One of the chief objects of interest in Kandy is the 'Sri Dalada Maligawa' or Palace of the Sacred Tooth. As a result of its presence the palace has been transformed into a place of worship. This is the heart of Kandy, and the Tooth of Buddha is the heart of it. The relic came from India sixteen centuries ago, and moved from capital to capital, always with the king. It is rarely shown and never leaves the temple. The temple and the 'pattirippuwa', which is the octagonal building on the right of the main entrance, are enclosed by an ornamental stone wall and a moat. Upon entering, you pass through a small quadrangle and turn to the right, up a flight of stone steps, to the temple. The most striking features that attract one's attention are the unusual carvings, brightly coloured frescoes representing torments for various classes of sinners, and many images of Lord Buddha. The flower-sellers are ranged on either side and the atmosphere is heavy with the perfume of the blossoms. Yellow-robed priests are present in large numbers, whilst the music of the temple bells and the rhythmic beat of the traditional drums, fill the air with exotic music that harmonize with the nature of the city. At the entrance to the sanctuary which contains the Sacred Tooth is an elaborate door, inlaid with silver and ivory, with two pairs of elephant tusks on either side. Within this chamber is the huge silver-gilt, bell-shaped shrine that protects the Tooth. Inside this shrine are six inner shrines ornamented with rare precious stones.
The Octagon, or the 'pattirippuwa' was built shortly before the Kandyan Convention of 1815, by which Kandy was ceded to the British. After being a British military prison, it is now a library, mainly for ancient "olas" - manuscripts on palm-leaves - many of which are magnificently bound and are held in due reverence by pilgrims as containing the teachings of Lord Buddha. The fine artistic work is in the small shrine beside the stairway of the Octagon - a crystal statue of the Buddha in an attractive shrine-case.
Next door to the Temple of the Tooth is the Audience Hall where the Kandyan kings held court with pomp and ceremony. The rich carvings on the pillars and the wall plates are excellent examples of Kandyan architecture. It was in this Audience Hall that the last king of Kandy received British ambassadors; it was also here that the submission to Britain was signed and Sri Lanka's (then called Ceylon) independence in 1948 celebrated.
Architects of new buildings have taken heed of the return of Kandyan architecture in popularity and fashion. This can be seen, for instance, in the beautiful design of the new People's Bank building near the clock tower.
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The Clock Tower at the central bus stand in Kandy. |
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The monument of Weera Keppetipola who was executed by the British for rebelling against their tyranny. Located in the Sri Dalada Maligawa park. |
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The Queens Hotel building which dates back to the British period. The hotel is located facing the Kandy Lake. |
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The statue of child hero Madduma Bandara who was executed by Raja Sinha at the age of seven. This is found in the park facing the Sri Dalada Maligawa |
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The Kandy railway station. The easiest way to access it from the Peradeniya side is to travel along the new road to Kandy from Gannoruwa Junction. |
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Wood Carvings From the Dalada Maligawa |
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Elephant Columns at the Royal Audience Hall in the Dalada Maligawa |
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Lankatillake Temple in Udunuwara |
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Gadaladeniya Temple |
Spill level above: 1740 M.L.S
Capacity: 704-Acre feet
Perimeter of the tank: 2.1 miles
Maximum depth: 60 feet
Length of the decorative wall: 2,060 feet
Catchment Area: 1.045 Q.M.I
| The following are three bird species that can be seen on the lake. | |
| DIYAKAWA (BLACK-STORK) | |
| KOKA (WHITE-STORK) | |
| ALI KOKA (GREAT-STORK) | |
The shrine is built on the summit of the rock called Panhalgala in the village of Rabbegamuwa, in the Udunuwara division of Kandy district, approximately 12 km from the Peradeniya bridge. It can be accessed from two directions; from the Colombo-Kandy Road and from the Gampaha-Kandy Road. Lankathilaka, together with another Buddhist shrine at Gadaladeniya and the Embekke Devale dedicated to God Kataragama, all dating from the fourteen century, form an important trio possessing distinctive architectural and decorative features. They attract art and archaeology lovers, and scholars from all over the world. Overlooking the eastern escarpment of the rock, the surroundings provide a magnificent panorama of distant hills, paddy fields and natural beauty. The site had been selected for its beauty and peaceful environment, at a proper distance from the nearby village. This hamlet is well-known for its traditional vocations, which are part of its ancient cultural heritage.
