Dharrmapradeepikava

Gurulugomi’s Dharma Pradeepikava is a Sinhala classical work aimed at the scholarly readers. The work contains borrowings from Sanskrit language. It also contains a number of quotations from the Pali canon. The work claims a prestigious place in Sinhalese literature in both content and language. Also known as Mahabodhivansa Parikatha the work sheds a light on basic factors of Buddhism and its civilisation. The work was written during the Polonnaruwa era of Sri Lanka (1070 – 1215) during the reign of King Vijayabahu I. According to Sri Lanka’s literary history this period is said to have witnessed a golden era of Sinhalese literature. According to scholars the Sinhalese literature during the Polonnaruwa period saw authors producing prose to elaborate the fundamentals of Buddhism. Reading Dharma Pradeepikava introduces the reader to the basic features of a golden period of Sinhalese literature.