Features

Two well-known Sinhala classical poems translated into English

Published

2 years ago

2024/04/7

The poems, termed didactic – Lovada Sangarava and Subhasitaya – have been translated as Towards Universal Well-being and Well Spoken respectively, and published as a second edition by the Buddhist Publication Society Kandy, in 2023 (Buddhist era 2567). The translator is Ven Siri Vajiraramaye Nanasiha Thera. The very clear print text runs through 90 pages with the verses from the ancient text in Sinhala letters and the translation in bold English script, well-spaced and easy on the reading eye.

Embarrassed, I admit, I am not familiar with the two great classics of our Sinhala literature but have been reading them, along with easy-to-understand English translations, in the book I feel privileged to write about.

Unlike many Buddhists I did not study these two sets of poems as a school goer when classics are usually ‘done’ in classes and greatly appreciated. I was in a Christian missionary school when the medium of instruction and language of conversation was English. In three years of Kindergarten and then Standards Two to Five, we sang hymns and had Bible stories narrated. In Forms 1 and 2 we started on the Bible but then CWW Kannangara’s education reforms were introduced and we Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims had time-tabled periods of ‘moral teaching’; while the others had Christianity classes. Also, Sinhala texts that swayed towards Buddhism were not included in such school curricula. We certainly missed out on classics such as Lovada Sangarava and Subhasitaya. Thus my gratitude to Ven Nanasiha for gifting me copy of his excellent translation, with the verses in Sinhala too.

Authorship of the two Sinhala Classics

The 140 verses of the Lovada Sangarava were written by Ven Vidagama Maitreya Maha Thera, during the reign of Parakramabahu VI of the Kotte period (1410-1468 CE). The meaning of the title of the poems is Compendium (of Poems) for Universal Well-being. As Ven Nanasiha points out in his Introduction, these poems were not for the erudite but for those who were not able to read and understand books on Buddhism in Pali. “The purpose was to wean them from unwholesome deeds and to urge them to do wholesome actions that would be beneficial to them in their lives here and hereafter, … also to evoke deep saddha or confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.” I well remember at my grandmother’s ancestral home a learned old man would sit and chant from Buddhist texts of an evening, while family and servants and nearby villagers listened intently. Remember how Silindu was deeply affected by such a recitation while on pilgrimage to Kataragama in Leonard Wolfe’s Village in the Jungle. It was a custom for a guru to chant aloud suttas etc when illiteracy was common.

The Subhasitaya, the translator says, may be rendered as “The Well Spoken” in English. Its 100 verses were composed by Alagiyawanna Mukavetti (1552-circa 1625), who was a scholar of repute and versatile in Pali, Sanskrit, and Tamil too. In his verses, (the exact date of writing not being known exactly), he reacts against conversion and asks why persons forsake the sublime religion – Buddhism. However he converted to Roman Catholism and was known as Alagiyavanna Mohottala and served under the Portuguese. “The Subhasitaya deals with matters relatively more worldly, … good worthy men (sudana) and low, unworthy men (dudana). They are compared and the consequences of associating with them described in detail.”

The term didactic is used to classify these two ancient collections. Its definition: “intended to teach, particularly in having moral instructions as an ulterior motive” proves the point made in classifying the two collections as didactic, more so the first collection.

Ven. Nanasiha writes in his Introduction to the first collection of verses: “The message is to make the best use of being born a human… They echo the last exhortation of the Buddha to all his disciples. The world is fragile. Exert heedlessly and put an end to those conditions that make one continue in the cycle of birth, decay and death; i.e. samsara.”

How the translation and publication happened

It started in 1993. Ven Nansiha, then civil servant Deshabandu Olcott Gunasekera, was invited by the SL Broadcasting Corporation to translate into English the verses of Lovada Sangarava and to read them after each verse in the original Sinhala was sung by a female guest artiste. This was in March. A couple of months later he was invited by SLBC to do the same with Subhasitaya.

