For this 8th day in Sri Lanka, we continue to explore what is called here the "cultural triangle" , between Kandy, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura – an area which also includes Dambulla (where we were based) and Sigiriya (which we will discover a little later).
Visiting an ancient capital always allows you to better understand the history of a country, and skipping Polonnaruwa would have been a real shame.
Getting to Polonnaruwa from Dambulla
We were leaving by tuk tuk from our guesthouse in Dambulla to reach the bus stop towards the city centre where we had been the day before. The worst part was that it would cost us more to make this short journey (200 Rupees) than the bus to Polonnaruwa (180 Rupees for 2).
After a drive of about 1h30, we passed in front of the artificial lake dating from the time when Polonnaruwa served as the capital of the Kingdom, this large water reservoir called Parakrama Samudra covering 15km² was the largest irrigation project of King Parakramabahu.
Upon arriving at the bus depot near the historical sites, we negotiated the price for a day's tuk-tuk ride (1700 Rupees). We first went to buy tickets to visit the site, $25 each , a considerable expense… Then, in the sweltering heat, we began our day with the council chamber (Raja Sabahawa) of King Parakramabahu.
The historical site of Polonnaruwa
The ancient city was the second capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom after the destruction of Anuradhpura at the end of the 200th century. Polonnaruwa therefore developed for nearly XNUMX years, between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, before moving to Dambadeniya.
To briefly mention the rest, the capital changed 4 more times until 1592, seeing the Sinhalese settle in Kandy to isolate themselves in the mountains in order to protect themselves from European invasions (first Portuguese then Dutch), before the total colonization by the British at the beginning of the XNUMXth century.
The Polonnaruwa site is divided into several sub-sites covering approximately 122 hectares, so it is best to have a vehicle.
The Council Chamber and the Royal Palace
The Polonnaruwa era was a period when Buddhism was already well established, so most of the monuments are for religious purposes, except here, since it is, as the name suggests, a council chamber, a remnant of the seat of power of the kings.
The architectural style is influenced by Hinduism . A common feature of many monuments, typical of Sri Lanka, is the famous "moonstone" (sandakada pahana). They symbolize Samsara, a Buddhist term literally meaning "cycle of existence" or "continuous movement." These semi-circular stones are placed like a doormat (not their intended purpose, let's be clear!) at the foot of the monument's staircases, which are themselves lined with sculptures, often in the shape of lions.
Opposite the council chamber is the Palais-Royal, which was described as a particularly imposing building for the time, being 7 floors high. It included an audience hall for interviews with the king and more than 1000 rooms!
Destroyed and burned during a South Indian invasion at the beginning of the 3th century, today only the equivalent of 55 floors remains standing and the trace of XNUMX rooms. We can also see some patches of the surface that covered the red bricks, as well as traces of burns.
The site called the Quadrangle
We continue our discovery of Polonnaruwa and join the next site called Quadrangle (or Dalada Maluwa in Singhalese), literally meaning square courtyard or quadrilateral. The site is surrounded by a small wall and placed on a small plateau which is accessed by a few steps, of which there is still at the foot a basin which was surely used to wash the feet before accessing the complex which included several temples.
Vatadage and Hatadage
Immediately up the stairs on your left is the Vatadage, a temple of a rather unusual shape, as while stupas are usually round, temples are more rectangular, which is not the case here.
With a diameter of 18m, it is said to have once contained the famous relic with the tooth of the Buddha. At the foot of the staircase near the access to the site is a moonstone considered to be the most finely carved in Polonnaruwa.
Obviously "jealous" of the historical trace that King Parakramabahu had already left here (he also assassinated his son, who reigned for only 5 days, to seize the throne...), King Nissanka Malla had the Hatadage built just opposite the Vatadage, a more "classical" temple of rectangular shape, but originally on 2 floors, and he placed the tooth relic there.
The name comes from “Hata” which means 60 and dage which means relic. So why 60? Legend has it that the temple was completed in just 60 days… More commonly, it is believed that it contained 60 relics/statues of Buddhas.
Nissanka Latha Mandapaya and Gal Pota (the book of stone)
Of course, he did not stop there, as he also created a hall bearing his name, the Nissanka Latha Mandapaya, with its 8 uniquely shaped granite pillars supporting a roof.
He also had this statue of a bodhisattva built who had lost his arms ("the one who follows the path of the Buddha") and which could also be a portrait of King Nassanka (but he had arms, eh) as that was not enough to demonstrate His "Greatness", he had his exploits engraved on a stone, this stone of 8m by 1m40 relates the reign of King Nassanka and his vision of the legitimacy of the throne (you have to be Buddhist to reign in Sri Lanka).
