Visit to Polonnaruwa 1

Statue of King Parakramabahu the Great

In early August, my sister Beaula, Fawzia and I made a trip to the Cultural Triangle in the north-central region of Sri Lanka. We stopped over at Namala, the small eco-resort of which Fawzia and I are shareholders (and about which I wrote ladst year), and did an overnight trip to Polonnaruwa, one of Sri Lanka's ancient capitals. The drive from Dambulla, where Namala is sitiauted, to Polonnaruwa is one of the most enjoyable in Sri Lanka because it passes through forest reserves inhabited by some of the largest remaining herds of wild elephants in the country, rice fields, and tanks (artificial reservoirs built by Sri Lankan kings). The 60 km drive was even more enjoyable because the road had been recently renovated, was smooth (without the usual potholes!) and the traffic was sparse.

Polonnaruwa, being in the dry zone, is hot and compared to more salubrious Kandy (Sri Lanka's last kingdom) isn't particularly hospitable, but it must have been a hive of activity in the middle of the 12th century when, as the capital of Sri Lanka, it was ruled by Parkaramabahu. The ancient ruins are relatively well preserved and the entire city is a tribute to the king, his presence felt everywhere. His achievements were so magnificent that he is the only Sri Lankan to have the suffix "Great" after his name.

We began at the local museum, which, though impressive by Sri Lankan standards, could definitely see some improvement. The air conditioning had broken down and it was stifling inside. August being a holiday month for schools, the museum was swarming with schoolchildren. We were glad to see that some of the children were from Tamil schools, a sign that the Tamils felt safe to travel in areas that were predominantly Sinhalese. The LTTE (Tamil Tigers) had been defeated only in May.

We began our tour with a visit to the statue of the King (seen at the top of this posting), overlooking the Parakrama Samudra, the great irrigation tank he built. Polonnaruwa had been without rain for many months and the area was dusty, the earth parched. Knowing that we had a hot day ahead, we did not linger long at the statue. The King is shown bare chested and no wonder! The heat would have been intolerable for the full regalia.

Parākramabāhu the reigned from 1153–1186. During this period, he unified the three smaller kingdoms of Sri Lanka. He expanded and beautified Polonnaruwa, constructed extensive irrigation systems, reorganized the country's army, reformed Buddhist practices, encouraged the arts and undertook military campaigns in southern India and Burma. The statement "not even a little water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man" is one of his most famous utterances, which takes greater resonance in Sri Lanka's parched dry zone. Perhaps his most impressive contribution is the construction of Parkarama Samudra ("sea"), a large reservoir still providing water to rice fields. It's surface area is 22,600,000 m2 and the maximum depth is about 13 meters. More about this in the next posting.

Beaula and Fawzia among the ruins


History records that Parakramabahu made the Royal Court a hub of cultural activity, attracting young nobles skilled in various arts such as riding elephants or horses, swordsmanship, proficiency in foreign languages, in dance and music. Sri Lanka, given its geographical position, had always been at the junction of several major trade routes, and the king promoted commerce. He reformed the Buddhist priesthood, and supported about 3,000 Buddhist monks within the city.

The remains of the King's palace

The pond where the King and hos consorts bathed

A canal flowing from the Parakrama Samudra. We saw many people bathing there and were tempted to join them, the day being hot.

The Council Chamber where the King held court

Another view of the Council Chamber

A building in the palace compound under renovations

A sacred tooth of the Buddha is one of the most cherished possessions of Sri Lankan Buddhists. It was kept for veneration wherever the King resided. This is the Temple of the Tooth built by Parakramabahu in Polonnaruwa. The current Temple of the Tooth is in Kandy because that's where the last King of Sri Lanka reigned.

An elaborately carved moonstone, which lies at the foot of the Temple of the Tooth. A testimony to the flowering of the arts under the King.

A beautifully carved statue of the seated Buddha at the Temple of the Tooth, also known as the Vatadage.

This Hindu temple, still in use today, is evidence of the presence of Tamils among the population of Polonnaruwa.

A closer view of the Hindu temple.

The remains of a broad boundary wall that ran around the city of Polonnaruwa

Parakramabahu built many dagabos, places of worship for Buddhists

The cells of monks. The foundation and the support columns were built of granite and they still stand.

The massive Lankatilleke Viharaya (temple) housing a standing Buddha statue

Monkeys appear to be the only permanent residents of the ruins

Another huge dagoba. Parakramabahu built many of these.

An ancient toilet. The plumbing was futuristic!

More cells of monks

For me, the Gal Vihare ('The Stone Shrine'") is the high point of the visit. It features three statues of the Buddha in three different poses carved from the same large rock. It's probably one of the most imposing yet serene Buddha statues in existence and a tribute to the master craftsmen of the period, who may have worked with crude instruments to carve out the magnificent statue. One could sit and gaze at the statues for hours.