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61-531: The description of the beach paradises in Valmiki 's epic Ramayana sounds like Unawatuna. Unawatuna traces its roots to the great epic Ramayana. In the epic, the monkey-warrior Hanuman was sent back to India to fetch the four medicinal herbs by Jambavan namely, mritasanjeevani , vishalyakarani , suvarnakarani , and sandhani from the Himalayas in order to heal Lakshman who was wounded trying to save

122-747: A Deputy First Sea Lord , was added to the Board who would administer operations abroad and deal with questions of foreign policy. In October 1917, the development of the staff was carried one step further by the creation of two sub-committees of the Board—the Operations Committee and the Maintenance Committee. The First Lord of the Admiralty was chairman of both committees, and the Operations Committee consisted of

183-517: A patron saint, with a plethora of mandirs (temples) dedicated to him. In the Siddhar tradition of Tamil Nadu , Valmiki is known as Vanmeegar and is revered as one of the 18 esteemed Siddhars of yore. The Ettukudi Murugan Temple, Nagapattinam is home to his Jeeva Samadhi . An area in Chennai , Tiruvanmiyur is believed to derive its name from Sage Valmiki, Thiru-Valmiki-Oor. There

244-601: A Buduge, or House of Buddha , and the Swethamalee Chaitiya, or Dagaba, was built on the hillock abutting the Devalaya, or House of Gods. Thousands of pilgrims throng to this place of worship every month of Esala to offer poojas. This festival is a new rice offering so most cultivators bring a share of their crop and pray for timely rain and plentiful harvest. Some others save a fistful of rice from their daily meal and offer that rice, still others would purchase

305-461: A few measures or even full gunnies of rice along with coconuts to offer. This rice is pounded and mixed with coconut milk and treacle and made into a porridge which is then offered to the deities at the devalaya and given as alms to thousands of devotees who will trek to the devalaya for this alms giving or Maha Deva Dana or Kiri Dana . Fisher folk save and offer part of their earnings called "Goda kotasa" seeking protection on their forays into

366-555: A person of some supreme power, he set in motion a tsunami with his foot to extinguish the fire and set foot on the shores of Unawatuna. It is said that he lived in Unawatuna and helped the people in various ways. Over the years he has been venerated and worshiped, and the Kovil (or Devalaya ) on the west end point of the bay which has a history of over a thousand years is believed to be the abode of this Devol deity . In later years

427-762: A separate Navy Board responsible for the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy, the Army Board and the Air Force Board , each headed by the Secretary of State for Defence . In the 20th century the structure of the Admiralty Headquarters was predominantly organized into four parts: Board of Admiralty When the office of Lord High Admiral was in commission, as it was for most of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, until it reverted to

488-463: A thief before turning into a rishi. The Nagara Khanda of the Skanda Purana in its section on the creation of Mukhara Tirtha mentions that Valmiki was born a Brahmin , with the name of Lohajangha and was a devoted son to his parents. He had a beautiful wife and both of them were faithful to each other. Once, when there was no rain in the region of Anarta , for twelve long years, Lohajangha, for

549-577: Is a temple for Valmiki located in this place, which is believed to be 1300 years old. Shree Valmiki Mata Maha Samsthana is a temple dedicated to Valmiki in Rajanahalli, Karnataka . Valmiki Ashram , a site considered to be the original ashram of Valmiki, is located in Chitwan district of Nepal . The site is near the Triveni Dham pilgrimage site. Several Indian films have been made on

610-435: Is also quoted as being the contemporary of Rama. Menen claims Valmiki is "the first author in all history to bring himself into his own composition." Valmiki was born as Agni Sharma to a Brahmin named Pracheta (also known as Sumali) of Bhrigu gotra. According to legend he once met the great sage Narada and had a discourse with him on his duties. Moved by Narada's words, Agni Sharma began to perform penance and chanted

671-539: Is believed to have been a fake lighthouse built during World War I , and the area is shown as property of the British Admiralty in old survey maps. Unawatuna is rich in its biodiversity . Its greatest potential attraction for eco-tourism was the marsh land or mangrove, Kadolana, which was partially dredged and filled to develop a hotel for a German hotel chain. The development never eventuated. Many locals believe it to have been cursed for being built at

