King Buddhadasa and the Golden Age of Sri Lankan Monastic Hospitals: Archaeological Findings at Mihintale & Polonnaruwa

Abstract

Sri Lanka possesses the world's oldest scientifically structured hospital ruins. Attributed to the vision of royal physician King Buddhadasa (4th Century CE) and subsequent monastic orders, sites at Mihintale and Alahana Parivena feature standardized treatment wards, hot-water baths, medicine storage cellars, and stone medicinal canoes (Beheth Oru). Through spatial analysis and residue testing of stone vats, this paper demonstrates how monastic medicine fused compassionate spiritual care with advanced empirical pharmacology.