Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka : The Oldest Historical Tree in the World/edited by H.S.S. Nissanka. Reprint. 1996, 266 p., Col. plates, $23.
Contents: Preface. 1. The sacred precincts of the Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura/W.I. Siriweera. 2. The Bodhi tree--a cultural legacy from India to Sri Lanka/D.K. Barua. 3. Society in ancient Bihar/Upendra Thakur. 4. The eighteen families that accompanied the Bodhi tree/S.B. Hettiarachchi. 5. Nilagama painter and Mahaya: the survivals of the eighteen families/H.S.S. Nissanka. 6. The Bodhi tree and the architectural monuments connected with it/W. Saddhamangala Karunaratne. 7. Buddhist literary masterpieces on the Bodhi tree--a world literary survey/D.K. Barua. 8. Bodhi literature in Sri Lanka/Ven. Pandit Kiriwaththuduwe Pragnasara. 9. A note on the date of the Maha Bodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya/Vijay Kumar Thakur. 10. Customs, rituals and traditions grown around the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura/Anuradha Seneviratne. 11. Court cases connected with the management of the Bodhi tree/K.D.G. Wimalaratne. 12. The abode of Sanghamitta--the first museum in the world/Pandula Endagama. Pictorial presentation: present and past/H.S.S. Nissanka. Index.
"This anthology narrates the story of a sacred tree--the oldest historical tree in the world. No tree in the world has been so protected by the rulers of a country over such a long period--2300 years--as the Sri Maha Bodhi tree in the ancient city of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka.
"The writers in this anthology have focused on different aspects of the Bodhi tree and the views expressed by them are the conclusions reached after painstaking research." (jacket)
Return to History and Politics Catalogue (New Titles)