INTRODUCTION OF DIPAVAMSA:
Dipavamsa is the first text of Vamsa Literature, also called Buddhist History Literature. This text was composed in Sri Lanka. It was composed in the fourth century by unknown author. The history of Sri Lanka described in this text from Sri lanka’s establishment to the fourth century. The history of ancient Sri lanka is revealed by this text. Herman Oldenburg first edited and translated this text in 1879 under this title- “Dipavamsa: An Ancient Buddhist Record.”
ESTABLISHMENT OF SRI LANKA:
Sri lanka was established by king Vijaya, who went to Sri lanka from India. He was related to North India. He was the first anointed king of Sri lanka mentioned in Dipavamsa. It is described in Dipvamsa as -“The king called Vijaya by name was the first ruler who reignd in Tambapanni over the delightful island of Lanka.” His reign was from 543 BC-505 BC. There was no stable governance in Sri lanka before King Vijaya. Stable governance began in Sri Lanka by King Vijaya. He established Sri lanka and built the city in a very planned manner. The process of development In Sri lanka has been started by King Vijaya.
ARRIVAL OF BUDDHISM:
The arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka occurred during the reign of king Devanampiya Tissa. His reign was from 307 BC to 267 BC. After The Third Budhhist Council an important decision was taken to propagate Buddhism in various countries. Ther Mahinda , along with his companions, arrived in Sri Lanka for propagation of Dhamma. His efforts soon led to the development of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Both the king and subjects of Sri Lanka had the influence of Buddhism. The development of Sri Lanka also took place soon after the arrival of Buddhism.
USE OF MACHINE IN SRI LANKA:
Bhatikabhaya Abhaya was the most religious king of Sri Lanka. His reign was from 22 BC to 7 AD. He worshiped continuously on the occasion of Vaishakh Purnima for 28 days, because on this day Buddha appeared in this world. Detailed information about his religious life is given in Dipvamsa. Various types of worship by king Abhaya are mentioned in this text. The king also performed water worship of the Mahachaitya. It is described in Dipvamsa “Having dug a chanel (from the Thupa) to the Tissa pond (which was situated) to the west of the Thupa, he made there a water offering with the help of machine.”. It is known that, in the first century, technology was developed in Sri Lanka.This important information is obtained from the study of the ancient history Sri Lanka.
USE OF WATER TECHNOLOGY:
In Sri Lanka with the influence of Buddhism, The king loved the subjects like a son. In the list of Sri Lankan Kings, king Vasabha gave most priority to agricultural work. His reign was from 67 AD to 111 AD. King formed eleven tanks-
- The Mayanti tank
- The Rajjuppala tank
- The vaba tank
- The kolamba tank
- The Mahanikkhavatti tank
- The Maharametti tank
- The kehal tank
- The Kali tank
- The Jambuti tank
- The Mangana tank
- The Abhivaddhamanaka tank
He also constructed twelve irrigation canals. So that agricultural production should remain constant and there was no famine. According to Dipavamsa King Vasabh order lotus-pond to be dug at the different places in the town, the capital. The most eminent king conducted water by means of an underground aqueduct (to those ponds). In the first century, where technology was developed in Sri Lanka , in the second century, underground water technology was also developed.
The use of technology in Sri Lanka started from the first century. And further ground water technology also developed in it. From the study of Dipavamsa, we get such conclusions.