KASYAPA, THE EVIL SON: A MORALITY TALE

The most-oft told story paints Kasyapa as a parricidal monster. Kasyapa, the son of the king by a consort, killed his father, Dhatusena I (459-477), by imprisoning him and entombing his behind a wall while he was still alive in order to gain the throne. Driven into exile, his half-brother, the crown prince Moggallana, retreated to India and assembled an army to avenge his father's death. Kasyapa prepared for this eventuality by transforming the Sigiriya into a impenetrable complex. It was all for naught for, according to the legend,  Kasyapa was lured from the rock by Moggallana. Enroute to do battle Kasyapa's elephant changed direction, sensing a swamp; his followers interpreted this as a retreat, and Kasyapa found himself alone in the face of an advancing army. Rather than facing death at the hands of his half-brother he beheaded himself, bringing this morality tale to its fitting  conclusion.  

 KASYAPA: REALIZING THE DREAMS OF DHATUSENA I

However more recently other theories have been advanced. One disputes Kasyapa's patricide, arguing that  he inadvertently killed his father in battle, deceived by his half-brother.  This version paints Kasyapa in an entirely different light; he is viewed as a brilliant designer and devoted son. According to this view, his decision to abandon his father's capital at Anuradhapura arose from the desire to complete his father's dream, to build a heavenly palace on the order of the mythical Tibetan palace of the god of wealth, Kuvera. In so doing Kasyapa would assume the highest mantle of power to which a secular leader at that time could aspire; Sigiriya is in essence a completion of his father's dream, and Kasyapa is seen as a faithful son.

 රාජකීය උද්භිද උද්‍යානයේ ඉතිහාසය

කීර්ති ශ්‍රී රාජසිංහ රජ විසින් මෙම ප්‍රදේශය රාජකීය උයන බවට පත්කරන ලදී. this was followed by King Kirti Sri and King Rajadhi Rajasinghe. A temple was built on this location by King Wimala Dharma but it was destroyed by the British when they were given control over the Kandyan Kingdom. There after the ground work for a Botanical Garden were formed by Mr Alexandar Moon in 1821. Botanical Garden at Peradeniya were formally established and plants from Kew Garden at Slave island, Colombo and from the Kalutara Garden in Kalutara were moved up until 1843. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya was made more independent and expanded under Mr George Gardner as its superintendent in 1844. The gardens came under the administration of the Department of Agriculture when it was established in 1912.

The Classical Avenue of Palms is located in this Garden. One tree with a significant history is the Cannon ball Tree planted by King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary in 1901. The tree is bent with its fruits which looks like Cannon Ball, which is how it came to be named.