be held in the Sri Dalada Maligawa complex seating accommodation at Maha Maluwa the ‘Sacred Tooth Relic” was removed from its resting place and was hidden within the ‘Vedihiti Maligawa’ or the shrine proper so that even an attack would not take away the Relic, so said former Diyawadana Nilame Nerajan Wijeyaratne in an exclusive interview after being silent for 24 years on this incident.

The seventh casket which carries the Sacred Tooth Relic is in the original casket brought into Sri Lanka by Prince Dhantha and Princess Hemmali, a casket like a ‘Corn cob’ with red sapphires embedded within the seventh casket and the key held by the Mahanayake of Asgiri Maha Vihare. The others are held by the Mahanayake of Malwatta and the first outer Karanduwa by the Diyawadana Nilame

The Mahanayake of Asgiri Maha Vihara, then Venerable Pallipanne Chandananda Thera decided and agreed by the Mahanayake of Malwatte Venerable Rambukwelle Vippassi Thera to remove the Sacred Tooth Relic to another place within the ‘ Vedihiti Maligawa ‘ on the eve of the 50th Independence Celebrations when they had failed to divert the celebrations to another venue in Kandy out of the Sri Dalada Maligawa complex.
Neranjan Wijeyaratne said that he on the instructions of the Mahanayakes told the Chief Organiser - General Ratwatte to shift the celebrations to another venue in Kandy. But he refused and even told the press at that time “We will hold the celebrations here at Maha Maluwa and we are not afraid of the LTTE”. This was a challenge for the most dangerous outfit the world had seen then.

The former Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyaratne in this exclusive interview said that this was a formidable task. They had to find the ways and means to do so and therefore he went to a rock stone carver and said that he wants to make a grinding stone and gave the dimensions as ‘two and a half feet high with a covering of 6 inches and a width of two and a half foot with a one and a half foot hole in the middle.
Their next task was to bring it into Maligawa without the knowledge of any staffers or drummers.
The two Mahanayakes, Venerable Pallipane Srinivasa Thera, two Secretaries of the two Maha Viharas brought this heavy stone into the Maligawa at the dead of the night in December 1997. Before this was brought, they arranged for outside help in order to dig a hole to hold this rock stone carving. The outside help did not know as to what it was and it was within the Vedihiti Maligawa .

He added that even today he is not going to disclose the spot the rock receptacle was buried.
Mahanayake Pallipanne Chandananda opened the seven caskets, took out the ‘ Hemamali Casket ‘ and all gold Jewellery within the Golden Karanduwa made a parcel of it inserted all into the crevice created in the rock stone and sealed it with the sealed rock cover.

Venerable Chandananda passed away and it was left to the next incumbent Venerable Udugama Buddharakitha to remove the Sacred Relic from the rock container and to replace it within the Golden Karanduwa.
He said that shifts like this had occurred during World War II in 1945, but then it was placed on a wall crevice during the time of Diyawadana Nilame T. B. Ratwatte. Then again it was shifted in 1989 during the insurrection as there was an attack within the Maligawa. But, always it was within the ‘Vedihiti Maligawa ‘ as there is space within for such situations.

When the blast occurred the doors were not closed at the Inner Shrine as the ‘Buddha pooja” was been conducted by the then Service monks Chandrajothi Thera and the devotees who came for the Pooja were present.
The blast injured the monk in the Pahale Mahale as he had come out during the blast, added Neranjan.
No sooner did he hear the blast from his official residence, he came running into the Maligawa and saw the mayhem and also saw the ‘ Vedihiti Maligawa intact. Then he said that he walked over to the Maha Maluwa where by that time SSP Nimal Mediwaka had arrived at the scene with Major Wimalaratne
“When I saw the mayhem caused due to the bomb blast by the LTTE on 25th January 1998, I could not for a while recollect as to how this ancient shrine - the Sri Dalada Maligawa could be resurrected back to its former self.
I as the lay custodian had to give back the Sri Dalada Maligawa I took on assuming office to the people on the same condition as I was responsible for the Maligawa, its funds, its lands and its administration.
The two Mahanayakes are connected with the rituals and the Diyawadana Nilame holds one key given by the Brtish when the Maligawa was handed over to the three Custodians in 1853”.
The government in power at the time of the Sri Dalada Maligawa blast in 1998 did not think seriously that the Maligawa should be reconstructed. They did not give any finances for its reconstruction and all the money came from the public, mainly from the Buddhist devotees.

