| Parakrama Samudra |
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Parakrama Samudra is
an irrigation tank built by King Parakramabahu I. It covers
an area of 5,940 acres, hence its name, 'Samudra' meaning the
sea. It has 11 channels directing water to feed a network of
irrigation canals and smaller tanks. |
Archaeological
Museum |
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Archaeological Museum contains superb
Chola bronzes and other artefacts. |
| Summer Palace |
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Summer Palace of King Parakramabahu
is now home to a variety of birds. |
Potgul Vehera
(Library
Museum) |
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Here you will find four small dagabas
surrounding a circular brick building on the central platform.
The acoustics of this building are excellent and this has led
to the suggestion that it was a lecture theatre where the tenets
of Buddhism were read aloud. |
| Statue of King Parakramabahu I |
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Statue of King Parakramabahu I or
Agastaya is a huge 12th Century AD rock sculpture. A barefoot
figure clad only in sarong, stands out of the rock from which
he was carved. His broad face has a look of seriousness and
he is holding a sacred manuscript from which he appears to be
reading aloud. However, the subject of the statue is a matter
of debate. Was it Agastaya or King Parakramabahu I ? |
The Royal Palace
of King Parakramabahu I |
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The Royal Palace of King Parakramabahu
I - built in the 11th Century. The massive brick walls of the
main hall stand amidst the ruins of about 40 inter-connecting
rooms. The palace originally rose to seven storeys, however
since the upper floors were wooden, no trace of them remains
now. The Kumara Pokuna, the handsome royal bath, is a bit further
on from here. The Royal pavilion still has its lion portals,
graceful pillars and a moonstone (a delicately carved stepping
stone). |
| Audience Hall |
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Audience Hall contains exquisite
stone carvings, bas-relief elephants support the base of this
building and the entrance has two flights of steps with moonstones
flanked by mythical dragons. |
| Kumara Pokuna |
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Kumara Pokuna is where the ladies
of the court would have taken their evening bath. |
Dalada Maluwa
(The
terrace of the Tooth Relic) |
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The centrepiece of the ancient city.
It was a sacred precinct containing 12 magnificent buildings.
Today it is known as the Quadrangle. |
Vatadage
(a circular stupa
h ouse with roof) |
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Built in the 7th Century, it is one
of the oldest monuments in Polonnaruwa. |
| Thuparamaya |
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Thuparamaya is an image house built
in the 3rd Century BC for the worship of Lord Buddha. It is
built in a style of the original form of architecture that flowered
at Polonnaruwa. The barrel-vaulted and domed buildings had very
thick brick walls, stuccoed and painted with figures and architectural
subjects. The roof is still intact and several images in the
interior are preserved. |
Atadage
(House of Eight Relics) |
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This was the first Tooth Temple built
by King Vijayabahu in the 11th century. This is a neat plantation
of 54 stone columns. A statue of Lord Buddha, almost 3 m (10
ft) in height, stands amongst the columns. |
| Hatadage |
- |
Hatadage Relic Shrine resembles the
Atadage in plan and name and was built for the same purpose.
Its thick stone walls still contain three carvings of Lord Buddha.
|
Galpota
(Stone
Book) |
- |
an inscription recording the foundation
and embellishment of the city. |
| Sathmahal Prasada (Seven-Storeyed
Stupa) |
|
Has an unusual stepped pyramidal
form. The design of this contributes significantly to the study
of stupa evolution. |
| Pabulu Vehera |
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A brick dagaba built by Queen Rupavati
- one of King Parakramabahu's queens. It is surrounded by image
houses. |
| Shiva Devale |
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Shiva Devale is a Hindu shrine. It
is the only all-stone temple still in perfect condition. This
shrine was built in the 11th Century and some superb bronze
statues were found within. |
| Menikvehera |
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Menikvehera appears to be constructed
in at least two stages, and the first stage dates around the
8th Century AD. The stupa is built on a high walled terrace
with a small lotus-shaped stupa in the centre. It is unique
in its design. |
| Alahana Pirivena |
- |
Alahana Pirivena was a Buddhist monastic
university. It consisted of many separate apartments laid out
to a regular plan. Each apartment was two-storeyed with tiled
roofs and had its own living unit. However, the bath-house,
refectory and other facilities were shared. |
Rankotvehera
(Golden Pinnacle) |
- |
One of the two big stupas of the
Alahana Pirivena monastic complex. |
| Buddha Sima Pasada |
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Buddha Sima Pasada was a chapter
house. Its sacred functions were to enforce the rules of the
Buddhist priests. |
| Lankathilaka |
- |
The walls of this image house soar
to a height of 16 m (55 ft). Inside the shrine stands the headless
statue of a Lord Buddha and the interior walls are adorned with
murals. The outside walls are horizontally divided into five
floors. Inside is a single tall space, which is now open to
the sky but must have had a type of domed roof. |
Kirivehera
(Milk White House) |
- |
One of the two big stupas of the
Alahana Pirivena monastic complex. It is the best-preserved
dagaba with its original lime plaster stucco intact and the
remains of small structures cluster around it. |
| Galvehera |
- |
Galvehera is one of the most famous
sites in Sri Lanka. It consists of three figures of Lord Buddha
carved out of a cliff of granite. The first figure is a sitting
Buddha with an artificial cavern cut out of the rock. The other
two are an upright Buddha and a reclining Buddha. The reclining
Buddha is 14 m (46 ft) in length. |
| Lotus Pond |
- |
Within the Jetavanarama Monastery
is this elegant pond built in the shape of an open lotus. |
| Tivanka |
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Tivanka is the most important building
in the Jetavana Monastery. It is an image-house. The name is
derived from the image of the Lord Buddha in the narrow antechamber,
which is seen in the 'Tivanka' or thrice bent posture. The most
important paintings of the Polonnaruwa period were found on
the walls of the Tivanka. |
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