The temple bears the same name as the famous construction of Parakramabahu I at Polonnaruwa. Inscriptional evidence at the site provides information regarding the date, the founder and the chief architect of the temple. The foundation dates from 1344 CE, being the pious dedication of Senalankadhikara, a minister of Bhuvanaikabahu IV of Gampola (Gangasiripura). The chief architect was Sthapatirayar, a South Indian. The original building has undergone several stages of development in later times. The temple has maintained its significance throughout the centuries, as seen from the various donations mentioned in the inscriptions. In the second half of the fourteenth century the scholarly incumbent monk of Lankathilaka was the grandson of the founder of the temple. According to the Culavamsa, the ruler, Parakramabahu VI of Kotte (1412-1467 CE), carried out some stucco embellishments. The major decorative elements in the form of murals are possibly the work of Kirti Sri Rajasimha (1747-1780 CE).
Apart from being an important architectural monument, this shrine is also significant from a religious point of view, since it combines the worship of the Buddha with that of Hindu gods. The shrine retains special units for the images of Hindu and indigenous deities. This feature of religious synthesis is also evident at Gadaladeniya, which belongs to the same period .
The Lankathilaka image house is a fine example of a Buddhist-Hindu shrine of the fourteenth century. The Buddhist shrine faces east and the Hindu devale is orientated to the west. This magnificent edifice of brick and stucco, positioned on the saddle of a dominant cliff, originally had a grand flight of steps of about 45 metres leading to the Buddha shrine. The residence of the monks is at the lower terrace and is of the courtyard type. This has the traditional appendage of grain stores and auxiliary functional units. The fields, belonging to the lay-guardians of the temple, extend beyond the irrigable land.
To the west of the shrine, and the devale, is the extended ridge of the cliff, which holds the main gateway leading out of the inner court. The other sacred edifices of the inner court are the Stupa, the Bodhi-tree, the preaching hall, and the kitchen to prepare food for the gods. The secular units in the same court are the official circuit-room and office of the chief lay-guardian. There is a large inscription in Sinhalese and Tamil on the bare rock of the inner court. Beyond the gateway, is a long processional path leading up to the depository, meant to hold the symbols and weapons of the deities which were carried in ceremony and placed there for public veneration during the annual festival. With the depository position being about half a mile from the gateway, there was adequate space to locate the many houses of the servants on the two sides of this main street. The high ground set apart for the servants for services to the shrine was that found immediately behind the houses. The main street extends beyond the depository to link the shrine to the adjacent villages, and to the other religious establishments. This type of shrine-centred village was a common layout of the rural fourteenth century phase of Sri Lankan rural planners.
The Lankathilaka had been originally designed as a type of Buddhist image house where Hindu figures were placed on the exterior in niches at the centre of each of the outer walls and on the two sides of the front facade. This type of shrine-layout has parallels in Hindu temples such as those commonly found in Tamil Nadu and Chandi Singasari in Java. However, with time the outer walls were converted into an enclosed ambulatory with entrances to it from all four directions, frontal to each of the five shrines. The main entrance to the west had an additional vestibule with a mandapa in front.
The edifice originally had four storeys as described in the inscription, but this masonry structure has collapsed, and today only the ground floor is used, although a part of the second storey remains. The second storey is attributed to have had images, and the remains of the stairway to this are still seen at the back of the main image. The third storey is credited to have had a recumbent image and the fourth, a stupa, in which sacred books were enshrined. Once the two upper floors collapsed, the remaining structure was roofed with a wooden canopy.
The porch is arched, containing two pairs of sculptured guardians brandishing swords. The ceiling shows the outlines of flower scrolls that covered the whole space.