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732-632: Is considered the first shloka in Sanskrit literature . Valmiki later composed the entire Ramayana in the same meter. Valmiki is revered as Adi Kavi (the first poet); the Ramayana is revered as the first kavya (poem). Valmiki played an important role in Uttarakāṇḍa, the last chapter of the epic Ramayana . The Uttarakāṇḍa may not have been originally worked by Valmiki. The scholars Robert and Sally Goldman, for example, have pointed out: "Much of

793-635: The Ramayana . Bala Kanda of the epic also tells the story of Valmiki narrating the Ramayana to Lava and Kusha, who become his disciples. Valmiki was alive during the Mahabharata , and he was one of the many sages that visited Yudhisthira after the war. He told Yudhisthira the benefits of worshipping Shiva . Once upon a time, some ascetic possessors of the homa fire cursed Valmiki as guilty of brahminicide . The sin possessed him as soon as he

854-837: The Acts of Union 1707 , the Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs administered the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England , which merged with the Royal Scots Navy and then absorbed the responsibilities of the Lord High Admiral of the Kingdom of Scotland with the unification of the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Admiralty was among the most important departments of the British Government , because of

915-482: The Navy Board responsible for 'civil administration' of the navy, from 1546 to 1832. This structure of administering the navy lasted for 285 years, however, the supply system was often inefficient and corrupt its deficiencies were due as much to its limitations of the times they operated in. The various functions within the Admiralty were not coordinated effectively and lacked inter-dependency with each other, with

976-469: The Navy Board —in 1546, to oversee administrative affairs of the naval service. Operational control of the Royal Navy remained the responsibility of the Lord High Admiral, who was one of the nine Great Officers of State . This management approach would continue in force in the Royal Navy until 1832. King Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission in 1628, and control of

1037-530: The Nooit Gedacht Hotel , Unawatuna Hospital and the mansion Maharambe. The UBR hotel is situated on a land called Parangiyawatta, meaning "land of the Portuguese", and the area nearby is known as Ja-kotuwa, suggesting that it was the settlement of Ja or Javanese people better known as Hollanders and there may have been some fortification. The Galle tower or Edward's Pillar on Rumassala Hill

1098-445: The 3rd century CE, although original date of composition is unknown. As with many traditional epics, it has gone through a process of interpolations and redactions, making it impossible to date accurately. British satirist Aubrey Menen says that Valmiki was "recognized as a literary genius," and thus was considered, "an outlaw," presumably because of his " philosophic scepticism ," as part of an "Indian Enlightenment" period. Valmiki

1159-671: The Admiralty (from 1628) exercised the function of general control (military administration) of the Navy and they were usually responsible for the conduct of any war, while the actual supply lines, support and services were managed by four principal officers, namely, the Treasurer , Comptroller , Surveyor and Clerk of the Acts , responsible individually for finance , supervision of accounts , Shipbuilding and maintenance of ships, and record of business. These principal officers came to be known as

1220-699: The Admiralty Naval Staff in 1917. It was the former senior command, operational planning, policy and strategy department within the British Admiralty. It was established in 1917 and existed until 1964 when the department of the Admiralty was abolished, and the staff departments function continued within the Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence until 1971 when its functions became part of the new Naval Staff, Navy Department of

1281-594: The Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners were always a mixture of admirals , known as Naval Lords or Sea Lords and Civil Lords, normally politicians. The quorum of the Board was two commissioners and a secretary. The president of the Board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty , who was a member of the Cabinet . After 1806, the First Lord of the Admiralty was always a civilian, while the professional head of

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1342-581: The Board of Admiralty until 1832. Its principal commissioners of the Navy advised the board in relation to civil administration of the naval affairs. The Navy Board was based at the Navy Office . Board of Admiralty civilian members responsible other important civil functions Admiralty Naval Staff It evolved from * Admiralty Navy War Council , (1909–1912) which in turn became the Admiralty War Staff , (1912–1917) before finally becoming

1403-710: The CNS to issue orders in their own name, as opposed to them previously being issued by the Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty in the name of the Board. In 1964, the Admiralty—along with the War Office and the Air Ministry —were abolished as separate departments of state, and placed under one single new Ministry of Defence . Within the expanded Ministry of Defence are the new Admiralty Board which has

