Bodhi vamsa or bodhahara caste is a caste in Sri Lanka. The caste has been referred to as Panna dura,Villi dura or simply the Dura caste during the colonial period. Originally they were Appointed as guardians of Sri Maha Bodhi tree
Contents
History
The caste traces its origin to the arrival in Sri Lanka of the Sri Maha Bodhi tree. Dipavamsa, the earliest document of the history of Sri Lanka, states that the following persons came to the island with or associated with Sri Mahabodhi
- eight Kshatriya who were entrusted with protecting the bodhi tree
- Bodhiguptha and Chandraguptha
- sixteen Lanka Mahalekhas (Lambakarnas)
- castes (or families) that received golden drums used for royal coronations (Lambakarnas)
The Mahavamsa records that during the reign of King Parakramabahu I, three lambakarnas were sent to south India for a coronation festival. Mahalekha is also a term used to identify lambakarnas. Accordingly, they are either descendents of Bodhiguptha,Chandragupta, eight kshatriyas or from The gotra lambakarnas.Mahavamsa itself contains a narrative of this incident which is less credible than Dipavamsa. As per it eighteen families of gods, eighteen families of ministers,eight families of Brahmins, eight families of kelembi etc. has been sent from India. However, only certain eight situ families are Specifically mentioned as Bodahara Caste. As per later sources this situ clan is Bodhiguptha,Chandragupta, Samudragupta, Sumitta,Devagupta,Sooryagupta,Dharmagupta,Juthidara who are relatives of King Dharmashoka. Common belief of members of this caste is that they are descendants of this clan (particularly Bodhiguptha) who are also connected to the lambakarnas
Connection with Sinhalese royalty
Many Sinhalese royals prior to the kandyan era claimed descent from the families that accompanied the Sri Maha Bodhi. For example, Kawyashekaraya, a kotte era literacy source mentions:
මහබෝ රකින ලෙස සැලසු බෝ කලක් වැස එමහ බෝ අබියස විසූ කුලයන් මෙලක මුල් බැස
සිරි සඟබෝ නිරිඳු විකුම් වැඩි මහසෙන් රදු කිත්සිරි මේ නිරිඳු බුජස් මහනම කුමර දස් රඳු
the meaning of above two verses is castes that were entrusted to protect bodhi tree rooted in the country and produced kings like Sirisangabo, Mahasen, Kithsiri mewan, Buddhdasa,Mahanama and Kumaradasa. However, due to the absence of direct descendants who claim to be of this caste, it is difficult to prove that this is the royal clan that lost power by the 17 th century.Following is further such evidence for royal connection.
Colonial period
Since 17 th century the status of this caste gradually declined as a result of colonialism.During the colonial period, specially British colonial era this caste has been portrayed as several disconnected castes with names that were not been in use prior to 17 th century (pannadura, villidura,dura etc.).Jobs like grass cutting has been proposed by various writers without referring to historical and literary sources like Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Pujavaliya etc.Even at this time of decline,they functioned mainly as soldiers with some holding high ranks. and they also functioned as officers attached to various departments like kuruwe, royal stable, prison etc. some have taken care of the royal cattle shed and some have held posts as (mananna)(grain measurar)of royal store.Samarakkodi, Second adigar of king Kirti Sri Rajasinha, who was instrumental in re-establishing buddhism in Sri Lanka is a high-ranking officer from this caste.