Dedigama

The ancient Sinhalese chronicle, the Culavamasa tells us that the consort of Manabharana, the crown prince of Sri Lanka,

... bore a son at a moment marked by a lucky constellation. Clear at this moment were all the quarters of the heavens and cool, fragrant, gentle breezes blew. With the trumpeting of the elephants and the neighing of the horses the royal courtyard was filled with resounding din.

This heavenly event took place in a city known as Punkhagama, the capital of the principality of Dakkhinadesa, of which Manabharana was the sub-king (yuvaraja).

The child was named Parakramabahu (Parakkamabahu in Pali). Many years later, about 1153 AD he became king of the whole island as Parakramabahu I (the Great). He then constructed a shrine at the place of his birth, the Suthigara Cetiya (the Chaitya of the house of birth).

Interestingly, when Wilhelm Geiger (the father of Hans, the inventor of the Geiger Counter) was translating the Culawamsa, the location of Punkhagama had not yet been discovered. Geiger Snr tells us in a footnote that 'Parakkamabahu 1 erected a tope there 120 cubits high of which there ought still to be traces'.

Archaeological department board at the Kotavehera

This tope was identified later as the Kotavehera, in the modern village of Dedigama (pronounced tha-thee-gah-muh), and excavations were carried out there in the 1960s. So Punkhagama is most likely Dedigama. Apparently the place-name is derived from Jatigama, an alternative ancient name for the place.

The dagoba is the largest in the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka. Parakramabahu I was a great lover of monumental architecture and bigness generally. He made tanks in the Wet Zone (where they were not really necessary) in order to show off his prowess and in order to recreate the 'Milk Ocean' in a large-scale Mandala, a representation of the Indic Cosmos .

Obviously I am not a great fan of Parakramabahu's - his reputation was as much due to his panegyrist in the Culawamsa as anything he did; although it was possibly his unification of the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist clergy in a single, state-controlled body which ensured for him a sympathetic press.

Sutighara cetiya from the north-east

Be that as it may, the dagoba is truly impressive. It is 78 metres (256 feet) in diameter and 14.3 metres (47 feet) high. I couldn't get the whole thing onto a single frame, so I had to do a stitch-up of two photos - a bit of a botch-up actually.

The size of the structure is illustrated by this photo of a senior citizen walking around it in the prescribed clock-wise manner. Note the multi-coloured branches of Na (Ironwood) trees in the foreground and the concentric perimeter rings (pesa walalu) at the base of the stupa.

Elderly man circling the dagoba

Not withstanding the size of the dagoba, it is referred to as the Kotavehera (short stupa) , not because of any deficiency in its height, but because it was built without the usual upper structure, the traditional cube-shaped enclosure (hatharæs kotuwa) and pinnacle (koth kærælla). Rather like calling a tall person short because they do not wear a hat.

On the eastern side of the dagoba, just above the second of the pesa walalu at the foot of the dagoba, is a smaller stupa, about 11 metres (36 feet) in diameter. It is said to mark the exact place of Parakramabahu's birth. It is that little pimple on the side of the dagoba, in my stitch-up shot above. The photo below shows it in close-up:

Smaller dagoba

The larger dagoba appears to have been anchored on the lesser. Here is an even closer shot:

Smaller dagoba

Excavations found a koraha (a pot for washing rice in) beneath the smaller dagoba. Not surprisingly, however, it was the larger which yielded the greater treasure. The main reliquary chamber, guarded by multi-headed cobras (like the one at Oorusitano tank), was complemented by 8 others arranged geometrically around it. The artefacts found there were housed in a museum built close by.

The way to the archaeological museum

A break-in occurred there not too many years ago, and the thieves got away with a large number of artefacts, especially some exquisite Buddha statues covered in gold foil. However, less monetarily valuable but priceless historically, the main prize of the collection was left behind. This was the elephant lamp.

Elephant lamp

This elegant oil lamp is one of a pair taken from the heart of the dagoba - the other being at the Colombo Museum. The identical lamps are of the hanging type and each consists an oil receptacle surmounted by an elephant and its mahout. The whole is suspended by the apex of a torana above the elephant, which is affixed to a chain.

Detailed drawing of elephant lamp

The elephant figure stands in the middle of the oil receptacle, which can be filled with oil. There is also a reservoir for the oil in the elephant's belly (marked in white on black in the central figure above). Oil is poured in using the hollow of one of the forelegs as a funnel.

After the lamp is lit, the level of oil in the receptacle goes down. When it goes below the level of the hole in the funnel-foreleg, an ingenious hydrostatic arrangement makes the pachyderm 'urinate' oil until the level of oil returns above the beast's feet. Obviously, the creator of this marvel of physics was something of a piss-artist.