1464-698: The Crown , it was exercised by a Board of Admiralty, officially known as the Commissioners for Exercising the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, &c. (alternatively of England , Great Britain or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland depending on the period). The Board of Admiralty consisted of a number of Lords Commissioners of

1525-655: The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the Deputy First Sea Lord, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, and Fifth Sea Lord . Full operational control of the Royal Navy was finally handed over to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) by an order in Council , effective October 1917, under which he became responsible for the issuing of orders affecting all war operations directly to the fleet. It also empowered

1586-683: The Ministry of Defence. Offices of the Naval Staff Admiralty Departments The Admiralty Departments were distinct and component parts of the Department of Admiralty that were superintended by the various offices of the Sea Lords responsible for them; they were primarily administrative, research, scientific and logistical support organisations. The departments role was to provide the men, ships, aircraft and supplies to carry out

1647-476: The Royal Navy passed to a committee in the form of the Board of Admiralty . The office of Lord High Admiral passed a number of times in and out of commission until 1709, after which the office was almost permanently in commission (the last Lord High Admiral being the future King William IV in the early 19th century). In this organization a dual system operated the Lord High Admiral (from 1546) then Commissioners of

1708-517: The Royal Navy's role in the expansion and maintenance of the English overseas possessions in the 17th century , the British Empire in the 18th century , and subsequently. The modern Admiralty Board , to which the functions of the Admiralty were transferred in 1964, is a committee of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom . This Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and

1769-420: The abducted Princess Sita from the demon king Ravana . Hanuman failed to identify these herbs , so he lifted the entire mountain and carried it to the battlefield to try to save Lakshman, but in the process, a chunk of it "fell-down" in the location of the present day Unawatuna, the name of the village derives from "Una-watuna" meaning "fell down". Currently, an edifice is being built in honour of Hanuman on

1830-564: The approved policy of the Board of Admiralty and conveyed to them during 20th century by the Admiralty Naval Staff. Offices of the Sea Lords Department of the Permanent Secretary The Secretary's Department consisted of members of the civil service it was directed and controlled by a senior civil servant Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty he was not a Lord Commissioner of

1891-466: The beach front restaurants . The Rumassala coral reefs at the east end of the Galle Harbor attract divers, but are now endangered due to possible port development. Eco treks in the shrub jungles of Rumassala are also available. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami swept away many beach front restaurants and has devastated the sandy beach to a great extent, marring what was once claimed to be one of

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1952-479: The bird. He saw a hunter with a bow and arrows, nearby. Valmiki became very angry. His lips opened and he cried out, मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः। यत्क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधीः काममोहितम्॥' mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhā tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ yat krauñcamithunādekam avadhīḥ kāmamohitam You will find no rest for the long years of Eternity For you killed a bird in love and unsuspecting Emerging spontaneously from Valmiki's rage and grief, this couplet

2013-473: The board ensured the necessary authority to carry through any operation of war. The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff would direct all operations and movements of the fleet, while the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff would be responsible for mercantile movements and anti-submarine operations. The office of Controller would be re-established to deal with all questions relating to supply; on 6 September 1917,

2074-537: The creation of the Admiralty Navy War Council in 1909. Following this, a new advisory body called the Admiralty War Staff was then instituted in 1912, headed by the Chief of the War Staff who was responsible for administering three new sub-divisions responsible for operations , intelligence and mobilisation . The new War Staff had hardly found its feet and it continually struggled with

2135-494: The day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board (not to be confused with the historic Navy Board ). It is common for the various authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to as simply 'The Admiralty'. The title of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom was vested in the monarch from 1964 to 2011. The title was awarded to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Queen Elizabeth II on his 90th birthday and since his death in 2021 has reverted to

2196-584: The doorstep of the Wella Devalaya . Over sixty species of endemic birds , including terns , egrets , herons , sandpipers and kingfishers , as well as rarer species such as the lesser whistling duck , the Asian palm swift , the white-breasted waterhen , the Loten's sunbird and the black bittern have been sighted in the locality by the ornithologist , Clive Byers. These birds are mostly sighted in

2257-630: The early 18th century until its abolition, the role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty , who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty , rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department (later Navy Command ). Before