He consulted his sisters – Sudharma Pandita and Sujata Dias – both highly qualified educationists whom he says were lodestars in his life. To his surprise he found Sujata had translated the classic and she handed him a hand-written manuscript which he used as the base of his translation, making much easier his task. He thus shares the magnitude of this translation with his second sister and others he consulted. Very fortuitously, in a conversation with the Most Ven Tirukunamale Ananda Mahanayake Thera, he mentioned his translations for SLBC. To continue the fortuitousness, the Mahanayake Thera queried; “Why don’t you get them printed?” With donations received, the printing was done by Ruwan Paharuva Press in 2017.

That was the first edition. The second, six years later, which I write about, was somewhat due to comments received by his sister Sudharma from Sahityarathna Dr Lakshmi de Silva, of the Department of English at Kelaniya University and also a renowned translator, critic, writer and winner of many awards. She went through the English translation meticulously and edited. Most Ven Tirikunamale Ananda Mahanayake Thera himself undertook to edit and proof read the Sinhala verses.

“My wish was to ensure that the second edition reaches a wider circle.” Consequent to discussion with the Mahanayake Thera, The Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, was selected as publisher. As a layman, Ven Nansiha had close contact with this Society inaugurated in 1957 under the supervision of Ven Nyanaponika Maha Thera; at one time having Bhikkhu Bodhi as its editor. BPS accepted the book readily for publication. And thus the benefit to so very many of us having in one slim volume the verses of these two classics of more than 500 years vintage in Sinhala and English.

Ven Nanasiha mentions in his introduction to the volume I write about, that the verses are currently relevant, both to individuals and societies. He thinks particularly of Sri Lankan children living in foreign countries who could and should read our classical writings. His publication is particularly suited in content matter and style to young minds. Conscious as we all are of the present day political situation in this country, in the context of corruption, other evils and elections taking place, what he says in the sentence I quote from his Introduction cannot be over-emphasised. “These verses are good measures to evaluate good governance even in the 21^st century.”

When I wrote to Ven Siri Vajiraramaye Nanasiha Thera for permission to make more people aware of his latest publication, he replied: “As the translations are an end product that is not completely mine but edited by an erudite person of very high calibre and commended by a Venerable Mahanayake, I wish the book is popularized among Dhamma School students so they are motivated or enthused to live upright lives, … How is it possible to make those gems of words and wise ideas contribute to a better world order? How make these classics a part of modern society? If you can contribute towards that popularization of the two classics, I shall be happy and contented that something has been achieved for the greater good of humanity.”

As columnist, I can only hope people will read this article and have themselves and their younger family members read the book. It is available on sale priced Rs 375/-, at outlets of BPS in Colombo – one of which is the bookshop in the Sri Sambuddhatva Jayanthi Mandiraya along Havelock Rd. I can assure you BPS is excellent in its posting of books when ordered from its Kandy headquarters.

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Features

The hard challenge of clinching a political settlement in the Middle East

Published

22 hours ago

2026/07/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

Bruised hearts: Displaced Palestinian civilians in the Gaza.(Photo by Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Despite some sections of the Trump administration persisting with the view that the possibility could not be entirely ruled out of there being a diplomatic solution to the current US-Iran hostilities in West Asia, the skeptic could not be blamed for thinking otherwise. The intensity, scale and frequency of the tit-for-tat strikes by the antagonists over the past few days against selected military targets and civilian infrastructure in particular in West Asia make the adoption of this stance excusable.

The continuing hostilities render the mentioning of the MOU signed between the warring parties in mid-June a laughable matter. While it could very well be that the foes are wishing privately for a cessation of hostilities before long, what seems to be uppermost on their minds right now is to negotiate with each other from a position of strength. This strategy compels them to incapacitate each other militarily to the extent possible, lest they have to concede too much to each other during negotiations. Hence the stepped-up hostilities.

However, even on the question of there being a negotiated political settlement in the West Asian theatre in the longer term, the skeptic could come to be seen as scoring over the optimist. Developments on the ground account for this.