Despite the burglary, many valuable artefacts remain in the museum, not just from Dedigama but from archaeological sites in the Kegalle area generally, including some interesting inscriptions. There is also a representation of the nine reliquary chambers of the Kotavehera, showing what was found where, and photographs of the dig.

You can get to Dedigama by turning to the right off the Colombo-Kandy road at Nelundeniya and driving about 3 kilometres (2 miles).

Dedigama is within easy driving distance of the rest houses at Ambepussa, Hanwella and Kitulgala, as well as the Ambalama hotel in Hanwella.

Yudanganawa

Near the town of Buttala in the Moneragala district, is Yudanganawa, an ancient monastery dating back to the 2nd century BC.

Map: Yudanganawa marked in yellow

I went there in early 2005, on the way back from Tsunami relief work in Pottuvil on the East Coast. At the entrance to the complex of Yudanganawa (which means 'woman of battle' or 'beauty of battle') stands the small dagoba of Chulangani or Chulanganawa ('small woman').

Chulangani stupa

Chulanganawa was the site of a battle between King Dutugemunu (Duttha Gamini Abhaya) and his younger brother Tissa (Tisa):

And between those two there came to pass a great battle in Culanganiyapitthi: fell many thousands of the king's men. (Mahawamsa, ch. xxiv)

Tissa not only defeated his older brother, he also captured the king's war-elephant, Kandula. Dutugemunu didn't re-capture his beloved pachyderm until much later. Kandula was the most celebrated elephant in Sri Lanka's history, later being used to batter down the wrought-iron gate of a fortress:

Roaring like thunder he came, daring danger, and with his tusks pierced the panels of the gate and trampled the threshold with his feet; and with uproar the gate crashed to the ground together with the arches of the gate. (Mahawamsa, ch xxv)

As an aside it might be mentioned that, in the 21st century, Kandula's monicker was bestowed on the first male elephant to be born to the Smithsonian zoo by articifial insemination - itself the child of a first-generation Sri Lankan immigrant to the USA.

Amazingly, after his eventual victory, the king commemorated his defeat in this battle by building the Yudanganawa monastery here. It is not often that one hears of a monarch celebrating his setbacks, especially a defeat as humiliating as this one!

Close by the dagoba is the image house or buduge (literally 'Buddha House'). Only the foundation, the pillars and part of the altar remain.

Image house ('buduge') at Chulanganawa

The approach to the main dagoba at Yudanaganawa reveals its impressive size. It is not as tall as the three large dagobas at Anuradhapura, but it is much broader at the base. Unfortunately the site is heavily forested, so I found it difficult to take a good photograph of the dagoba itself.

Yudanaganawa: main dagoba and image house

I first visited the image house. This is a mediaeval structure, possibly built on foundations similar to those of the Chulangani image house. Inside, it is illustrated in a typical mediaeval manner, with statues of deities and frescos and bas-reliefs on the walls.

The gateway to the inner sanctum is guarded by two painted bas-relief lions rampant. Sri Lanka has not had native lions for many centuries, and the artist was not familiar with what was almost a mythic beast. Hence, the lions looked more like large mastiffs. However they look frightening enough, so their purpose of inspiring awe in the beholder was probably served.

Doorway to inner sanctum of image house

The inner sanctum was very dark and I could just about get photographs of the frescos and statues on my cheapish camera. The art was very mediaeval - a regression from the artistic wonders of the 1st millenium - and, in comparison with the ancient structures visible outside, was not very impressive. That may have been why they installed the two fierce looking guardian lions - to strike terror in the souls of scoffing art critics.

Inner sanctum

The Archaeological Department has been carrying out excavation and conservation work at Yudanganawa for years, and it should continue for at least two decades more. When I went there the scaffolding, which had been erected to help with the archaeological work, was much apparent on the sides of the main dagoba.

Yudanganawa dagoba - note scaffolding for conservation work

The dagoba is quite different in style from conventional stupas - unlike them, it is built in two 'stages', with a smaller dagoba surmounting the massive main structure. It is rather as if the builder had sliced off the middle layer and laid the apex directly onto the base (as is apparent in the photographs below).

Noting that there was nobody around, your doughty correspondent decided to scale the scaffolding and (illicitly and with malice aforethought) climb up on top of the massive dagoba.

The view from the top

The view from the top was quite impressive. It was also good to be able to see, close-up, the consevation work going on right on top of the dagoba. It was quite obvious why this work was necessary - there were trees growing on top of the structure!

Conservation work on top

It was possible to see the hundreds of thousands of bricks of which the dagoba is composed. I wish one could say that the dagoba is made entirely of brick, but I am informed that this is not so: apparently the building contractors of yore were as shifty as their modern counterparts, and many dagobas have cores of clay.

The small stupa on top of the massive base