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ඡයාරූපය : තරංග සෙනරත්
Ambalamas are public places built for pilgrims, traders and tourists to rest in ancient Sri Lanka. They had to travel on the roads for many days while traveling. At the same time, Ambalam was built centering on ancient routes to relieve fatigue and the weary travellers to spend the night.
The ancients believed that building these ambalams for the benefit of travellers was an act of charity and desecrating them was an unforgivable sin. At the same time, this Ambalam was also important as a gathering place for the people of that village. Ambalams were often built under royal patronage or with the patronage of local nobles. Therefore, the size and artwork of these ambalams varied according to the wealth of the patrons.
After traveling about 6 km on the Peradeniya-Gampola road, you will come across the Gelioya area. After traveling about 3.5 km on Boowelikada road from Gelioya town, you will reach Daskara village. Towards the left hand side of Daskara village, the road to Wegiriya Wegirikanda Rajamaha Viharaya and Purana Natha Devalaya is marked. After traveling 850 meters on this road, this Ambalam can be seen near the Galkona Purana Bodhiya.
This ambalama, which is not so large, is about 10 feet long and wide. Ambalama is built on a small platform. On top of that, using square stone blocks, the walls are built to a height suitable for seating and 4 pillars are made of the same stone. Stone slabs are placed on top of the walls for seats. The wall (sitting area) in front of the Ambalama entrance is about 2½ feet high and the walls on both sides are about 2 feet high. Building seats at different heights is commonly seen in many Ambalamas of the Kandyan era. This seating system made according to the tradition of sitting based on the that time.
The roof is made in two slopes. The top area is heavily slanted like a kotha and the lower area is mildly slanted. The roof is tiled pith flat clay tiles popular during Kandyan era. This Ambalama has been renovated recently.
A philanthropist named Seneviratne inscribed this on a rafter of the roof and the year 1928. Although it is said that initially there was a panthaliya (a vessel to keep water for the travellers), it is not seen today. It is said that before 1928 there was a beautiful Ambalama made of wood. A similar ambalama is said to have existed in the west of this ambalama called the Suwandalkumbura Ambalama, but it has been destroyed and remains in ruins.
References
- Dasanayake, R. (2018) අම්බලම හා සමාජය : ශ්රී ලංකාවේ පුරාණ පිළිබඳ ඓතිහාසික හා පුරාවිද්යාත්මක පර්යේෂණයක්. කොළඹ : සීමාසහිත ඇස් ගොඩගේ සහෝදරයෝ (පුද්.) සමාගම.
Also See
- List of Ambalama’s in Sri Lanka
- Ancient Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Daskara Galkona Ambalama
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Driving Directions to Daskara Galkona Ambalama
| From Peradeniya to Daskara Galkona Ambalama |
| Via : Gelioya – Daskara Total Distance : 12 KM Duration : 30 Minutes Driving Directions : View on Google Map |