2318-592: The harbour end of Rumassala Hill by Japanese monks of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism near the Peace Pagoda that they built. A banished Indian Prince was shipwrecked and the Goddess of Earth, Manimekalai , taking pity created a rocky shelf for him to save his life and that subsequently he headed to Unawatuna. The Goddess of Chastity, Pattini , created a wall of fire to prevent him coming ashore, but being

2379-473: The length of the full text of the Mahabharata or about four times the length of the Iliad . The Ramayana tells the story of a prince, Rama of the city of Ayodhya in the Kingdom of Kosala , whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana , the demon-king ( Rakshasa ) of Lanka . The scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages extending up to

2440-443: The life of the poet, beginning with G. V. Sane's Valmiki (1921); it was followed by Surendra Narayan Roy's Ratnakar (1921), Ellis Dungan 's Valmiki (1946), Bhalji Pendharkar 's Valmiki (1946), Sundarrao Nadkarni 's Valmiki (1946), C.S.R. Rao 's Valmiki (starring Rajkumar 1963) and Valmiki (starring N. T. Rama Rao ; 1963), and Arvind Bhatt's Sant Valmiki (1991). Bhatt's film which starred Suresh Oberoi in

2501-474: The monarch. There also continues to be a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and a Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom , both of which are honorary offices. The office of Admiral of England (later Lord Admiral, and later Lord High Admiral ) was created around 1400; there had previously been Admirals of the northern and western seas. King Henry VIII established the Council of the Marine—later to become

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2562-497: The narrative focuses on figures other than Rāma and is narrated only indirectly by Vālmīki, being placed in the mouths of other figures such as Agastya." It is believed to have been taken up from Sesha Ramayana. According to the legend, Rama sent Sita to the forest. Sita finds refuge in Sage Valmiki's ashram, where she gives birth to twin boys Lava and Kusha . Lava and Kusha were Valmiki's first disciples, to whom he taught

2623-431: The navy and naval thought. Between 1860 and 1908, there was no real study of strategy and of staff work conducted within the naval service ; it was practically ignored. All the Navy's talent flowed to the great technical universities. This school of thought for the next 50 years was exclusively technically based. The first serious attempt to introduce a sole management body to administer the naval service manifested itself in

2684-472: The navy came to be (and is still today) known as the First Sea Lord . Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (1628–1964) The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was not vested in a single person. The commissioners were a mixture of politicians without naval experience and professional naval officers,

2745-463: The newly created office of Chief of the Naval Staff was merged in the office of the First Sea Lord. Also appointed was a new post, that of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff , and an Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff ; all were given seats on the Board of Admiralty. This for the first time gave the naval staff direct representation on the board; the presence of three senior naval senior members on

2806-799: The ocean. After defeating the Portuguese at the Fort of Negombo, the Dutch sailed south and landed on Unawatuna in 1640 and marched to Galle . The Portuguese had encountered the Dutch soldiers at Magalle (where the Closenberg Hotel is now located), and fierce fighting took place there. Over 400 Dutch soldiers were killed, and only 49 Portuguese could manage to get back to their fortification in Galle, where they were held in siege for four days before they surrendered. The Dutch built houses for their officials in Unawatuna. These constructions include

2867-458: The opposition to its existence by senior officers they were categorically opposed to a staff. The deficiencies of the system within this department of state could be seen in the conduct of the Dardanelles campaign . There were no mechanisms in place to answer the big strategic questions. A Trade Division was created in 1914. Sir John Jellicoe came to the Admiralty in 1916. He re-organized

2928-622: The proportion of naval officers generally increasing over time. Key Officials First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty was the British government's senior civilian adviser on all naval affairs and the minister responsible for the direction and control of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office later the Department of Admiralty.(+) His office

2989-401: The remaining marshy area and Rumassala Hillock. Off the coast of Unawatuna, beneath the Indian Ocean lies a number of coral reefs , shipwrecks , and a great variety of fish and turtles . The turtles still wade onto the shore to lay their nests and eggs, and at times, as if to lay first claim to the sandy shore now invaded by the tourists and dotted by restaurateurs, even go right into