The subject-matter conforms to the traditional themes of the Kandyan period, namely, the recording of the twenty-four Buddhas of the Past, the Twenty-four Proclamations, the Seven Weeks and the Sixteen Sacred Sites. No narrative themes have been painted inside the cells. Repetitive depictions of the Buddha, the Buddhas of the Past, and the arahats occupy most of the painted space. Emphasis has been given to portrayals of historical figures, such as the king Kirtisri Rajasinha, the patron Senalankadhikara and the incumbent, probably the Pirivena Maha Sthavira, Lanka Senevirat - the grandson of the founder. The four godheads of the Hindu pantheon, Siva, Vishnu, Brahma and Indra, whose depictions normally appear in association with the makara thorana in other shrines, have been here given added importance, by being provided with the complete retinue of consorts and vahanas. This is in conformity with the religious synthesis which had been brought about during this period, in accommodating Hindu gods within Buddhist shrine. The series of Jataka stories are no longer found here, and even the episodes from the life of the Buddha have been reduced to the depiction of the Seven Weeks after Enlightenment and the Sixteen Sites believed to have been visited by him. The most striking feature of Lankathilaka is the important role played by decorative elements, which occupy as much space as didactic and devotional scenes. The designs are varied and delicate, especially those upon the ceiling, which are unsurpassed in beauty and elegance in the history of art in Sri Lanka.
The majority of the paintings belong to the time of Kirti Sri Rajasinha (1747-1780 CE). The sculptured Buddha images, makara thorana and its associated divinities were all probably contemporaneous with the founding of the shrine in the fourteenth century, and were apparently remodeled and repainted during the eighteenth century. Instances of repainting occur in the shrine room and in the porch. Clumsy and decadent imitations of the elegant tree-motif upon the throne of the main Buddha image have been repeated several times upon the walls of the shrine room. The same can be said about certain motifs painted on the corbelled roof of the same room, displaying poor reproductions of older designs.
The traditional pigments of the Kandyan painters have been used, but most colours have been toned down into a harmonious scheme, avoiding the harsh contrasts normally encountered in other temples. The usual colour for the trees is grey-green, although creepers are leaf-green. Bright red is used for the background of the scenes and for flowers, although pink and grey are applied alternatively for the lotus throne of the painted Buddha figures. The colour combination of green and red for creeper-patterns on a white background is quite distinctive. A special preference for white can be noticed in these paintings. It regularly appears as the background of the decorative themes, the makara (dragon) figures, the pillars that support the makara thorana, as well as the cushion behind the chief Buddha image. Black gives clear delineation to many complex designs, while gold, applied to the sculptured figures of the Buddha, adds lustre to the entire colour scheme.
The main Buddha image, is in proportion to the vast size of the shrine. The Buddha figures wear the Kandyan style of robe. There is a tendency towards a square shaped figure being favoured during this period. However, they are distinctive in the elongation of the torso and in the elegant curves, which features could have been taken from the fourteenth century images of the shrine. The halo has a tall conical shape, different from the cylindrical type with a curvilinear top usually encountered in the art of the Kandyan period.
Each of the trees of Enlightenment of the twenty-four Buddhas show an individual character in the treatment of the branches and leaves. The branches show serrated contours, which have no parallels elsewhere. The kadupul flowers display a developed form, which is a combination of the usual form with that of the other floral motifs. The hansa puttuva (conjoined swans) motifs record the best presentation of its kind in the realm of Kandyan period paintings. The narilatas (nymph flowers) seen among delicate creepers with red flowers are among the best of their kind.
The use of square panels as background for the repetitive depictions of the Buddha recalls the style of Ridivihara, Gangarama and Dambava. The hand pose, however, is always the vitarka-mudra, in contrast to the samadhi pose encountered at other places. The occurrence among them, of long panels containing standing Buddha figures, is a special feature, which Lankathilaka shares with Gangarama. The flower sprigs shown on the cushion behind the main Buddha figure are similar in form to those found at many other shrines, such as Dambava, Dambulla and Gangarama, where such designs are contained within a diamond-shaped frame. Decorative bands consisting of continuous rows of diamond patterns are used extensively. The alternating circle and diamond motif also appear upon the prabha mandala of the standing Buddha figures, although displayed in a rather ornate form.
This temple was also built in the 14th century to house an image of the God Skanda, the Kataragama deity. The entire wooden structure is carved with mythical and other figures. It lies in the Udunuwara division close to Daulagala about eight miles from Kandy.
The UNESCO has named the marvelous elaborate carvings on wooden pillars at Embekke to be the finest products of woodcarvings to be found in any part of the world.
