පාහියන්ගල ලෙන

Pahiyangala Ancient Cave - Fa-Shein Lena

Useful Information

Location:	Yatagampitiya, Gavaragiriya. (6.6472000, 80.2136000)
Open:	no restrictions. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Cave Church Rock Shelter
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=60 m, H=45 m, A=121 m asl. Portal: H=53 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Pahiyangala, Yatagampitiya, Gavaragiriya.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1940s	a Chinese monk named Thiashu Sangaraju who visited Sri Lanka stayed in the cave.
1960s	during excavations Late Pleistocene human fossilized skeletal remains were discovered.
1968	human burial sites uncovered by Siran Upendra Deraniyagala from the Sri Lankan Government Department of Archaeology.
1988	excavation by Siran Upendra Deraniyagala and his assistant W. H. Wijepala.
2013	excavated.
2020	excavatiosn by the Max Planck Institute, Griffith University in Australia, and the Sri Lankan Government Department of Archaeology.

Description

පාහියන්ගල ලෙන (Pahiyangala Cave) is also called Fa Hien Cave, named after the Chinese monk Faxian or Fa-Hsien, there are countless transliterations, who travelled through this area in the 5th century AD. He was a translator and traveled to other sacred Buddhist sites in Nepal and India. On his way to Adam’s Peak he discovered this cave. Or better he rediscovered the cave, as it was known to man for 37,000 years, as proven by archaeological excavations. The findings were dated by geophysical methods here in Sri Lanka and in the United States.

According to legend, Fa-Hsien followed the path of Gautama Buddha. He sailed with two friends, Bhadantachariya and Buddhaghosa, in the year 411 AD from the mouth of the Hooghly River in Calcutta to Sri Lanka. Buddhaghosa was a Pali scholar, commentator, and author of Vissuddhi Magga, a classic manual of the Buddhist doctrine and meditation. Fa-Hsien obtained a copy of the Disciplines and Long Agamas when he visited Anuradhapura. As a result, he was determined to climb the Sacred Mountain Sri Pada and pay homage to the Buddha’s footprint. His pilgrimage to Sri Pada lasted several months or even longer. There is a legend that he lived several months in the Pahiyangala cave and a vessel which was discovered during the excavations, was supposed to have been used by him.

There is also a legend how the cave was converted into a Buddhist temple by a priest called Porogama. Porogama used a 6-foot long Yakula to push the debris and soil that obstructed the entrance to the cave and leveled the floor. A Yakula is similar to an iron crowbar. This one was so heavy that six people were needed to carry it. The Yakula can be seen at the feet of the reclining Buddha statue. Porogama also made the two colossal door frames for the Vihara at the entrance.

The cave is only a shelter, a single chamber with a large portal, 60 m long and 53 m high. Thus, the vast chamber is said to be big enough for 3,000 people. Despite the impressive size, this is only one of hundreds of biggest caves of South Asia. There are the remaining pits of the archaeological excavations on the floor, and at the side there are numerous walls which were built into the cave. They form a buddhist temple, which contains a huge statue of a reclining Buddha.

The excavation revealed five human skulls which were identified as Pahiyangala Manawakaya (Pahiyangala Man). This human ancestor had a short vertebral structure, wide jaw bones, a large palette, and big grinding teeth. They used sea fish, salt, and shark teeth as ornaments.

Quite interesting results revealed the 2020 excavation by the Max Planck Institute, Griffith University in Australia, and the Sri Lankan Government Department of Archaeology. It proved that occupants of the Fa-Hien Lena cave developed bow and arrow technology 48,000 BP. This is the oldest use of this technology outside of Africa.