3050-505: The result that in 1832, Sir James Graham abolished the Navy Board and merged its functions within those of the Board of Admiralty. At the time this had distinct advantages; however, it failed to retain the principle of distinctions between the Admiralty and supply, and a lot of bureaucracy followed with the merger. In 1860 saw big growth in the development of technical crafts, the expansion of more admiralty branches that really began with age of steam that would have an enormous influence on

3111-419: The sages returned and heard the sound of the mantra coming from the ant-hill, they blessed him and said, "Since you achieved great Siddhi seated within a Valmīka (an anthill), you will become well-known in the world as Vālmīki." Valmiki was going to the river Ganges for his daily ablutions. A disciple by the name Bharadwaja was carrying his clothes. On the way, they came across the Tamasa Stream. Looking at

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3172-426: The sake of his hungry family, started robbing people that he found in the forest. In the course of this life he met the seven sages or the Saptarishi and tried to rob them as well. But the learned sages felt pity on him and showed him the folly of his ways. One of them, Pulaha gave him a Mantra to meditate upon and the Brahmin turned thief got so engrossed in its recitation that ant-hills came up around his body. When

3233-490: The stream, Valmiki said to his disciple, "Look, how clear is this water, like the mind of a good man! I will bathe here today." When he was looking for a suitable place to step into the stream, he saw a crane couple mating. Valmiki felt very pleased on seeing the happy birds. Suddenly, hit by an arrow, the male bird died on the spot. Filled by sorrow, its mate screamed in agony and died of shock. Valmiki's heart melted at this pitiful sight. He looked around to find out who had shot

3294-447: The title role remains unreleased after a case was filed against Oberoi for remarks deemed offensive by members of the Valmiki caste in India. British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State . For much of its history, from

3355-521: The twelve best beaches in the world. It is still considered to be one of the best 100 beaches of the world. Beginning on December 14, 2011, many illegal structures were cleared from the beachfront. Unawatuna is located on the Coastal or Southern Rail Line (connecting Colombo through to Matara ), and the A2 highway , connecting Colombo to Wellawaya . Valmiki Valmiki ( / v ɑː l ˈ m iː k i / ; Sanskrit : वाल्मीकि , romanized :  Vālmīki , [ʋɑːlmiːki] )

3416-423: The war staff as following: Chief of War Staff, Operations, Intelligence, Signal Section , Mobilisation, Trade. It was not until 1917 that the admiralty department was again properly reorganized and began to function as a professional military staff . In May 1917, the term "Admiralty War Staff" was renamed and that department and its functional role were superseded by a new " Admiralty Naval Staff "; in addition,

3477-401: The word "Mara" which meant "die". As he performed his penance for several years, the word became "Rama", a name of the god Vishnu. Huge anthills formed around Agni Sharma and this earned him the name of Valmiki. Agni Sharma, rechristened as Valmiki, learnt the scriptures from Narada and became the foremost of ascetics, revered by everyone. There also exist some legends about Valmiki having been

3538-406: Was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic Ramayana , based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as Ādi Kavi , the first poet, author of Ramayana , the first epic poem. The Ramayana , originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and seven cantos (kaṇḍas). The Ramayana is composed of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of

3599-421: Was cursed. So he prayed to Shiva and he became cleansed of all his sins. Valmiki told Yudhisthira that he should also pray to Shiva like him. Vishnudharmottara Purana says that Valmiki was born in the Treta Yuga as a form of Brahma who composed Ramayana and that people desirous of earning knowledge should worship Valmiki. He was later reincarnated as Tulsidas , who composed the Ramcharitamanas , which

3660-410: Was supported by the Naval Secretariat . First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff was the Chief Naval Adviser on the Board of Admiralty to the First Lord and superintended the offices of the sea lords and the admiralty naval staff. Navy Board The Navy Board was an independent board from 1546 until 1628 when it became subordinate to, yet autonomous of

3721-405: Was the Awadhi - Hindi version of the Ramayana . The full moon day of Hindu month of Ashvin is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the poet. The day is also known as Pargat Diwas or Valmiki Jayanti, and is a major festival of the followers of the Balmiki religious sect of Hinduism. The Balmiki sect of Hinduism reveres Valmiki, where he is also known as Lal Beg or Bala Shah , as

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