Anagarika Dharmapala

Anagarika Dharmapāla අනගාරික ධර්මපාල
Srimath Anagarika Dharmapāla
Born	17 September 1864 Matara, British Ceylon
Died	29 April 1933 (aged 68) Sarnath, India
Nationality	Ceylonese
Other names	Don David Hewavitarane
Education	Christian College, Kotte, St Benedict's College, Kotahene, S. Thomas' College, Mutwal, Colombo Academy
Known for	Sri Lankan independence movement, revival of Buddhism, Representating Buddhism in the Parliament of World Religions(1893)
Parent(s)	Don Carolis Hewavitharana Mallika Dharmagunawardhana
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Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: Anagārika, [əˈnəɡɑːrɪkə]; Sinhalese: Anagarika, lit., "homeless one"; Sinhalese: ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and writer. He was one of the founding contributors of non-violent Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and Buddhism. He was also a pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in India after it had been virtually extinct there for several centuries, and he was the first Buddhist in modern times to preach the Dharma in three continents: Asia, North America, and Europe. Along with Henry Steel Olcott and Helena Blavatsky, the creators of the Theosophical Society, he was a major reformer and revivalist of Ceylonese 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. At the latter stages of his life, he entered the order of Buddhist monks as Venerable Sri Devamitta Dharmapala.

Anagarika Dharmapala was born on 17 September 1864 in Matara, Ceylon to Don Carolis Hewavitharana of Hiththetiya, Matara and Mallika Dharmagunawardhana (the daughter of Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana), who were among the richest merchants of Ceylon at the time. He was named Don David Hewavitharane. His younger brothers were Dr Charles Alwis Hewavitharana and Edmund Hewavitarne. Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) was a British colony then, so Hewavitarne's state education was an English one: he attended Christian College, Kotte; St Benedict's College, Kotahena; S. Thomas' College, Mutwal and the Colombo Academy (Royal College).