'Mirisawetiya was the first dagaba built by the great king Dutugamunu. Great King Dutugamunu built the mirisa wetiya in 161 -137 BC and united Sri Lanka under one flag. Sri lankans believed that King Dutugamunu had a sceptre that contained a sacred relic of the Buddha. While going to the tank "Tissawewa", for a water festival, the King has planted the scepter in a certain place. When he came back, it is said that his men could not remove the sceptre from the place. Witnessing the miracle, the King decided to build a dagaba enclosing the scepter. Thus was the creation of Mirisawetiya. The significance of the sceptre is the fact that this was the king's "victory sceptre" for his battles with Elara, and by building the Dagaba around it shows the tremendous dedication that the King had for Buddhism and his spirituality'.
'There are several believes about the Mirisavetiya name and most populer belive is. It is a custom among Buddhists whenever food is partaken, some of it is symbolically offered to the holy monks. In Sinhala, "Mirisaweitiya" comes from "Miris-Wetiya", which means a pod of Chillie. It is rumored that the King once forgot to offer a pod of chillie to the Monks before eating . As a token of apology, it is said that the King named the Dagaba "Mirisawetiya"' – Web-link:-
