The Davy's Bo Tree (Sinhala: ඩේවි ගේ බෝ ගස) is found on the premises of Colombo International School near Polgolla Dam in Kandy District, Sri Lanka.
In 1803, the British soldiers headed by Davy entered Senkadagala (Kandy) and Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1798-1815 A.D.), the King of Kandy fled to Diyathilaka Nuwara as he couldn't face the British forces (Abeyawardana, 2004). However, as a result of this, a heavy battle occurred between the British troops and Sinhalese forces at Lewella and only Davy could save his life by hiding in the cavity of a large Bo tree at the battle site. As that tree helped Davy save his life from the Sinhalese forces, it became known as Davy's Bo Tree (Abeyawardana, 2004).
A stone monument commemorating this incident was erected near the Bo tree on 26 June 1907 and the inscription on it can be read as follows;
1803 Sunday June 26_Davies Tree stood on the summit of this hill_This stone was placed here by the M.O. Kandy June 26 1907 close to the scene of the massacre of his troops .......
References
1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.43.
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This page was last updated on 4 March 2023
