Thuparama Image House of the Polonnaruwa Ancient Kingdom – ථූපාරාම පිළිම ගෙය
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Thuparama Image House
The Thuparama Image House at the ancient capital of Polonnaruwa is one of the few buildings where you can see a roof completely made out of bricks. Almost the whole building has survived over 900 years miraculously. The roof is a semi-cylindrical in shape. The original name of this image house is not known; therefore the builder of this is also unknown. It is thought that this was built by a minister of King Parakramabahu (1153-1186) called Mahinda to house the tooth relic. Another belief is that this was built by king Vijayabahu I (1070-1110).
The walls of this building are about 7 feet (2 meters) thick and inside a large seating Buddha statue has been kept. Nothings remain of this statue today. It is said that the eyes of this Buddha statue was embedded with precious stones and the windows were designed in such a manner the sunlight would reflect on these stones and light the image house.
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A conjectural construction of the Thuparama Image House
Source : Sinhalese Monastic Architecture: The Viháras of Anurádhapura
Also See
- The Ancient Capital of Polonnaruwa
- Anuradhapura – The city of the God King
- Ancient Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Photos before restoration from www.imagesofceylon.com
 Thuparama Image House in late 1800’s or early 1900’s |  Thuparama Image House in late 1800’s or early 1900’s |  Thuparama Image House in late 1800’s or early 1900’s |
Map of Thuparama Image House at Polonnaruwa
Note that some locations marked by Google Maps in around this area is wrong.
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites.
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Driving Directions to Polonnaruwa Sacred City
Route from Colombo to Polonnaruwa Sacred City | Route from Kandy to Polonnaruwa Sacred City |
| Though : Ambepussa - Kurunegala - Dambulla Distance from Colombo :220 km Travel time : 4.5 hours Driving directions : see on google map | Through : Matale - Dambulla - Habarana Distance from Colombo : 145 km Travel time : 3.0 hours Driving Directions : see on google maps |
Route from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa Sacred City | Route from Batticaloa to Polonnaruwa Sacred City |
| Though : Maradankadawala - Habarana
Distance from colombo : 105 km Travel time : 2 hours Driving directions : see on google map | Though : Chenkaladi - Valachchena Distance from colombo :100 km Travel time : 1.5 hours Driving directions : see on google map |