Polonnaruwa

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THE PROUD HISTORY OF THE KINGDOM OF POLONARUWA

Royal Palace Complex

The first group of ruins you meet after entering the ground of the Ancient City is the Royal Palace Group. This group of buildings dates from the period of King Parakramabahu I (1153 – 1186). The King`s Royal Palace is a massive structure, measuring 31 m by 13 m, once including 50 rooms supported by 30 columns. Even today it is quite an impressive building, but picture it being seven floors tall with 3 m thick walls, as the archaeologists claim it once was!

Today only some of the walls are left, with holes to hold floor beams for two higher levels. If the building had four more levels above these stone walls, the archaeologists speculate that they must have been made of wood. Impressive building such a big palace in those days without machines!

Council Chamber of the Royal Palace

This pillared hall is where the King Nissanka Malla’s council would have met. Inscribed into each of the 48 columns in the chamber is the name of the minister whose seat was once beside it, while the royal throne, in the shape of a stone lion, dominates the head of the hall. Just offshore is a tiny island on which are the ruins of a small summer house used by the king. The king`s Audience Hall is one of the best-preserved structures in the Royal Palace Group, with beautiful stone carved elephants on the walls.

Royal Bath

In one corner of the palace grounds is the king´s swimming pool, with crocodile-mouth spouts used to lead fresh water into the pool. Today the water is not very tempting to go swimming in, alien-green as it is! UNESCO`s World Heritage Site of Royal Bath (Kumara Pokuna)located at Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. This is the royal bath/pool of King Parakramabahu 1153-1186.

Sacred Quadrangle

The Sacred Quadrangle is a compact group of beautiful and impressive ruins within a raised up platform bounded by a wall. This is the most concentrated collection of buildings in the whole Ancient City, and a must-see for any visitor! In the middle of the Quadrangle is The Vatadage, a circular relic house typical of its kind. The outermost terrace is an impressive 18m in diameter and has four entrances all flanked by large guard stones in beautiful condition and The four entrances all lead to a central dagaba with four Buddhas.

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya

The building is surrounded by a stone railing and the entrance is also protected by a stone doorway. The stone pillars in this building are a unique design. These pillars are not straight and they are carved in three places. The top of the pillars takes the shape of a lotus bud. And the rest of the pillars have carved as the stem of the flower. There is a small stone Stupa (truncated top,  perhaps to receive the relic casket during Pirith chanting) on the centre of the platform in the middle of the building.  It is believed that the roof of the building was done with wood.

Shiva Devale

This is the oldest building in Polonnaruwa as it dates back to the brief South Indian Chola dynasty period (around 1070) when the Indian invaders established the city. This is one of few Hindu temples on the grounds. Because it is among the few buildings built entirely of stone, it is basically in the same condition as when it was built.

Buddha Statue at Lankatilaka

Lankatilaka Vihara is one of the most emblematic structures of the ancient kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Two great walls, each with a thickness of 4m & height of 17m form a narrow aisle leading to a very impressive, though now sadly headless Buddha statue still standing, over 14m high. Built by King Parakrabahu the great, the shrine is a definite deviation in terms of Buddhist architecture: instead of the abstract symbolism of the stupa (dagoba) the attention is focused on the giant figure of the Buddha, which fill up the entire space within the shrine.

Thivanka Pilimage (Image House)

Thivanka Pilimage had been built by King Parakramabahu (1153-1186) as part of the Jethavanarama Complex. Since the large image of Buddha has been curved in 3 places, this has been given the name “Thivanka” which literally means three curves. As most other structures of this era,  this is too built with bricks including the statue. The Buddha statue at the Thivanka Pilimage is about 8 meters in height but today the part of the statue above the head has been destroyed. The inside walls of the buildings has been decorated with frescoes showing the Jataka Stories.

Buddha Figures at Gal Vihara

The Gal Viharaya and originally as the Uttararama, is a rock temple of the Buddha situated in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa. It was fashioned in the 12th century by Parakramabahu I. The central feature of the temple is four rock relief statues of the Buddha, which have been carved into the face of large granite rock. The images consist of a large seated figure, another smaller seated figure inside an artificial cavern, a standing figure and a reclining figure. These are considered to be some of the best examples of ancient Sinhalese sculpting and carving arts and have made the Gal Vihara the most visited monument at Polonnaruwa.

Statue of Parakramabahu I

The statue near the Potgul Vehera in Polonnaruwa, commonly known as the Statue of Parakramabahu I, is a stone sculpture dating back to the Polonnaruwa period of ancient Sri Lanka. Its identity is uncertain, although the widely accepted theory is that it is a statue of Parakramabahu I. However, it has also been suggested as the statue of a sage. Carved on a large boulder, the statue depicts a majestic figure with a grave expression, holding a book or yoke in his hands.

 

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Polonnaruwa