Next to it is a rather unique building in Sri Lanka, a 7-story pyramid-shaped building, the Satmahal Prasada is a construction similar to what the Mon ethnic group (who were at the origin of the expansion of Buddhism in Burma and Thailand, paradoxically they have practically disappeared from Thailand today…) built in Chiang Mai and Lamphun.
Atadage
This building is the only one attributed to King Vijayabahu I still standing today. It must be said that his reign goes back a long way, since his capital was Polonnaruwa (1070-1110). It has 54 stone pillars that supported a floor that has now disappeared. Its particularity is that it was the first temple of the sacred tooth, a relic of the Buddha.
The Thuparama Gedige
Finally, the last building and not the least, the Thuparama was used to house images of the Buddha, but its particularity is to have admirably resisted 900 years of history (approximately, because the date of its construction, nor who exactly is at the origin, could not be established), it still has its roof made of semi-cylindrical bricks. The structure is made of 2m thick walls, this surely played on the solidity of the temple.
The temple was also under renovation during our visit.
Rankot Vihara and Alahana Pirivena Temples
The term Vihara is a Sanskrit term for a Buddhist temple. And these 2 temples are worth a look, both for their features making them imposing buildings, even 2 years after their creation.
Rankot Vihara
Rankot Vihara is the fourth largest stupa (locally known as dagoba) in the country and, at 4 m high and 55 m in diameter at its base, it is also the second largest building in Sri Lanka still intact after 168 years.
The construction is said to have been carried out by King Nassanka Malla, or at least he was the one who had it completed (a sign indicates the exact position where he personally observed the workers at work).
The stupa rests on a brick terrace, itself made entirely of bricks. It also has 4 vahalkadas (one at each cardinal point) which have above all a decorative function, but also serve for the deposit of flowers as offerings.
After that, we let ourselves be tempted by a drink break, while we saw this good lady waving her arms to make us come, she who does not see many people on this day and endures the heat as best she can. Relatively quick break, because there is still a lot to see.
Next step, Alahana Pirivena, a monastery complex including the Lankatilaka Vihara.
The Alahana Pirivena Stupa
We enter the area called Alahana Pirivena, an 8-hectare temple complex built during the reign of King Parakramabahu (who reigned between 1153 and 1186 shortly before the previously mentioned King Nissanka Malla, who succeeded him from 1187 to 1196 to provide historical context).
Lankatilaka Vihara Image House
I'm really struggling to find a precise translation for "image house" but as its name suggests, it is a temple whose purpose is to "house" ("house") representations ("image") of Buddhas, generally in the form of statues.
Moreover, the main standing Buddha remaining at the back of the temple attests to this. Unfortunately, it "lost its head", according to archives, including photos, the statue was still complete at the beginning of the last century. The particularity of this temple is the imposing entrance with its thick walls and the current height of 17 m, knowing that it originally had 5 floors.
We ended this day of visiting Polonnaruwa with the most famous monument of the place, if not the most famous in Sri Lanka, the Gal Vihara.
Gal Vihara: Stone Buddha Sculptures
This is a group of 4 sculptures carved from the same block of granite. The 4 sculptures are 2 seated Buddhas, one standing 7 m and one in a reclining position (in the process of reaching nirvana) 14 m long. The big disappointment was that the authorities, in order to preserve the site as best they could, added a metal roof which disfigures the site quite a bit in my eyes... The finesse and quality of these sculptures have made the site famous.
The site is guarded at all times and women are not allowed to approach it beyond a security cordon… We hadn’t really looked at the news and I later learned that just behind the Gal Vihara there is an old auditorium that is also worth a look. Note that monkeys hang around the place.
Evening in Dambulla
After that, we took our tuk-tuk to the bus stop, which had a brief mechanical issue. Then, like this morning, we paid the 180 rupees to return to Dambulla , our base for visiting the Cultural Triangle.
Along the way, we stopped for a break, the opportunity to meet some locals and take portraits and photos of the area. Once back, we would later go and look for somewhere to eat in the vicinity of our Green Hut.
We found a restaurant that looked a bit fancy but empty. We were alone, but it was good and reasonably priced for a restaurant of this standing, 875 Rupees, I had taken sandwiches for a change from curry…
On the way back to our guesthouse, a lady called out to us and offered us something to eat. We explained to her that we had just had dinner, but she still invited us to come into her living room. After a brief discussion, we promised to come back the next day to test it out, because we still had one night left in Dambulla before leaving for Sirigiya.
Because the next day, another day planned in the cultural triangle, Anuradhapura.
