Anagarika Dharmapala
Anagarika Dharmapāla | |
|---|---|
අනගාරික ධර්මපාල | |
Srimath Anagarika Dharmapāla | |
| Born | Don David Hewavitarne 17 September 1864 |
| Died | 29 April 1933 (aged 68) |
| Other names | Ven. Sri Devamitta Dharmapala (after ordination) |
| Education | Christian College, Kotte, St Benedict's College, Kotahena, S. Thomas' College, Mutwal, Colombo Academy |
| Known for | Sri Lankan independence movement, Revival of Buddhism, Representing Buddhism in the Parliament of World Religions (1893), Buddhist missionary work in three continents |
| Parent(s) | Don Carolis Hewavitharana Mallika Dharmagunawardhana |
| Signature | |
Anagārika Dharmapāla (born Don David Hewavitarne, Pali: Anagārika, [ɐˈnɐɡaːɽɪkɐ]; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., Sinhala: අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer.
Along with Henry Steel Olcott and Helena Blavatsky, the creators of the Theosophical Society, he was a major reformer and revivalist of Sinhala Buddhism and an important figure in its western transmission. He also inspired a mass movement of South Indian Dalits including Tamils to embrace Buddhism, half a century before B. R. Ambedkar. In his later life, he became a Buddhist monk with the name of Venerable Sri Devamitta Dharmapala.