Ambagasthanna Kurukuththala Ambalama

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Wayside rest halls located near the roads for the benefit of the travellers are called Ambalama. In ancient times, even kings and ministers used to lodge in these ambalamas. In the past, building a Ambalama for the benefit of all types of fatigued travelers was considered as a one of the highest pious acts a person could do. The Sri Lankan Buddhist culture further contributed and stengthen these ideas. Therefore, Ambalams could be seen two or three miles away on public roads and even two or three Ambalams could be seen in some ancient villages. At the same time, this Ambalama became important as a gathering place for the people of the village.

Fine wood and stone carvings can be seen some of the ambalams. They were often built under royal patronage or patronage of local aristocrats. Therefore, the size of these ambalams and the quality of the artwork varied based on the and the wealth of the people who sponsored.

Ambagastenna Kurukuttala Ambalama can be reached by traveling about 1.5 km on the Ambagastenna Road near the Kadugannawa town on the Colombo-Kandy road. Legend has it that this Ambalama was made during the reign of the Kandy Kingdom.

The roof is made up on four stone pillars placed at about three and a half feet [1.5 m] distance in the center of the hut. On top of these stone pillars are four pillar head designs on four with beautiful lotus carvings made of wood. But today there are only three original pieces left out of the original 16. There are 12 pillars, a cluster of three round pillars on each side, connecting the four sides of the roof edges. These towers are made of bricks and have been treated with white limestone paint. Between these circular pillars are eight more pillars that support the weight of the roof. These brick towers are about eight feet high.

The roof of the Ambalama is sloping and extending over the brick pillars. The kanimadala at the center of the roof is carved in form of a flower.

Although this Ambalama is lost in time today, the ancient Kadugannawa – Gampola road had gone through the area where this Ambalama is located. This Ambalama is also known as Aladuwaka Ambalama, Mathgamuwa Ambalama or Rammaka Ambalama.

References

  • අම්බලම හා සමාජය : ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පුරාණ පිළිබඳ ඓතිහාසික හා පුරාවිද්‍යාත්මක පර්යේෂණයක්, 2018. , 1. කොළඹ : සීමාසහිත ඇස් ගොඩගේ සහෝදරයෝ (පුද්.) සමාගම.

Also See

Ambagasthanna Kurukuththala Ambalama Map

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Ambagasthanna Kurukuththala Ambalama Driving Directions

From Ilukwatte to Ambagasthanna Kurukuththala Ambalama

Through : Ambagasthanna Road
Distance : 1.5km
Travel time : 10 minutes
Time to spent : about 15-30 minutes
Driving Directions : see Google map here

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