Sri Lanka Holidays

Temple Excursions Around Kandy, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is embellished with countless temples & numerous stupas. Not surprisingly in Kandy, we find many temples set in delightful atmosphere. Temples in Kandy, taken together make up a treasure trove of Sinhalese Buddhist art & architecture.

Dodanwela Devale (shrine)
Dodanwela shrine is a shrine set in idyllic surroundings among massive Na trees (the national tree of Sri Lanka) with their distinctive red leaves & white fragrant flowers. An avenue of these trees terminates at an ambalama (a pillared resting place for travellers & pilgrims), behind which is the shrine.

Embakke Devale (shrine)
Embakke Devale dedicated to God Skanda, the Kataragama deity, is famous for its woodcarvings. The shrine is believed to have been built by King Wickramabahu the third of Gampola in 1351 AD. A timbered roof of massive proportions is supported by intricately decorated wooden pillars. Each of the myriad pillars bears a different design, a marvellously carved assortment of peacocks, entwined swans, wrestlers, dragons, dancing girls, musicians, horsemen, soldiers & Bodhisattvas (shown as composite figures: part man, part fish, part bird). One of the most famous panels depicts arch rivals-an elephant & a lion fighting. Another carving has a close resemblance to Hapsburg double-headed eagle. These pillars are said to have originated in the palace of the royal city of Gampola, which was demolished. In the village the art of wood carving is still very much alive.

Gadaladeniya Temple
Gadaladeniya, a temple complex atop a rock outcrop, was built during the reign of Bhuvanekabahu the fourth in 1351 AD. The brick superstructure, shaped like a stupa, has an octagonal base. The inscriptions on the rock by Buddhist monk Dharmakirti date the temple to 1344 AD. In the entrance are figures of musicians & dancers, & at the foot of the steps to the main shrine there is a moonstone & two gajasinha (elephant-lion) balustrades. The principal gilded image of the Buddha (18th century) is framed by elaborate dragon arch. The original Buddha statue was destroyed by the Portuguese in the 15th century. A shrine for Hindu god Vishnu is included on one side of the entrance.

Brass ornaments
At Kiriwavula village nearby, craftsmen cast brass ornaments by the ancient lost-wax (cire-perdu) process.

Galmaduwa Vihara temple
Galmaduwa Vihara is of interest as it exhibits features not found in the other buildings of the Kandy period. For instance, encircling the dome is a structure consisting of seven diminishing storeys, revealing a Tanjore influence, while around this is a rectangular wall with arches that have a western influence. There would have been an even older dagoba on this site before the Galmaduwa Vihara was built.

Handagala Vihara temple
Handagala Vihara, a cave temple located under a boulder, was built during the late Kandy period. It houses a large reclining statue of the Buddha & a dagoba. On the walls of the exterior & interior, & on the cave-roof, are paintings of the period, some of which were painted over in the 20th century. In addition, a few poorly preserved traces of paint probably dating from the 5th century indicate that the temple was already in use during the classical Sinhalese period. These may be among the earliest paintings in their island.

Lankatilaka Vihara
Lankatilaka Vihara is situated on a rocky outcrop where there are inscriptions by King Bhuvanekabahu the fourth (1347 AD) & King Vickramabahu the third (1351 AD) narrating the construction of the temple. A Magnificent flight of rock-cut steps leads precipitously up to the temple, giving glorious views of surrounding hills & tea plantations. According to the legend, when a monk reported the sight of a golden vase floating on the surface of a nearby tank, the king took it as an auspicious sign & had the temple built. The present imposingly solid-looking building of two storeys was originally four storeys high. It was renovated & the tile roof added in 1845. Even from a distance you can see this elegant roof standing out at the end of the rock.

The temple, which is approached by long magnificent flight of steps cut in the rock, is a Buduga or image house with Buddha statues. It also has a devale with five Hindu & local deities. Hindu God Ganesh & Hindu God Skanda are represented in the niches facing east, while God Saman, God Vishnu, & God Vibishana face north, west, & south. The statues are punctuated by majestic low-relief carvings of elephants. The inner image house contains fine gold-plated images of the Buddha. The walls & ceilings are covered with well-preserved frescoes, some of the oldest & best examples of the Kandyan style.

Medawala Vihara
Medawala Vihara is a 14th century temple. This building fell into disrepair, however, & the present temple was built in the 18th century by King Kirti Sri Rajasinhe. One interesting feature is an image house built with timber & wattle & daub that is raised above the ground on short stone columns. Inside is a seated image of the Buddha in front of a decoratively carved & painted wooden panel with representations of a Bo-tree, gods, disciples & dragons. On the side walls are depicted a line of disciples, Jataka tales (stories of Bodhisattava in 550 previous births of Buddha), scenes from the Buddha's life following the gaining of enlightenment & the 16 holiest places (Solosmasthana) for Buddhists in Sri Lanka

Nalanda Gedige
Nalanda Gedige is a curious hybrid of Buddhist & Hindu architecture set in very peaceful surroundings which are particularly enchanting, especially after rain when there seems to be water everywhere. The temple is noted for its stone carvings of sexual subjects, which are very similar to the famous Khajuraho carvings of Chhatarpur district, State of Madhya Pradesh in India, 85 miles (620 kilometres) southeast of Delhi.

Aluvihara Monastery
Aluvihara Monastery occupies a number of caves in a picturesque valley about 8km north of Matale. It was in these caves that the Buddhist doctrines were first committed to paper -or rather Ola leaf- in the first century BC. The Tripitakaya was written in an ancient script called Pali on long leaves of the Ola palm which were then loosely bound to make books. They were the lifetime's labour of 500 monks. Much of the library was destroyed by the British in 1848, after a Sinhalese rebel leader took refuge in the caves. The work of replacement of the lost manuscripts continues today, & you can see monks painstakingly filling Ola books in a scriptorium. The first of the three books of the Tipitake was completed in 1982. The various caves have different functions & contrasting moods. Several are beautifully painted with frescoes, one contains a large reclining Buddha, also brightly painted, & one is dedicated to the Indian scholar Buddhagosa.