Nadungamuwa Raja
Main casket bearer of the procession of Esala
Held title
2005–2022
Serving with Indi Raja
Katharagama Wasana
Preceded byMillangoda Raja
Succeeded byIndi Raja
Personal details
Bornc. 1953
Mysore, India
Died7 March 2022
(aged 68–69)
Weliweriya, Gampaha District, Sri Lanka
Height3 m (9 ft 10 in)

Nadungamuwa Vijaya Raja (Sinhala: නැදුන්ගමුව විජය රාජා, Tamil: நெதுன்கமுவ விஜய ராஜா), also known as simply Nadungamuwa Raja (c. 1953 – 7 March 2022), was an Indian elephant brought to Sri Lanka.[1]

For more than a decade, he was the main casket bearer of the procession of Esala, an annual procession held to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, held in Kandy, Sri Lanka.[2][3] One of the most celebrated elephants in Asia during his lifetime, Nadungamuwa Raja was one of the largest tame elephants in Asia.[2] Following Raja's death, the then Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared Raja a national treasure, in recognition of his valuable services to the religion and culture of Sri Lanka.

History

Nagungamua Raja saying goodbye to his second owner in 1978.

Raja was born c. 1953 in Mysore, India.[2][4] He was named after Nadungamuwa, the village in which he resided.

Nadungamuwa village has been home to temple elephants since 1917, when Livnis Perera, the grandfather of Raja's final owner, Harsha Dharmavijaya, bought an elephant in order to take his younger brother in a procession to the Balummahara Godagedara Pirivena, Perera. That elephant was the first in the Nadungamuwa elephant lineage. The village of Nadungamuwa celebrated the centenary of the lineage in 2018 with Raja, who was considered to be the most important elephant in the country.[5]

Raja was one of two elephant calves bestowed upon a veteran native physician monk who resided in the Nilammahara Temple, boralesgamuwa, 1st owner is Neelammahara purana temple desheeya manasika wedaduru - Dr, dehiwala dammaloka himi and desheeya manasika wedaduru - Dr,dehiwala buddha rakkitha himi.(sri lanka no ruls and no register sisterm for elephnts,1950 to 1970) .2 nd Owner is horana/Bandaragama mr, Herbert wickramasinghe mantree.now last owner is = Dr. Harsha Dharmavijaya. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the Maharaja of Mysore, in appreciation for curing his relative's lengthy illness.[2][4] In 1978, when Raja was 25 years old, he was acquired from his second owner, Herbert Wickramasinghe, a former parliamentarian from Bandaragama, for Rs. 75,000. His new owner was Dharmavijaya Veda Ralahamy, an eminent Ayurvedic physician.[6] After the death of Ralahamy, the elephant was looked after by his son, Harsha Dharmavijaya, also an Ayurvedic doctor.[3]

Raja was attended by four mahouts over his lifetime: Seaman, Soma, Simon, and finally Wilson Kodithuwakku, known locally as "Kalu Mama", who cared for Raja for more than 15 years.[1] Indika Jayasinghe from Polgahawela worked as the helper of Kalu Mama.

Perahera procession

Before participating in the Kandy Esala Perahera, Raja continually participated in many perahera festivals in Gampaha and Colombo and joined the procession of the Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Devalaya in 1985. In 2005, at age 52,[1] Raja joined the Kandy Esala Perahera by request of Pradeep Nilanga Dela, who is the Diyawadana Nilame of Sri Dalada Maligawa. Raja went on to participate in the Kandy Esala Perahera for more than a decade.[2]

On all these occasions the elephant travelled to Kandy on foot, covering a distance of about 90 km from Weliweriya, Gampaha to Kandy. Due to a road accident in 2016, the government provided military protection to the elephant when it arrived in Kandy.[7][8] Raja always left the Nedungamuwa Palace after the monks' and employers' worship by sprinkling Pirith and tying Pirith strings.[3] The relics casket was carried 13 times by the tusker during the Dalada Perahera, the last time being in 2021.[9]

Death

Nadungamuwa Raja died in the early morning of 7 March 2022 at the age of 68/69,[2][4] following a brief illness.[10] Raja was posthumously honoured as a national treasure and given full state honours. The President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa directed that Raja's body be preserved as a stuffed body.[2][4][10]

Legacy

A postage stamp of Rs. 15 and a first day cover were issued on 30 December 2019 in appreciation of the elephant's religious and cultural mission.[11][12] After the chanting of the Pirith by the Chief Incumbent of the Siamese Mahanayake Thera, Ven., the first day cover was released. The 2354 First Day Cover Issue was the second occasion for the release of an elephant stamp and first day cover.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "සධාතුක කරඬුව වඩම්මන නැදුන්ගමුවේ රාජා" [The relics casket bearer Nedungamuwe Raja]. Dinamina (in Sinhala). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (8 March 2022). "Sri Lanka to hold state funeral for beloved sacred elephant Raja". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "දළදා සමිඳුන්ට උත්තම පූජාවක් සිදුකරන රාජා සැබෑ ලෙසම පාරමිතාවක් පුරනු නොඅනුමානයි.. මේක පාරමිතාවක්. මීට ඉහත ආත්මවල නැඳුන්ගමුවේ රාජා, රජ කෙනෙකු වෙලත් ඉන්න ඇති"" [Raja who performs a great pooja to the Tooth Relic will undoubtedly sign a real parameter .. This is a parameter. Nendungamuwe Raja of the above spirits may have been a king] (in Sinhala). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Srinivasan, Meera (8 March 2022). "Sri Lanka mourns death of 69-year-old Indian tusker declared 'national treasure'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "අවුරුදු සීයක් පිරුණු නැදුන්ගමුවේ ඇත් පරපුර" [Hundred year old Nedungamuwe elephant lineage]. Lankadeepa (in Sinhala). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "සධාතුක කරඬුව වඩම්මන නැදුන්ගමුවේ රාජා" [The relics casket bearer Nedungamuwe Raja]. Dinamina (in Sinhala). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "[PHOTOS] This elephant has his own armed guards to make way for him when he roams on roads". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "'National treasure': Sri Lanka's most revered elephant dies at 68". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "නැදුන්ගමුව හස්ති රාජයා දැයෙන් සමුගනී" [Nedungamuwa Elephant King bids farewell]. Dinamina (in Sinhala). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Sri Lanka mourns death of famous Indian tusker". Xinhua News Agency. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "නැදුන්ගමුවේ රාජා හස්තියා වෙනුවෙන් මුද්දරයක් නිකුත් කෙරේ" [A stamp issued for the Nedungamuwe Raja elephant]. Lankadeepa (in Sinhala). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "First day cover and stamp for the Nedungamuwe Raja elephant". Gatalu. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "නැදුන්ගමුවේ රාජා ‌වෙනුවෙන් ‌ මුද්දරයක්" [A stamp for Nedungamuwe Raja]. Wijeya (in Sinhala). 20 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.

Further reading

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