A Study on the significance of the Language Used in Sangharaja Sadhu Chariyawa

Abstract

The pioneer of the Religious Enlightenment in Sri Lanka during the 17th Century was Welivita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thero. He contributed the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and received the higher ordination. Sangaraja Thero tried to uplift the academic level of the system of education in Sri Lanka. The declension of the Sinhalese language was a grave issue at that time and constructing a meaningful statement in Sinhalese was found difficult. It's Sangharaja Thero 's literary renaissance which gradually introduced a consistent grammatical order to the Sinhalese language. is a biography of Thero Sangaraja and was written by Ayiththaa Liyedde Muhandiram Rala. This biography portrays the language which has been used in prose writing during the 17th Century. Further, it depicts a novel Sinhalese style of grammar. It seems that the author of Sangharaja Sadhu Chariyawa had no deep understanding about the classical grammar patterns. Nevertheless his attempt in expressing his ideas clearly in Sinhalese is explicit. The language employed in Sangharaja Sadhu Chariyawa has a colloquial touch and the usage of long sentences can be identified. Further, a number of synonymous and debating words coming from the maternal language have been employed in Sangharaja Sadhu Chariyawa. Thus, the research study I present is based on the significance of the language used in Sangharaja Sadhu Chariyawa.