Saman (also called Sumana, Sumana Saman, ) is a deity, subject to local and indigenous belief and worship in Sri Lanka. The name Saman means "good minded". His character is of historical significance for the Sinhalese people and veneration especially to all the Buddhists. Maha Sumana Saman Deviraja (Greater Lord of Gods Sumana Saman) is depicted crowned and bejeweled, holding a lotus flower in his right or left hand and accompanied by a white elephant.
According to Mahavamsa, the early chronicle of Sri Lanka, Saman is considered one of the guardian deities of the island and Buddhism in the country. Natha, Upulvan, Vibhishana and Kataragama are the other guardian deities. Nayakkar dynasty from South India introduced the goddess Pattini replacing god Saman, during the period of Kandyan Kingdom. Saman is the guardian (patron deity) or the presiding deity of Sabaragamuwa and the Sri Pada mountain. Accordingly, his main shrine (devalaya) is at Ratnapura, where an annual festival is held in his honor. Another major shrine dedicated to god Saman is situated at Mahiyangana in Uva Province of Sri Lanka.
Saman is known as Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in East Asia under the names Pǔxián Púsà in Chinese, Fugen Bosatsu in Japanese, Bohyun Bosal in Korean, Kun-tu bzang-po in Tibetan and Phổ Hiền Bồ Tát in Vietnamese.
History
According to common belief, Saman may have been a king or a provincial ruler (Maha Sumana) of Sabaragamuwa from the Dewa (people) of Sri Lanka, one of the four main clans in ancient Sri Lanka. According to the tradition of Sammuti Deva (considered a deity by common acceptance), he is revered as a deity. Following his death, Prince Sumana Saman became a god, by the name of God Maha Sumana Saman. He is also thought to have been born as a Dewa of the heavens following his death due to his great past merit, who also became the presiding deity of Sri Pada.
According to legendary history, Sumana Saman deviyo (god) invited Buddha to the Samanala Kanda and on request Gautama Buddha visited and left his foot print on the rock at the top of the mountain as a token of symbolic worship, in the absence of the Buddha. Saman was there when Buddha visited the island for the first time and became a stream-entrant (sotapanna) after listening to preaches by the Buddha, who also gave him a handful of hairs with which he erected the Stupa at Mahiyangana.
Sri Pada
According to Mahavansa, the great chronicle of Sri Lanka, Sri Pada mountain (also called Sumanakuta, Samangira, Samantha Kuta and Samanala Kanda) bears the impression of the Buddha's left foot, which he left on his third visit to the island. Some say that the name Samantha Kuta means the "Peak of the God Saman". Generally Sri Lankan Buddhists believe that the footmark on the summit of Sri Pada is that of Buddha, who during his third visit to Kelaniya, 2580 years ago, kept the imprint of his left foot thereon as a relic worthy of veneration.
Buddhist devotees who climb the Peak regard God Sumana Saman as their benevolent protector. It is believed that the first person to discover the sacred footprint was King Walagamba (104-76 BC) while he was in exile in the mountain wilderness. According to the local legend he had been led to the summit of the mountain by a deity in the guise of a stag. Thereafter not only ordinary pilgrims but also royalty paid homage to the footprint of the Buddha from ancient times. The pilgrim season to the Sri Pada begins annually on the full moon poya day in December and ends on the Vesak poya day in May. During this six-month period, thousands of pilgrims ascend the mountain to venerate the sacred footmark on the summit.
Beliefs
Greater Lord of Gods Sumana Saman is the tutelary deity of the mountain wilderness, whose divine eye is supposed to cast upon Deraniyagala, Ellakkala, Boltumbe, Nivithigala and the mountain Benasamanalagala. He is regarded as the chief deity of the area surrounding the sacred mountain as well as of the Sabaragamuwa country in general.