Many hoary legends describe the origins of this splendid devale. According to archaic documents and the epic Embekke Varnanawa composed by Delgahagoda Mudiyanse, it was built during the Gampola period of King Wickrama Bahu II (1371 CE). One of his consorts named Henakanda Biso Bandara, in association with a drummer named as Rangama, is supposed to have built this Devale dedicated to God Kataragama in a superb three-storeyed building which is now no more.
The devale is in two segmented buildings; the Digge (Dancing Hall) and Drummers Hall (hewasi mandappaya). The wooden capital pillars have assumed varied shapes molded skillfully into intricate wood carvings. The bottom square is octagonal with carvings, while its top terminates in a leaf emanating from a square. The other intricate but unique piece of woodcarvings rest on the Pecada.
Enticing woodcarvings are also found on some beams, rafters, doorways, and doors. Among the best masterpieces on the capital pillars are the hansa puttuwa (entwined swans) double headed eagles, and entwined rope designs, mother breast-feeding child, soldier fighting on horseback, female dancing figures, wrestlers, women emanating from a vein, bird with human figure, combination of elephant-bull and combination of elephant-lion.
The elephant-bull carving and the elephant with its elongated trunk are magnificent examples of Embekke carvings. When one covers the figure of the carving of part bull, the real figure of the elephant with elongated trunk is manifested, while when one does the same with that of the elephant, there emerges the figure of the bull.
The roof of the Embekke Devale has some ingenious examples of classic carpentry mastery in fixing the rafters. The 'Madol Kurupuwa' is one of the finest examples of medieval carpentry. It is a wooden pin (Madol Kurupuwa) which holds together 26 rafters at the hipped end of the roof of the Digge of Embekke Devale. The giant pin is carved with pathuruliya, patha motifs.
Among the carvings, there are 125 series of decorations, 256 liya wel (flowering vines), 64 lotus designs in Pekada, 30 decorative patterns on timber, roof members, making a total of 514 such exquisite carvings.At a distance of about 1/8 mile lies another assembly of stone pillars which carved replicas of the wooden pillars of the Embekke Devale. Altogether there are 16 columns in the base, with two octagonal sections above and square blocks in the centre and the end with carvings on four sides. It is believed that the wooden beams of the roof had rested on carved wooden capitals (pekada), which are no longer to be seen in the site.
The roof had been covered with flat tiles. Rope designs, entwining swans, berunde birds and dancing girls are some of the creations found on these stone columns, akin to the wood carvings at Embekke Devale. The villagers still remember the existence of this ambalama with the wooden roof about 100 years ago. The original state of the roof is shown in a photograph that appeared in Henry Cave's 'Book of Ceylon' published in 1908. The ambalama is 27 feet long and 22 feet wide, built on a platform with four monolithic columns in each corner, which is seven feet in height. This building is also called Sinhasana Mandapaya. In ancient times, the king and his royal entourage rested here and watched the perahera when it was held.
Of these stone pillars seven have fallen and some are broken. The stone carvings on the fallen stone pillars are fast being defaced.
The Royal Botanical Gardens are among the finest tropical gardens in the world. This is a 60 hectare (147 acre) garden and is the largest in Sri Lanka. Ideal for walkers, you can also bike or drive through it. They have a comprehensive collection and a scientific programme in biotechnology, ecology, conservation and taxonomy. The history of the gardens dates to 1371, when royalty shifted the court to Peradeniya and subsequently, when King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe (1741-1780) made them into royal gardens. Their modern history started when a garden named Kew was started at Slave Island in Colombo, and then shifted to Kalutara due to space restrictions. In 1821 these gardens were shifted to Peradeniya by Alexander Moon. With tree lined avenues and drive and a variety of flowers, the gardens were the setting for the South East Asian Command Headquarters during World War II.
The gardens are open every day and have flowers in bloom all year round. To mark their visits to Sri Lanka, many distinguished visitors, including royalty and heads of governments, have planted trees at the gardens. Today these gardens have acquired a worldwide reputation, for their history and plant collections. Among others, the gardens contain the tallest bamboos in the world and also the oldest tea plant in Sri Lanka.