Luckily, there was the Peoples Bank Manager who was also the Basnayake Nilame of Natha Devale R.M. Navaratne and he advised me to start a fund known as the ‘Sri Dalada Maligawa Restoration Fund ‘and people donated the monies needed for the reconstruction.

The two persons who backed me in re-building this ancient shrine were the two Mahanayakes Venerable Pallipanne Chandananda and Venerable Rambukkwele Vippassi Thera. They stood beside me   like as two pillars of strength till the end.

There was nothing that could be taken from the debris and in one way the bomb also brought a blessing to this ancient shrine. Most of the wood had been attacked with dry rot as it is a long time since this ancient edifice was built. So there was nothing that could be taken from this debris

“We decided to set up a committee with Dr Roland Silva of the Cultural Triangle, Dr Shiran Deraniyagala, Professor Prematilleke, Kandy Director of the Archaeological Department, Weerakkody, the Director of Kandy Archives, Ms Muthuhrea (as the valuable ola leaf books were in the Patthiruppuwa and also documents of the Maligawa ), the two Mahanayakes, the two Secretaries of the Maha Viharas and myself.”
Then we decided to give the construction work to the State Engineering Corporation. and the Project Director was Gamini Silva, who had also done the Golden Canopy. The Navy took over the parapet walls and the Mahawahalkade.

My immediate concern for the shrine soon after the blast which occurred around 5.55am was the security of the Golden Karanduwa. Word went around that the Golden Karanduwa was destroyed in the blast. I knew that this could not happen as supernatural forces are acting within the Maligawa. For instance, the curtain at the Royal entrance near the Hewissi Mandaaya (Drummers Hall) is not closed after the day’s prayers at 8 pm. There is a belief that certain supernatural elements enter the inner shrine room to pray through this doorway
“After discussing the issue with SSP Nimal Mediweke and Major Wimalaratne who arrived at the scene following the blast, I went into the Temple and the two priests of Pahala Mahala (Lower Shrine) was waiting for me.
I slowly made my way through the southern entrance into the Maligawa and the servers were ready with jasmine flowers which has been a tradition when the Diyawadana Nilame enters the Maligawa. When members of the Sangha saw me, they came forward and asked what could be done. I said we will open the Shrine which is normally not done after the shrine is closed after each service.
Nevertheless as much as I needed to find out what has happened, they agreed to open as the keys were with them.

On my return from the Maligawa, I witnessed that the former Minister D.M. Jayaratne was listening to the verbal attack by the Mahanayake of Malwatta Venerable Rambukwella Vippassi Thera that they had not taken the proper precautions for the security of this ancient shrine.

The entire Maligawa was in darkness and the electricity supply disconnected, entering the main Shrine through the Royal doorway, I found myself a small stairway to move up into the shrine proper.
Then I noticed the Rupavahini correspondent besides me and he too was moving up. Then there were the two priests, the Rupavahini correspondent, the two servers, and myself.

None of us dared to open the silver door as we did not know what had happened. In trepidation, we gingerly opened the Silver door, and lo and behold the electric jet was working. Then we moved on to the Golden door and opened it to find the Golden Karanduwa intact and there too the electric jets were working. I cannot account as to how the electric jets were working inside the Inner shrine when all electrical connections were cut off with the blast. On my return to Maligawa, I requested the CEB to disconnect the electrical supply as I feared that there might be a fire.

Let L. B. Senaratne, the SLRC correspondent detail what he saw and the only one who was able to remove visuals.
“ I followed the Diyawadana Nilame from Maha Maluwa and went into the Maligawa and then to the inner Shrine room. My colleagues had removed the photographs outside and made a beeline to Colombo. There were no provisions to send the visuals or photos through the internet. My one quest was to find as to what has happened to the Golden Karanduwa and the Sacred Tooth Relic. When I saw that all was intact, I could not help crying. Because this is the treasure of the Buddhist world. 

