Sacred Tears in Anuradhapura Sri Maha Bodhi Remembered

Exactly 23 years ago on a sunny day (14th May 1985) like this Wednesday (14), Sri Lankans as well as the Buddhist world were traumatized to hear one of their most venerated Buddhist places of worship, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi at Anuradhapura has been desecrated by a bunch of barbaric Tiger terrorists who went on a killing spree firing on meditating devotees.

Brainwashed blood thirsty fanatics on a snatched state bus on that ill-fated day first stormed the central bus stand in the old town and splashed those present there with a rain of gunfire indiscriminately. As unarmed affected civilians in the town began running in all directions hysterically, many lay dead or bleeding with no knowledge of what was going around, as the terrorists made their way towards the sacred Bo Tree for another heinous crime.

Those armed terrorists then sprayed both the upper layer (Uda Maluwa) and the lower layer (Pahala Maluwa) with bullets, causing the entire sacred place splattered with blood, as scores of meditating and worshiping Buddhist nuns, white-clad observers of eight precepts and other devotees lay dead or unconscious after struck by terrorist bullets.

All in all 120 Sinhalese civilians, for no fault of theirs fell dead in the face of terrorist bullets. Another 85 sought admission to hospitals due to severe injuries, perpetrated on them by terrorists who stormed both the town centre and the sacred premises within a matter of minutes.

Just as much as the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha is considered to be the symbol of sovereignty, the sacred Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi too is said to safeguard the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.

The Sacred Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura is reckoned as the oldest surviving historical tree in the world. It was brought to Sri Lanka by the Theri Sangamitta, daughter of Emperor Asoka and was planted in the Mahameghavana Park in Anuradhapura in 249 BC by King Devanampiyatissa. It is said to be the southern branch of the Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi at Buddha Gaya in India under which Lord Buddha attained Enlightenment

Courtesy : Army Media Unit