(A model of the Stupa made by King Nissankamalla in the 12th century)

• The site of the great stupa was decided long before king Dutugemunu. Arahat Mahinda, who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka has instructed the then king Kavantissa that the site was wished by the Buddha when he was living to be marked for a future great stupa to enshrine the holy relics. When the king himself volunteered to build the stupa, he was told that it was predicted that one of his grandsons, would build the great stupa.

• When the great king Dutugemunu united Sri lanka, his countryman had underwent tremendous suffering under the south indian invaders. The king did not wish to further bur dan his people with taxes to build the great stupa. But it said that by a miracle, a silver ore was discovered in Ridigama providing king enough wealth to pay for the construction of the Maha Stupa

• Ruwanweliseya was part of the great Monastery "Maha Vihara" . The other holy places of Mahaviharaya includes the Brazen Palace (Loha Pasada) and Sri Maha Bodhi (as well as many other places.) .

• The king started work on the stupa on the vesak full moon day of May. He dug the ground to 17.5 feet to ensure a solid foundation. Then he brought round stones by warriors and had them crushed by elephants with feet covered by leather. On top of the stones he laid butter clay. He had bricks laid over the clay and rough plaster on top of that. he then put quartz over the plaster and a mesh of iron on top of that. He then put a fragrance on top of that and spread crystal on top of that. With this description one can only imagine the number of bricks and stone lying under its circumference of over 350 feet.

• The shape of the Stupa was decided like this .The architect was asked by the king about the shape. He asked for some water which was brought in a golden bowl.It is said when the water was hit from outside, it miraculously became a bubble. The king, surprised and gladdened by this event, decided to make the stupa bubble shaped.

• The relic chamber is huge and was made of six large slabs made of a special stone called Medakavan, imported specially for this purpose. this special stone has a remarkable illuminating property which will always keep the relic chamber illuminated as daylight.

• Inside the relic chamber is a Bodhi tree made completely of silver and exquisite jewelry . There is also a pure gold statue of the sitting Buddha. Surrounding the statue there are many gold figures representing events and characters from the Buddha's life story. The walls of the relic chamber are gaily painted with The events from the story of Buddha. At the Museum in Mihintale you can see an example of such a relic chamber with such paintings on the wall.

• The sacred relics, it says were brought from the "Naga World". Some say that "Naga" actually means a tribe that was in charge of the sacred relics but who knows? it could be another world in this infinite universe.

• The relic enshrining ceremony of the great stupa had been a mega event with international participation. It is said that delegates were invited from counties such as India Burma,Afghanistan and Arab states.

• It says that when the King, surrounded by Arahats, entered the chamber with the relics, the relics shot up in to the sky , took the shape of the living Buddha and performed the miracle "Yama maha pelahara". (This is not pure imagination . The power of the sacred relics is clear from the sightings of the Aura (seen by thousands) around Ruwanweliseya (even now, on special pooja days like when there is a special Jasmine flower pooja). For the total skeptic, here is proof. The aura around the Somawathie Dagaba (which contains the right tooth relic)was recently photographed. Click to see pictures and article. As to why the Auras appear above Ruwanweliseya can only be explained by the fact that it contains the largest amount of sacred relics (1/8th ).

• The king amazed by this even had presented his country to the holy relics for seven days.

• The shifting of the kingdom from Anuradhapura and the disintegration of the dry zone civilization made the maintenance of the stupa after 1196 AC, a practical problem and the Dagaba lay in ruins for more than 800 years until the 19th century.

• A courageous buddhist monk named Naranvita Sumanasara with great difficulty started the restoration of the Stupa in 1893, using contributions given by Buddhists around the country. Later on the "Ratanamali Chaityawardhana Society" continued the work and the pinnacle of the stupa was placed on 17th June 1940.

• The magnificent gem at the top ("Chuda Manikya") was imported from Burma