Then by this time, three army officers had come into the Shrine and with them, I removed the visuals and made a beeline to Colombo as then we used to take the visuals by hand as there were no facilities to transfer them via the internet. These are the visuals that were telecast by Rupavahini throughout the world by 2 pm to indicate that the Sacred Tooth Relic was secure. No other Channel of the day had these visuals within the Inner shrine room. “
Former Diyawadana Nilame Wijeyaratne said:

“When I did come down to the Drummers Hall, the Mahayanake of Asgiri was speaking on the mobile phone to Madam Chandrika and she instructed me to not allow any visuals or photos to be taken. But, I told her that the Rupavahini Correspondent had removed the visuals from the Inner Shrine room. Then she said that it does not matter since he had taken them and ordered me not to allow anyone to remove any photos thereafter.”
Madam Chandrika Kumaratunga visited the Maligawa around 3 pm to meet the Mahanayakes and also to see the Maligawa after the blast. Madam Chandrika came with the Three Service Commanders and the IGP and Media Secretary Sanath Gunatilleke. She ordered the IGP to call the CID and the Fingerprint experts and get cracking on the investigations

Even today I cannot fathom how the electric jets at the Inner Shrine was working when all connections of electricity was cut off  by the Blast.

“With this, I went in search of the best craftsmen to carve out the rock carvings, the moonstone, the elephants at different spots within the Maligawa and complex. The woodwork had to be done and it was entrusted to the Archaeological Department, who obtained the wood from the State Timber Corporation.
But I did not close the Maligawa and the rituals continued, except that devotees were not allowed for three months so as to clear the debris.

Then came the biggest obstacle and that was to rebuild the Pattiruppuwa. Most of the experts indicated that it should be pulled down and then rebuilt. But, I did not agree. The roof was covered with dry rot and the walls were broken down. To most, their view was to bring it down and rebuild. I have seen many such buildings which had been built with the same architectural type and to resemble the Pattiruppuwa but never had they been in the same shape and size of the Pattiruppuwa.

During one of those days, I thought of contacting the University of Peradeniya and went to the Faculty of Engineering, where I met some Dons. They told me that this was a job of a Civil engineer and gave me the name of Professor Ranaweera.

Professor Ranaweera lost no time to access the Pattiruppuwa and drew the plans for its rehabilitation and said that it need not be broken down. I was relieved. But, he told me that after reconstruction was done no heavy vehicles should pass the Pattirippuwa as the vibration could make it unstable. Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyaratne said that there was one massive piece of wood out of ‘Burutha’ which had been placed by Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe and we could not find a log of these dimensions. However, either as luck or God’s grace a log was found on the banks of the Beira Lake which was nearly 100 years old. This was brought by the Timber Corporation and placed across the Pattiruppuwa.

After the completion of the work at the Sri Dalada Maligawa and with the change of Government Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Cabinet approval offered the Maligawa
one hundred and twenty million rupees for the reconstruction. But, by then the work was completed. and payments had been made to all those concerned from the Restoration Fund
I did not send the money back and I thought that we could create an ‘International Buddhist Centre’ and I prepared to construct the Centre at Pallekelle when the government was trying to give this land for a housing scheme. The work was again entrusted to the State Engineering Corporation.

Today this International Buddhist Centre has risen from the ashes of the 1998 blast. I am happy that I was able to give back to the people the Sri Dalada Maligawa I took twenty years ago in a similar manner or perhaps in a better condition.

The Pallekelle Centre could accommodate 1000 persons and during the 250th Anniversary of bringing Upasampada, the then Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra unveiled the Golden Buddha Statue at the Centre and it stands as a monument.

I left 260 million rupees in various funds for the upkeep of the Maligawa and I now have peace of mind that this act was completed during my  tenure and the Centre stands as a formidable centre for Buddhist teachings and Principles.

I am leading a retired life away thinking about what I had done for the Sri Dalada Maligawa during my time and the merit I had gained by worshipping the Sacred Relic.  I now live in retirement at Meedduma Walauwwa, Rambukkana amidst a serene environment.