It is late afternoon. We can see the silhouettes of trees with dead branches jutting out against a cloudless sky. On the rock boulder, the orange rays of the sun are reflected in the Kumana Wewa. There is a soft hush in the air.
We climb the flat rocky terrain in Kumana through the dense jungle. Birds including hawk-eagles and spoon-bills are on tree-tops. Suddenly, I glimpse a hawk-eagle take wing, flying towards its prey on the rock as we break the silence of the quiet environ.
The sun starts setting over the Kumana Wewa in a burst of orange. The destination of my group was Bowattagala, a large flat-topped rock, about 11 kilometres west of Kumana, near the Kumana Wewa. A panoramic view of the Kumana tank can be had from this rock.
Caves
There are a number of caves with inscriptions and four others on flat rock, partly damaged. Inside one cave is a rock water pool. Bowattagala also has a cave with entrances at both ends. Our tracker takes us to the Bowattagala site where we find an ancient flight of steps, carved out of the rock, leading to the top of the rock.
Today, the flight of steps is severely disfigured owing to the passage of time. We follow the same route to climb the rock as the ancient bhikkhus did. On the summit of Bowattagala is an extensive area of flat rock surface with ruins.
The Kumana Wewa
On the cliff of the Bowattagala rock boulder in front of the caves, the Kumana Wewa glistening in emerald hues is a sight to behold while the perennial carpet of trees and bushes cover the area.
On the flat rocky surface of Bowattagala, the tracker shows us two rock inscriptions and a stupa carved from the rock. From the summit, the picturesque Kumana Wewa is visible, in the distance. The Wewa was a main irrigation tank providing water to cultivate paddy for he inhabitants of Kumana centuries ago.
In ancient times, there was an anicut built across the Kumbukkan Oya at a place called Mahagal Amuna to divert water to the Kumana Wewa to irrigate the area. This is evident as there had been an agro-based livelihood system in Kumana.
Drip ledge caves
The most striking feature of the site is the cluster of drip-ledged caves and the Brahmin inscriptions and drawings carved on the rock surface about 25 feet above ground. Observing the inscriptions, I realised that they are deeply carved into the rock and the drawings have solidity.
Even today, most of these inscriptions and drawings are clear although many centuries have passed. Some Ruins belong to the Third Century BC. The Bowattagala rock lies in a somewhat higher altitude and consists of several caves and remnants of brick-walls around it.
Drawing of a fish
One of the caves in Bowattagala contains a drawing of a fish, giving the impression that the site had been associated with fishing.
In fact, fishing for food started with pre-historic man and became an important economic activity. One of the inscriptions dating from the Third Century BC to the First Century AD is of a fish. Since a proper archaeological survey or research has not been carried out on the site, the history of Bowattagala is yet to be discovered.
However, some of the rock inscriptions give significant clues to the historical background of the place.
The history of Bowattagala dates back to the Third Century BC and was a reputed Buddhist hermitage in the past. The ruins of the hermitage are scattered on the summit of Bowattagala.
Today, the place is deserted and lies majestically amid the thick jungle of the Kumana sanctuary and has become home to wild beasts.
