Yapahuwa Rock Fortress

You might have seen the ‘goggle-eyed lions’ either at the Independence square in Colombo, or on a ten rupee note. But the first one of those lion statues is still there at Yapahuwa Rock Fortress.

Yapahuwa is an ancient Rock Fortress built by king Buhwanekabha at the beginning of the Yapahuwa era in Sri Lankan history. King Buhwanekabha built this rock Fortress in 1272, in order to transfer the capital to Yapahuwa from Polonnaruwa in the face of marauding Dravidian invasions from South India, bringing the Sacred Tooth Relic with him. But following the death of King Bhuvenakabha in 1284, the South Indians invaded Sri Lanka once again, and succeeded in capturing Sacred Tooth Relic too. Following its capture, Yapahuwa was largely abandoned & inhabited by Buddhist monks & religious ascetics..
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