Sri Lankan President to Visit Charumati Monastery (Shyam Rimal)

Kathmandu, Nov 9: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakshe who is attending the 18^th SAARC Summit is to visit the Charumati monastery at Chabahil in the capital city.

President Rajapakshe is scheduled to perform puja at the Chaurmati Bouddha monastery, said Vikshu Tapaswi Dhamma.

Rajapakshe as the president is coming to Nepal for the second time.

            Charumati monastery has been a symbol of Nepal-Sri Lanka relations after Charumati, daughter of the Mourya emperor Ashok, came to Nepal as a religious envoy from Mourya of ancient India and set up the monastery some 2,300 years back.

Similarly, another daughter of emperor Sanghamitra and son Mahendra were the religious envoys to Sri Lanka.

Vikshu Dhamma said the Buddhist country Sri Lanka and the Buddha followers there are well aware about the Charumati monastery and revere it much.

            He added that Sri Lanakan Ambassador to Nepal has already visited it. The Monastery was renovated a decade ago.

Moreover, the Sri Lankan mahabansa mentions that the relatives of King Ashoka had migrated to Ruhunu, south belt of Sri Lanka during the time of Gautam Buddha.

Later, during the Juddha Shumsher's era, among eight monks exiled from Nepal, including Amritanand, Subodhanand, Pragya Rashmi, Kumar Kashyap and Mahanam had reached India, then Burma and Sri Lanka (Amritanand). They were however returned from Sri Lanka and restored to Nepal.

Nepal and Sri Lanka established the diplomatic relations on July 2, 1958.

As per the Charumati perspective, there will be repair and renovation, and construction of a pond on the monastery premises.

Kathmandu Metropolis is painting the Monastery from Monday.