Ancient temple ruins were supposed to be the highlight of today and they were, indeed, wonderful. But were totally usurped by the amazing wildlife: monkeys, a wild deer (who was surprisingly tame because strict poaching laws mean they have no need to fear humans), beautiful butterflies, a lizard, ibis, lemurs, Nandi (OK, so he was in stone, but impressive nonetheless and it was great to see an old friend again), termites (well, their homes anyway) and dogs:
Oh, and green parrots. Can you spot one in each of these photos*?
We’d left about 9am for the one-hour drive to Polonnaruwa. We arrived at 2pm. Lots of unplanned stops meant we only just had enough time to see the main sites, which was a shame because the museum looked quite good. But it was more important to see the actual stuff, so I skipped round – here are some random, interesting facts:
- Sri Lankan civilisation started in the protohistoric iron age (c. 900 – 800 BC)
- Anuradhapura was originally the capital of Sri Lanka, but its strategic position weakened and it became more susceptible to invasion from South Indians. So the capital moved to Polonnaruwa until 1236 when civil strife and war brought it to an end.
- Buddhism was introduced in C3 BC and became the state religion
- Sinhala script emerged from Brahmi script
- The divinity of the king was an accepted norm
- Pallava period (C7) showed the modest beginnings of South Indian architecture: a roof structure formed by the repetition of the ground floor design, in receding tiers, topped by a stupa
And then to the main quadrangle where all the buildings were either “shrines for the tooth relic, or connected with its worship” (Buddha’s tooth was allegedly salvaged from his funeral pyre and brought first to Anuradhapura, but moved when the capital was transferred here):
Impressive guardstones:
And wall decoration:
Then to the first of many (many) stupas:
And to one of the main events: Gal Vihara consists of three Buddha statues carved from a single piece of granite. Widely considered some of the best Sinhalese sculpting and carving, they were created in the C12 by Parakramabahu (King of Polunaruwa from 1153 to 1186). Well, that’s what Wiki says, but I’m guessing he commissioned them, rather than sculpted them – kings have other people to do that. From left to right: seated Buddha, standing Buddha and reclining Buddha:
Alahana Parivena is the largest monastery complex in Polonnaruwa, and was probably built on a former cremation ground (based on archaeological excavations):
Monks’ cells surround the main stupa and behind it was Lankatilaka – a quiet place with high walls that gave it a cathedral-like atmosphere:
Outside, the walls had many carvings of buildings which I’ve not seen before:
And it was nice to see this advice for those not familiar with Buddhist “rules” (which is far preferable that reprimanding people when they violate conventions, but not as good as tourists doing a bit of research before they arrive):
Heading back, we took a detour to the main road – headlights confuse the elephants and they’ve been known to charge. There are many things I’d like to experience before I hit the soil, but being attacked by a frightened wild elephant is not one of them 😉
Random stuff from today:
Lion rock (hoping to climb this tomorrow):
Road sign of the day was a two-way tie:
