The Legend of Sigiriya
(Sigiriya Meanning in English Lion Rock)
According to the Mahavamsa (which book include Historical data), there was once a king calleed, Kasyapa, the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his elder brother Mogallana. Mogallana escaped Kasyapa's assassination attempt by fleeing to India. In India Mogallana raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka. Knowing that Mogallana will return one day, Kasyapa built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya Rock as a fortress as well as a pleasure palace.
In AD 495, eighteen years afer Kasyapa seized power, Mogallana returned and declared war. At the heat of the battle, Kasyapa's elephant turned aside sensing a hidden swamp. His army though he was retreating, so they backed away, leaving him stranded. Rather than be captured, Kasyapa committed suicide by turning his sword on himself (legend said he beheaded himself). Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura and Sigiriya reverted into a monastery complex.
The irony of this story is that had King Kassyapa remained within the high walls of Sigiriya Rock, Mogallana would have never been able to defeat him. Some people believe that the years of waiting for an invasion had driven Kassyapa over the edge, or that Kasyapa developed a guilty consoncience over what he had done and wanted to fight his brother on an equal level. Alternative stories have the primary builder of the palace at Sigiriya Rock as King Dhatusena, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Another story have Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya Rock being his pleasure palace. Still, Kasyapa's fate was nowhere less tragic. In some versions, he was assassinated by a concubine, in another he cut his own throat when isolated in his final battle.
The History Of Sigiriya
Sigiriya Rock may have been in use since prehistoric times. It was already a rock-shelter monastery from about the 3rd century BC. The caves within it were prepared and donated by devotees. Later King Kasyapa built the garden and palace around it. After King Kasyapa died, Sigiriya reverted to monastic use up till the 14th century, when it was finally abandoned, and was only rediscovered in 1907 by British Explorer John Still.
More reading
Sigiriya
Sigiriya.org: Sigiriya the 'Mount of Remembrance'
Sigiriya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sigiriya birding Check List
Lesser Whistling-duck Dendrocygna javanica
Cotton Pygmy-goose Nettapus coromandelianus
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans
Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus
Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Indian Pond-heron Ardeola grayii
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
Great Egret Casmerodius albus
Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis
Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger
Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
Peregrine Falcon (F. p. peregrinator) Falco peregrinus peregrinator
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Crested Serpent-eagle Spilornis cheela
Shikra Accipiter badius
Black Eagle Ictinaetus malayensis
White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida
Spotted Dove Stigmatopelia (Streptopelia) chinensis
Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica
Orange-breasted Green-pigeon Treron bicinctus
Pompadour Green-pigeon Treron pompadora
Green Imperial-pigeon Ducula aenea
Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
Drongo Cuckoo Surniculus lugubris
Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
Indian Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus
Asian Palm-swift Cypsiurus balasiensis
Little Swift Apus affinis
Crested Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata
Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis (Halcyon) capensis
White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Blue-eared Kingfisher Alcedo meninting
Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis
Little Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaulti
Sri Lanka Grey-hornbill Ocyceros gingalensis
Brown-headed Barbet Megalaima zeylanica
Crimson-fronted Barbet Megalaima rubricapillus
Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
Brown-capped Woodpecker Dendrocops nanus
White-naped Woodpecker Chrysocolaptes festivus
Common Iora Aegithina tiphia
Common Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus
Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei
Black-headed Cuckooshrike Coracina melanoptera
Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike Hemipus picatus
Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus
White-bellied Drongo Dicrurus caerulescens
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (D. p. ceylonicus) Dicrurus paradiseus ceylonicus
White-browed Fantail Rhipidura aureola
Asian Paradise-flycatcher (T. p. paradisi) Terpsiphone paradisi paradisi
Asian Paradise-flycatcher (T. p. ceylonicus) Terpsiphone paradisi ceylonicus
House Crow Corvus splendens
Jungle Crow Corvus levaillantii
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica
Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula
Grey-breasted Prinia Prinia hodgsonii
Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis
Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus melanicterus
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer
White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus
Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
Clamorous Reed-warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus
Brown-capped Babbler Pellorneum fuscocapillus
Tawny-bellied Babbler Dumetia hyperythra
Dark-fronted Babbler Rhopocichla atriceps
Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis
Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis
White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus
Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicatus
Brown-breasted Flycatcher Muscicapa muttui
Tickell's Blue-flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae
Jerdon's Leafbird Chloropsis jerdoni
Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
Purple-rumped Sunbird Nectarinia zeylonica
Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica
Long-billed Sunbird Nectarinia lotenia
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata
Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata
Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus