Ruwanweli seya 

Ruwanweli Maha Seya or Swarnamaali Maha Seya is a physical stupa located in Sri Lanka. It was the main stupa of the ancient Maha Viharaya. It is also the main stupa of the present-day Atamasthana. This stupa is one of the Sixteen Sacred Places (Sixteen Sacred Places) and the Eight Sacred Places.

Speciality
It is one of the most sacred places in the world where the relics of Gautama Samma Sambuddha are enshrined. At the same time, Ruwanweli Maha Seya is the only stupa where the relics of Gautama Samma Sambuddha are enshrined. It contains a bronze statue of the Buddha, the Buddha, who is said to have passed away.

Physical Features
At 338 feet (103 meters) high and 942 feet (287.1 meters) in diameter, it is one of the tallest monuments in the world. (The circumference of the base of the nave is 807 feet.) It is a stupa that has become extremely sacred among Buddhists around the world due to its architectural qualities and miraculousness.

King Dutugemunu began the construction of the stupa on the full moon day of the Vesak month of May, under the constellation Visakha.
The king thus completed the foundation of this great temple and arranged for the foundation stone to be installed on the full moon day of the Esala month. He then decorated the city of Anuradhapura and the Ruwanweli temple courtyard as a divine city. For this, nine hundred million arahants came from India. On the full moon day of the Esala Poya, under the constellation of Uttarasiha, he laid the foundation stone of the Maha Seya and resolved, "May the deeds I undertake for this stupa be successfully completed!! Then may the Buddharakkhita, Dhammarakkhita, Sangharakkhita and Ananda Arahants ascend from the four directions of the Maha Seya." As he resolved, the Venerable Siddhatta, Maigala, Paduma, Seevali, Chandagutta, Indagutta, Suriyagutta, Sitthasena, Jayasena and Akala Arahants faced east and stood in front of the kotala near the entrance during the festival. Nandisena, Supatinhitha, the son of Sumana Devi, and the minister appointed for the festival, walked around the relic house and measured the curved boundary of the Maha Seya with a silver rod. Seeing the minister measuring a very large scale around the relic hall in this way, the venerable Siddhatta advised him to measure with a medium scale. Hearing the names of the venerable Siddhatta, the minister, and his parents, King Dutugemunu was delighted and thought, "The work on the stupa will be successful in every way." Then he installed eight large gold and eight silver pots in the center of the great temple and placed one hundred and eight punkalas around the large water pot. In this way, he placed eight gold bricks at the eight corners and placed one hundred and eight silver bricks around them.

After the Parinirvana of the Buddha, the leaders of eight countries brought two relic scrolls to each country and enshrined them in stupas and worshipped them. The two scrolls containing the relic scrolls that had been enshrined in the village of Ramagama were ordered to be enshrined in the Ruwanweli Great Stupa according to the Buddha's will. King Dutugemunu, who organized an official ceremony to enshrine the relic scrolls in the Great Stupa on the full moon day of Esala, paid homage to the Sangha Ratna on the day before the full moon day, and reminded them that preparations had been made to enshrine the relic scrolls on the following day, and requested that the relic scrolls be brought. Following the order of the Sangha, the newly ordained arahant named Souttara, with the power of srudhi, brought the relic scrolls with the power of srudhi. Then King Dutugemunu, having received the relics from the Sangha, placed them in a golden casket on his head and departed from the golden pavilion amidst various offerings and offerings, and the respect of the gods and brahmins. He rode around the relic chamber three times, entered from the east, and placed the relic casket on a silver couch that had been prepared facing the north. By the power of the Buddha's will, a statue of the Buddha on a throne emerged and all the relics were enshrined in that statue. After the enshrining of the relics in the Ruwanweli Great Stupa was completed, the relic chamber was closed with a stone cover that had been previously hidden for later use as a lid by the novices Utthara and Sumana.

 

"May the relic chamber not be shaken even by an earthquake; may the flowers such as the pitcher flowers offered on that day not wither until the end of the Buddha's teaching; may the lamps lit with castor oil not go out; may the soil mixed with sandalwood and perfume not dry out; may there not be a single scratch on the relic chamber; may the gold objects offered not rust." All these wishes were fulfilled by the determination of the arahants who had come to this ceremony. They resolved that "not even the enemies should see this relic chamber." Furthermore, according to the order of King Dutugemunu, gold and silver caskets containing the relics of the Buddha and many other objects were placed on the relic chamber.