The Religious Significance of the first Buddhist event in the calendar year - Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day

Duruthu poya usually falls in January which is the first month of the year and hence the observance of Duruthu poya is the first Buddhist event of the calendar year. It was on a day like this, exactly nine months after The Enlightenment that Gautama Buddha, the Eminent One, set foot on this land, Sri Lanka.

Significant Events that took place on Duruthu Poya Day

Gautama Buddha’s first visit to Sri Lanka after directing the arrogant Kassapa brothers on the correct path, and the offering of the hair relic to God Sumana Saman are regarded as significant events that had taken place on Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day. The Duruthu perahera of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya is also conducted on this day. Gautama Buddha’s visit to Sri Lanka is the most important event in Sri Lanka after the Rama Rawana war which is said to have taken place in this country more than three thousand and five hundred years ago.

The Settlement of the Dispute Between the Yakkhas and Nagas

At the time when the Enlightened One visited Sri Lanka for the first time, the inhabitants of this country were the Yakkhas and Nagas, who are said to be the descendents of Rawana and his brother, Vibhishana. The Yakkhas and Nagas were in constant confrontation. There is a belief that God Sumana Saman had invited The Buddha to put an end to the hostilities. It was on this invitation that The Enlightened One visited the Mahanaga grove at Mahiyangana at a time when the Yakkhas had gathered there for a meeting.

The Buddha subjugates the Yakkhas

The Buddha stood in the Mahanaga grove radiating light that made the atmosphere pleasant, clear, calm and gentle than the moon light. The aggregate of six colours formed a halo around The Buddha in separate circles viz. Blue, Yellow, Red, White, Crimson and the colour formed by their combination.
Yakkhas were not prepared to listen to The Buddha as they thought He was an invader in their hereditary land. Instantly, Yakkha soldiers took up arms. It was time for The Buddha to subjugate them. The Buddha terrified them by creating a terrible combination of rain, thunder and gale. The yakkhas, terrified at the thought that The Buddha was a supernatural being, turned submissive.  They obeyed The Buddha and begged for pardon. Buddha laid a piece of cloth (pathkada) on the ground and after sitting on it, called the Yakkha and Naga leaders and admonished them. According to legends, the Yakkhas who dispersed had gone to Giri divaina not being able to understand the words of The Buddha.

God Sumana Saman takes refuge in the Triple Gem

According to legends, Devas and Nagas assembled at Maha Naga grove in large numbers and took refuge in the Triple Gem. Among them was God Sumana Saman. According to legends, God Sumana Saman is a member of the Deva tribe from the Central Hills of Sri Lanka. The God attained “Sowan”, the first of the four stages leading to Nibbana. God Sumana Saman begged for a relic for worshipping, and The Buddha gave him a lock of His hair, which God Sumana Saman received in a golden casket. He enshrined it in Mahiyangana Cetiya which he built where the Exalted One sat to preach the Dhamma. This is the first dagoba in Sri Lanka and one of the shrines built during the time of The Buddha. Mahiyangana cetiya which is also known as Miyuguna Seya was built at the site of the Mahanaga grove in Minipe, where The Buddha had subjugated the Yakkhas. 
Forty five years later, the Collar Bone Relic (Greeva Dhatu) of The Buddha was enshrined in the dagoba by Arahant Surabha, a disciple of Arahant Sariputta Maha Thera. The dagoba constructed by God Sumana Saman was reconstructed by Arahant Surabha Thero to the height of twelve cubits. King Devanampiyatissa’s brother, Prince Uddhaya Culabhaya constructed a thirty cubits tall Kancaka Cetiya over the earlier twelve cubits tall dagoba. After the unification of Lanka, King Dutugemunu appreciated the sacredness of Mahiyangana and constructed an eighty cubits tall dagoba covering the thirty cubits tall one. This dagoba has been renovated from time to time by various kings such as Dhatusena, Sirisanghabo and Agbo. Miyuguna Seya which was renovated from time to time had remained unattended for some time until the Mahiyangana Cetiya Wardhana Samitiya renovated it to bring it to the present condition.

Devotees Attending Miyuguna Seya

Devotees attend Miyuguna Seya in large numbers, especially during the month of Duruthu, as it is the place purified by the touch of The Buddha’s feet, more than two thousand five hundred years ago. The stupa standing at the bank of Mahaweli, the Bo tree under which Prince Sirisangabo was enshrined by the Maha Sangha and Mahiyangana temple provide ways and means for the devotees to get away from the sufferings of transmigration. Sumana Saman devalaya provides divine protection. The Annual Esala Perahera is conducted at the Miyuguna Seya immediately followed by the Sri Dalada Maligawa Esala Perahera in the hill capital, Kandy. This perahera is called “Vedi Perahera” as Vaddas (the indigenous community) participate actively in it.

Subjugation of Jatila Brothers and their followers

Before proceeding to Sri Lanka, The Buddha put the very arrogant Jatila brothers on the correct path. The Jatila brothers, Uruwela Kassyapa, Nadi Kassyapa and Gaya Kassyapa were aggressively asserted or presumptuous jatilas with matted hair       who spent ascetic lives at Uruwela with one thousand followers. On the first Il Full Moon Poya Day after The Enlightenment, The Buddha dispatched sixty Arahants including the five Brahmin ascetics (Paswaga Mahanu) to various directions to propagate the Dhamma, while He Himself went to Uruwela to be of service to the Jatila brothers.

The Buddha’s Visit to the Kingdom of Magadha

During the month of Duruthu, The Enlightened One proceeded to the Kingdom of Magadha, accompanied by Jatila Arahants. This visit was made, in keeping with an invitation extended by Magadha King Bimbisara to The Buddha before His Enlightenment. Arahant Uruwela Kassyapa, Arahant Nadi Kassyapa, Arahant Gaya Kassyapa and their followers accompanied The Buddha. Having seen The Buddha with Arahant Uruwela Kassyapa, King Bimbisara hesitated to believe that Uruwela Kassyapa was a disciple of The Buddha. Realizing the king’s misconception, Arahant Uruwela Kassyapa performed a perahera to indicate that all the Jatila Arahants including himself were disciples of The Buddha. King Bimbisara and his people were very happy and devotedly embraced Buddhism. The Buddha preached the Dhamma to all the people who took refuge in the Triple Gem. King Bimbisara offered Veluwanaramaya to The Buddha. The Buddha made a proclamation permitting Bhikkhus to accept monasteries.

King Bimbisara’s Dream

King Bimbisara saw in a dream that his relatives were suffering having been born as goblins. The king informed The Buddha about the pain of mind caused to him by having seen his dead relatives in the state of goblins. The Buddha preached Dhamma to offer merit to those goblins, as they were in that state for want of merit.

Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya Duruthu Perahera

The Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya perahera is held during the month of Duruthu although it was on a Vesak Full Moon Poya Day that The Buddha visited Kelaniya, and the significance of Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day is the first visit of The Enlightened One in Sri Lanka.