Journey to the land of Kings – Anuradhapura
It was on 31st of January 2009, we packed our camera gear and started our journey to the sacred land of Anuradhapura. Our first stop was the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya, the place where the sapling from the historical Bodhi tree under which Buddha came to Enlightenment. I managed to capture some sculptures in the vicinity of the sacred surroundings;
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
Our second stop was at Ruwanweli Seya, It Is considered as one of the world’s architectural marvels as well as a sacred place for all the Buddhists around the world. It was built by King Dutugemunu or Duttagamini who became king of Sri Lanka after defeating the Chola King Elara. The stupa is one of the world’s tallest monuments, standing at 300 ft (92 m) and with a circumference of 950 ft (292 m).
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
We spent some time at Ruwanweli Seya and headed to Jetavanaramaya, a stupa located among the ruins of the Jetavana Monastery, Anuradhapura. This massive stupa was built by King Mahasen (273-301 AD).
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
The Jetavana stupa is over 400 feet (120 m) in height, and is one of the tallest stupas in the world (the tallest being Phra Pathom Chedi, Thailand). It is renowned as the largest brick building of that era, and 3rd largest structure in the ancient world, after the two largest of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Approximately 93,300,000 baked bricks were used to build the stupa. This stupa belongs to the Sagalika sect. The compound covers approximately 8 acres (5.6 hectares) and once housed over 3000 Buddhist monks. One side of the stupa is 576 feet (176 m) long, and the flights of stairs at each of the four sides of it are 28 feet (8.5 m) wide. The doorpost to the shrine, which is situated in the courtyard, is 27 feet (8.2 m) high. The stupa has a 6m deep foundation, and sits on bedrock. Stone inscriptions in the courtyard give the names of people who donated to the building effort
ANCIENT STONE CARVINGS OF JETAVANARAMAYA
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
I managed to capture some ancient stone carvings around the Jetavanaramaya stupa;
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
We continued our journey to the all famous “Kuttam Pokuna” (Twin Ponds). This is one of the best examples to showcase the architectural and engineering standards of the ancient Sri Lankans.
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
A garden was landscaped which separates the two ponds which is 18 1/2 ft in length. The larger of the two pools is 132ft by 51 ft and the smaller pool is 91ft by 51 ft. The depths of the smaller pool and the larger pool are 14ft and 18ft respectively.
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
Photograph Copyright © 2009 Arantha Sirimanne
To Be Continued ….
Arantha Sirimanne, Contributors, Culture, History, Places, Travel