At the time of writing Israel’s Netanyahu government is going ahead in fairly care-free fashion with the establishment of more Jewish settlements in the Gaza and the West Bank, and it’s all happening under the apparently complacent gaze of the US. In fact, some quarters estimate that Israel is in control of some 65% of the Gaza Strip. Ethnic cleansing, that is, is being drastically stepped-up.

Accordingly, in terms of the power relations of West Asia, the world is almost back to the status quo of the late forties of the last century when the state of Israel was established and the Palestinians were reduced to a microscopic minority in the land they came to inhabit. Therefore, even the impartial observer would be compelled to ask: ‘Will a negotiated peace be ever possible in the Middle East?’

The humanist in the observer would prefer to answer this question in the affirmative and it is indeed the ideal stance to adopt considering the staggering human and material costs of the conflict. But the way ahead to peace could be expected to be highly hazardous and arduous. Among other odds, it would also prove an uphill endeavour to win minds and hearts.

The US’ Trump administration would need to be counted out in this pursuit. This is on account of the fact that it has been far too wayward in its management of West Asian affairs in particular over the past couple of years. Given its unpredictable character it is a matter for conjecture whether it could be counted on to live up to its commitments.

Moreover, Israel could be expected to ‘go it alone’ in the Middle East regardless of whether US help is coming or otherwise. It has indicated as much in recent times and Israel could be doubted on this score only at the doubter’s peril. Because time and again Israel has demonstrated that it could steadfastly defend its interests even single-handedly in the Middle East. History bears this out.

However, a durable alliance with the US would stand Israel in good stead. On the matter of military and intelligence assistance, for example, the US’s help proved invaluable for Israel in the past and going forward this is bound to be so as well. Moreover, it is unlikely that the Trump administration would give up on Israel, considering that a strong Israel is crucial for the furtherance of the US’ strategic and economic interests in West Asia.

But whether the above factors would have a considerable bearing on the question of working out a durable solution to the West Asian tangle is an entirely different matter. Israel, as in the case of the Palestinian enclaves, is acutely security conscious and would need to satisfy itself fully that it could live in a security environment that would guarantee its complete safety, going forward.

The Middle East is badly in need of another peace effort on the lines of the Oslo Accords of the mid-nineties that brought the key actors together and helped hammer out a solution that addressed some of their notable concerns. To be sure, that process did not prove to be the ideal answer to the tangle, but it yielded some respite to the region and drove home that one-time sworn foes could indeed negotiate with a degree of success. The West Bank authority, although falling short of fulfilling some key Palestinian aspirations, is testimony that a degree of success is possible if the intent is right.

Given the current realities of West Asia, peace-making is bound to be an uphill challenge. The violence faced in recent times by the Palestinian community, in particular, has been nothing less than mind-numbing. Merciless has been the violence visited on them by the Israeli side. In such circumstances, durable peace in the region could smack of an idealist’s dream.

Nevertheless, there needs to be urgently, a meeting of minds over the divides. The US would need to be counted out as an honest broker in bringing the sides together but the rest of the West would do well to step up to the challenge.

In this exercise the onus would be on the world’s democracies to take the initiative and doggedly stay the course. An acceptable combination would be the EU and the UN. Given their credentials, the main sides in West Asia ought to find them the least controversial.

Even if the relevant institutional and political arrangements could be shored up to take a reconciliation process forward, winning hearts and minds for the peace drive would prove a grueling challenge. Over the past few years in particular tens of thousands of hearts and minds on both sides of the divide have been bruised badly in the runaway murderous violence that has come to define the Middle East.

These badly scarred personalities would need to experience healing without much delay. It is therefore a multi-faceted challenge that is at hand. Since wide-ranging expertise would be needed in the healing process, people’s participation in peace-making, ranging over the divides, would need to be made a durable reality. It will be a time for enthroning humanity and ensuring the rejection of all forms of violence and coercion.

Features

Amazing Thailand …right here in Colombo

Published

22 hours ago

2026/07/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

For many Sri Lankans, Thailand is the go-to holiday — beaches, temples, food, and that famous warm hospitality.

In fact, I’ve been to Amazing Thailand 24 times myself, and was honoured with the Friends of Thailand International Media Award by the Tourism Authority of Thailand for promoting Thai tourism.

