Sri Lanka’s first Buddhist nun Anula Devi

By Don de Silva  

As you arrive on the gravel road at the excavation site of Anula Cetiya (Stupa), located at Mihintale in Sri Lanka, you are welcomed by this majestic statue of Sri Lanka’s first Buddhist nun, set on solid rock, and surrounded by a green and resplendent environment. 

On 25 December 2021, the Department of Archaeology in Sri Lanka launched activities to restore the site dedicated to Anula Devi Maha Theri, the first Sri Lankan woman, who was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 3rd Century BCE. 

Support for the restoration has also been provided through the initiative of Vice Chancellor of the Nagananda Buddhist University and the Chief Sanghanayake of Taiwan, Venerable Chandima Bodagama Thero. 

The excavation team at the site is led by the indefatigable, A.A. Vijayarathne from Sri Lanka’s Department of Archaeology. 

According to the statement by the temple at Mihintale – the Mihintale Rajamaha Viharaya – the landmark event was attended by many Dhamma leaders, representing many traditions, and dignitaries from Sri Lanka and other countries. 

The final excavation phase is now underway. 

Anula Devi was the sister-in-law of King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka (Reign 247 – 207 BCE). 

Anula Devi and her entourage attended discourses on the teachings of the Buddha, given by Mahinda Thera, son of Emperor Asoka, held at the palace. According to Sri Lanka’s ancient historical chronicle, the Mahavamsa, they requested -- more or less demanded to the King – to be ordained. 

But, Mahinda Thera was unable to grant their request. According to the Mahavamsa, Mahinda Thera explained his predicament as follows to the King Devanampiyatissa: “It is not allowed to us (monks), O great king, to bestow ordination on women.” 

“But in (India) there lives a bhikkhuni, my younger sister, known by the name of Sanghamitta. She, who is ripe in experience, shall come hither ... and also bhikkhunis renowned…this theri (Sanghamitta) will confer the ordination upon these women.”

After waiting patiently, Sanghamitta’s arrival in Sri Lanka resulted in the ordination of Queen Anula and other women in the royal household. 

The decision to restore the site is a landmark event for world history. Anula Devi Maha Theri was the first woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun, outside the Asokan empire. 

As we move into December, when we celebrate two remarkable events in world history: the arrival of Sanghamitta Maha Theri and the ordination of Princess AnulaDevi, Sri Lanka’s first Buddhist nun (3rd century BCE)…

The ponds of Anulā Devī Cetiya: Acts of dāna in water 

Tucked away just off the Anuradhapura–Jaffna road in Sri Lanka lies a site of quiet elegance and spiritual depth — the AnulaDevi Cetiya, one of the earliest known Buddhist monastic complexes in Sri Lanka, dating to the 3rd century BCE. 

While the grandeur of the waterways of later monasteries like Abhayagiriya or Jethawanarama often takes centre stage, the ponds encircling the Anula Devi Cetiya (Stupa) speak of an even older, subtler story: one of environmental wisdom, monastic simplicity, and deep architectural foresight.

A legacy of environmentally-conscious design

Centuries before “sustainability” became a modern ideal, the builders of the Anula Devi Cetiya had already put it into practice. They recognised the natural gradient of the landscape and ingeniously harnessed rainwater, channelling it into a series of modest, organically formed ponds on either side of a long granite outcrop that formed the spiritual heart of the site. 

These ponds — small, humble, and purpose-built — provided water for bathing, ritual cleansing, and daily use, enabling a self-contained ecosystem that required no external water supply.

Not monumental, yet foundational

Unlike the Kuttam Pokuna twin ponds or the Elephant Pond of Abhayagiriya, the Anula Deviponds are not feats of scale — but of sensitivity. They belong to an earlier architectural tradition that valued harmony over display, practicality over spectacle. 

These ponds are a living memory of the monastery’s deep integration with its natural environment, surrounded by a protective rampart, and tuned to the rhythms of rainfall and daily ritual.

Water as merit: A teaching from the Buddha himself

What is especially moving is how this ancient system finds direct expression in the Buddha’s own words. In the Vanaropa Sutta (Linked Discourses Sanyutta Nikaya 1.47), the Buddha praises:

“Those who plant groves, build bridges, and CREATE DRINKING PLACES AND WELLS (Papañca udapanañca)

– Their merit grows by day and by night.

Those people — firm in principle and accomplished in conduct — are BOUND for heaven.”

(te jana saggagamino’ti)

Could any words better match the legacy of the ponds at AnulaDevi Cetiya? 

These were not just functional elements — they were gifts to future generations, acts of dana (generosity) in stone and water, echoing a vision of communal wellbeing. 

Just as the donation of wells and drinking places is praised as an unceasing source of merit, so too must we recognise the water wisdom embedded in our ancient heritage.

A precedent for the ages

The Anula Devi Cetiya’s water system may lack the scale of later marvels, but it laid the groundwork for them. It set the precedent — one in which monastic architecture and nature coexisted seamlessly, and where water was not only used but respected and ritualised.

For today and tomorrow

In an age of ecological anxiety and climate change, the quiet ponds of Anula Devi Cetiya have much to teach us. They remind us that spiritual life can be built not against nature, but with it. 

That a monastery can be both a sanctuary for the soul and a model for sustainability. And that even the simplest of acts — building a well, guiding rainwater, planting a grove — can become a bridge to the heavens.

With gratitude to: Officials at Department of Archaeology Sri Lanka. The dedicated team from the Department of Archaeology are presently leading the second phase at the site.