Matara Bodhiya | Tree of Kumaradasa and Kalidasa

Matara Bodhiya | Tree of Kumaradasa and Kalidasa
Matara Bodhiya (Sinhala: මාතර බෝධිය; Tamil: மாதாரா போ மரம்) is a sacred Bodhi tree ( Ficus religiosa ) situated in the middle of Matara town, Sri Lanka. It is considered as one of the seven Bodhi trees ( Hath-Bodhiya ) planted in and around the Matara area (Abeyawardana, 2004). The tree is believed to be one of the saplings that sprang from the  Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi  tree at Anuradhapura (Ranaweera, 2015). History The history of this Bodhi tree, according to local tradition, can be dated back to the Anuradhapura Period (Ranaweera, 2015). The tree is associated with Kalidasa, a famous Indian poet and his friend Kumaradasa (513-522 A.D), the king of Sri Lanka who was also popular for writing the Sanskrit poem Janakiharanaya (Abeyawardana, 2004; Ranaweera, 2015). It is said that Kalidasa arrived in Sri Lanka as per an invitation made by Kumaradasa and stayed at a place in Matara (Ranaweera, 2015). However, he was killed by a courtesan and buried secretly (Ranaweera, 2015). The king who hadn'…