Symposia & Conferences
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Item Promoting Railway Tourism in Si Lanka(The International Conference on Land Transportation, Locomotive Heritage and Road Culture - 2017, 2017) Rathnayake, S.; Rathnayake, S.Accessibility is one of the main components in tourism destination. Traveling by train is a famous accessibility method of the tourism industry. Railway tourism or train tourism is not a new concept. It dates back to late 1800s, when railway were developed and expanded many sectors of the world. This study is a desk research about the development of railway tourism, Indian railway market and identifies issues of Sri Lankan railway tourism and promoting furthermore. The basis of foundation of railway tourism was placed by the United Kingdom. As our main industry competitor, India has utilized their railway potentials for the tourism industry in a profitable manner. Tour operators use good marketing campaigns and introduce flexible packages to increase railway tourist market. Although there are many resources in Sri Lanka as well, those have not been properly used. Travel companies in Sri Lanka, giving chance for travelers to experience the train tours as a part of their main tour package. Mainly “JF tours” and “Exporails” travel companies promote railway tourism in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) with the collaboration of Railway department, plans to launch a new accommodation project in railway stations. To face the competition, Sri Lanka has to have a good plan together with private and public sectors. Moreover, it is essential to use powerful marketing strategies to attract more railway travellers to the destination.Item Jaina Religion in Ancient Sri Lanka(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2017) Bandara, N.; Bandara, D.; Harischandra, M.Jaina religion was one of the most popular religions that existed in ancient India. (It is well known as jainasm or jaina Sharma which belongs to the Sramana tradition) The religious leader of Jainism is known as Nigankanatha putta or Mahavira. Buddhist literature too mentions about Jainism in certain occurrences. Jainism was the first ever religion which invaded the South Asian countries such as South India, Mysore and Ceylon. Significant evidence can be found that can prove Jainism held and important place in ancient Sri Lanka. Local and foreign literary sources confirm the above fact. The main objective of this research is to discuss about the background of Jainism in ancient Sri Lanka based on the above sources. There are no definite factors to confirm as to how and when Jainism commenced its practices in ancient Sri Lanka. But there is evidence that Jainism dominated an authentic position in ancient Sri Lanka during the period of king Pandukabhaya. It becomes clear from Mahawamsa records to the effect that monasteries had been constructed for Jaina religions nominees named Jothiyagiri and Kumbanda. The above statements proves that Jainaism was the first ever religion was accorded the royal patronage of ancient Sri Lanka. Arrival of Arahant Mahinda Thera in Sri Lanka caused to create a new chapter in the history of ancient Sri Lanka. Buddhist doctrinal teachings evolved in the entire island effecting great influence on moral, virtuous and cultural lives of the citizens. Advent of Buddhism may have been strong enough to cause the decline of the powers of Jainaism. King Valagamba destroyed the monastery named Girinigantarama and built up Abhayagiri Viharaya at the same place which act resulted in degrading the authority of Jainaism. But it could be assumed that Jainaism raised its head again from time to time due to occurrences that took place after the Kings of this country left for South India for protection with the invasions of Paundyas and Cholas in Sri Lanka. There is no doubt that such religions influences may have had an impact on the customs, literature and the language which proves by the addition of adverse and unpleasant words like nasty, gaudy and indecorous etc.Item A Study on Feminist Ideas of Jainism(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2017) Rupasinghe, S.The concept of feminism springs as a wave of philosophy cum a socio political movement in the 19th century and its breeding ground was Europe. Its ultimate aim can be phrased as an aggressive attempt to concretize for women equal opportunities in the matrix of social and economic aspects. The aggression rises against male dominance and imposes later an overall and inevitable influence on the later socio, cultural, political and educational spheres. As feminism thus proceeds as a socio movement it soon reaches as an educational movement into the premises of universities and higher learning institutes. The enlightened women opened their eyes to a bold truth i.e. that society hitherto has been seen through the eyes of men only. This trend went on to beget a new tendency i.e. to begin to view philosophy and religion from the feminist angle.The optimistic picture of the woman in India went into hiding with passing time and its ultimate visage was the Sathi ceremony by which widows were killed. As its opposites, this proposed research wishes to study on feminist thoughts in early Jain philosophy. This study is carried out with the aid of texts as its methodology. Jain female clergy had preceded Buddhist female clergy. It is said that in the Swethambara Jain sect, 4000 males and 36000 females were ordained. The females ordained in Jain sect were twice the number of males. Among the 24 Jain Theerthakaravara, there was a woman named Malli and she was the 19th of them. She was the chief cause of protest around the stand that women cannot achieve salvation.Item Elephants and Gods: A Sacred Alliance(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Palande-Datar, S.K.; Khare, A.V.Stories of elephant in life and legends have captured the imagination for the countless generations of Indian subcontinent. The very form of the elephant triggers awe, delight and extraordinary grandeur, in one’s mind. Thus, it is no wonder that it has been assimilated and internalised in legends and stories of Indian subcontinent. Throughout the history, cannons of all the three main religious traditions of India are filled with mythological stories where elephants are part of central story, in association with Gods and Goddesses. Both malevolent and benevolent aspects of elephants are superbly