The good news I have for you today is that you don’t even need a passport to get a taste of Amazing Thailand.

The Royal Thai Embassy, in Colombo, is bringing a vibrant slice of Thailand, to the city of Colombo, with Thai Festival 2026 — a cultural experience like never before.

Whether you are an avid enthusiast of Thai culture, a total novice, or simply just interested in exploring foreign cultures, Thai Festival 2026 is going to be the perfect opportunity for you to get more than just a glimpse into one of the most celebrated cultural heritages in South East Asia. And ENTRANCE IS FREE.

The festival will be held on the 1st and 2nd of August, 2026, at Siam Nivasa, 43, C.W.W. Kannangara Mawatha, Colombo 7, and the East Parking Area, of the Colombo Municipal Council, from 11:00am to 5:00pm.

Both days will be full of live entertainment, and dispersed throughout with Thai cultural displays, including exhilarating traditional dance performances and breathtaking Muay Thai demonstrations.

Exploring art and craft specific to Thailand, tasting irresistible authentic Thai cuisine, and playing arcade games, are just a few more fun-filled events available for visitors at the festival premises.

An array of Thai products will also be available for purchase.

While at the festival, you will find Sri Lankan Alumni from Thai universities sharing their experiences with you and willing to answer any questions you might have, related to studying abroad in Thailand.

You can also register for the Muay Thai workshop that will be happening on the 7th and 8th of August, 2026, in Colombo.

Irresistible authentic Thai cuisine

Visitors can also stand a chance to win traditional Thai souvenirs, get exclusive photo opportunities, and, the big one — to enter the raffle draw, at the end of each day, for the grand prize of an all-inclusive round trip to Thailand.

Be sure to avail yourself of this exceptional opportunity and add a cultural spin to your weekend.

To keep up with the latest updates on Thai Festival 2026, head over to the Thai Festival official social media pages.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo official webpage:

https://colombo.thaiembassy.org

Official social media:

Facebook: @RTEColombo

Instagram: @thaiembassysrilanka

Thai Festival official social media:

Facebook: Thai Festival in Colombo

Instagram: @thaifestival_colombo

TikTok: @thaifestival.incolombo

Features

Thicker, stronger hair …

Published

22 hours ago

2026/07/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

Hair fall, in this heat, can be so frustrating, and noticing a thin patch is even more worrying. The good news is … yes, with a little care and kitchen ingredients, you can nourish your scalp and support healthy regrowth.

Try these four easy home remedies … even our grandmothers trusted:

* Coconut Oil and Curry Leaves Tonic:

Warm 04 tablespoons of coconut oil, with a handful of curry leaves, till the leaves turn black. Cool, strain, and massage into scalp 02-03 times a week. Leave for 01 hour, or overnight.

Why:

Coconut oil deeply nourishes, while curry leaves help strengthen roots and add shine.

* Onion Juice for Spot Treatment:

With cotton, dab the juice of 01 small onion, directly on the thin/bald patches. Leave for 20-30 minutes, and then wash with a mild shampoo. Use twice a week.

Why:

Rich in sulfur, onion juice helps boost blood circulation to the scalp.

* Aloe Vera and Castor Oil Mask:

Mix 02 tablespoons of fresh aloe vera gel and 01 tablespoon castor oil and apply to the scalp, focusing on thinning areas. Leave for 45 minutes, and then rinse with cool water.

Why:

Aloe vera soothes the scalp, while castor oil coats hair to make it look thicker.

* Fenugreek and Curd Strengthening Pack:

You will need 02 tablespoons fenugreek seeds, soaked overnight, and 02 tablespoons plain curd.

Grind to a paste, apply to scalp for 30 minutes, and then wash.

Why:

Fenugreek strengthens strands and reduces breakage.

Extra Tips for Healthy Hair:

Avoid tight hairstyles that pull on the scalp.

Eat iron and protein rich foods: greens, dhal, eggs, fish.

Use lukewarm water, not hot.

Be gentle when brushing and drying.