utilised in the description of deity and/or mythological narratives. Various shilpa texts further stress and elaborate on the iconographic elephant association, brought out by these sacred texts. These iconological associations take its form in the sculptural compositions found in religious complexes across Indian subcontinent. So much so, that the very deity can be identified with the specific elephant aspect. The common examples are easily observed in the story of Ganeśa or in the form of Gaja-Lakṣmī. The paper, thus, aims at tracing this sacred alliance between elephants and religious pantheons in Brahmanical, Jaina and Buddhist traditions of India through prominent examples. It attempts to comparatively evaluate the textual narratives and sculptural art.Item The Indian War Elephant: Fascinating Tales from its Historical Past(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Dasture, P.One of the most interesting and unusual uses of animals in history was the engagement of war elephants. Working with animals on the battlefield had both advantages and disadvantages and this was particularly true of the war elephant, whose usage through time had varying results. The elephant was the only animal that humankind used as a significant combatant, systematically and on a large scale, India being one of the first countries to utilize it. Horses were never actual fighters, rather vehicles for carrying soldiers in the battle. The elephants were military units with elephant-mounted troops; they were first employed in India, the practice subsequently spread across south-east Asia and even westwards towards the Mediterranean. Through a good part of Indian history, the elephant has been a famous participant as a highly valued war machine in military actions. In India, elephants were not only fighters but also siege weapons. From the fighting tower, to the howdah, to the armour to the tusk swords, all made the elephant rather formidable. This paper intends to look at the necessity of the increased employability of the war elephants in Indian history; their functions, advantages and disadvantages as well as the countermeasures used against them. This paper narrates tales of battles from the Indian past where the war elephant was an integral part of the outcome of the combat. Moreover, the elephant when not in war was also used as a medium of imparting punishment, where the perpetrator would publically be crushed to death under the foot of an elephant.Item Elephants their Habitats: Uses and Maintenance in Medieval India(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Khan, E.The growth of objective pictures of birds and animals, plants and flowers, etc., during the sixteenth-seventeenth century reflects the passion of the Mughal emperors for nature and wild life. Akbar had as many as 101 elephants for his personal use, each given a name, an exalted position, trained staff for proper upkeep, special diet, shikar, sport including the elephant fight and for the battle field. There are numerous pictures of elephants in several historical, biographical, religious, and literary manuscripts illustrated for Akbar and other Mughal emperors in his memoirs and other official historical accounts like Baburnama, Tuzuk-iJahangiri, Iqbalnama-iJahangiri, Majalis-iJahngiri, Ain-i Akbari, Akbarnama, Padshahnama, Shajahanama, Maasir-iAlamgiri, Ruqqat-iAlamgiri, etc. In 1616, Muqarrab Khan presented Jahangir with a small elephant brought from Abyssinia. Jahangir took notice of its peculiarities. He writes: “In comparison with the elephants of Hindustan, it presents some peculiarities. Its ears are larger than the ears of the elephants of this place, and its trunk and tail are longer.” Here, he also takes notice of a young elephant (African) presented to his father Akbar by Itimad Khan of Gujarat in the year 1567. Both the Persian and the Mughal court provided a logical basis to the artist’s acquaintance with animal character and behaviour. Among such works at the Mughal atelier, the most favourite texts were the Anwar-iSuhaili, the Iyar-i Danish and the Ajaib-al Makhluqat in which the animals are the main characters and an integral part of most of the themes. Numerous copies of these manuscripts repeatedly illustrated at the Mughal atelier during sixteenth century bear testimony to the depiction of wild-life. The theme of animal fight mainly illustrates combats between cocks, goats, rams, deer, buffaloes, camels and elephants. These, as a matter of rule, show careful studies of animals engaged in violent action. An attempt has been made in the research paper to use the text of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in perspective of ecology or the environment, to find out what was the condition of elephants, their habitats, distributions, uses and maintenance during the medieval period.Item Archeo-philately: New Dimensions in Heritage Studies(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Dasture, P.; Vartak, A.; Mudgal, K.; Xalxo, G.; Bhatt, E.Although it is known as the ‘King of Hobbies’; philately is not merely stamp collection but a serious study of stamps, covers, cancellations & postal stationery. A small piece of paper has the ability to reveal in depth details of the past. Heritage is that which is inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations, but not until long ago, it was primarily used to describe that which people inherited legally or which belonged to one by reason of birth; however, over the years, the definition has expanded to encompass cultural traditions, natural environs & historical buildings. The archaeology of any country showcases its rich cultural, anthropological and architectural development through the ages. It is the study and analysis of all artifacts, architecture and bio-facts of the earlier civilizations. Through philately the natural and cultural heritage of a nation can be brought to the attention of common man. This paper gives a brief overview on how philately can be used as a very effective teaching aid in learning history and archeology and it essentially speaks about the 32 World Heritage Sites depicted on Indian postal stamps, covers, post cards and the likes; of these, 25 are cultural sites, while the remaining 7 are natural sites. The uniqueness of this work, lies in the fact that these collections of stamps are the only ones issued by any country, which depict monuments of all the major religions practiced in the country.