Embekke Ambalama (ඇම්බැක්කේ අම්බලම)

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Ambalamas were part of the Sri Lankan life from ancient times. Geiger said that the words ‘mahavata vatussala’ found in the marble slab inscription of King Mahasen (274-301AD) meant a resting place along a major street which is today known as Ambalama.

Embekke Ambalama lies on the popular road to Embekke Devalaya though overlooked by many travelers. The ambalama has been built on a rocky plateau levelled by a stone foundation. The roof had been supported by 16 carved granite pillars in four clusters, each having four pillars.

Much of the history of this Ambalama is not known. However, it is generally accepted that this Ambalama is much older than the Embekke Devalaya and was probably built by King Buvanekabahu IV (1341-1351) of the Gampola Kingdom. According to Abeyawardhana, this ambalama had been built to serve as a resting place for builders of Gadaladeniya and Lankathilake viharas.

The platform on which the ambalama is built is 8.31×6.77 meters in dimension. The pillars are 2.1 meters high. Each pillar contains stone carvings depicting twin swans, faces of lions, narilatha creepers, kirtimukha designs, trunks of elephants, eagles, bharunda birds, swans, lions and elephants.

There is hardly any remains of the once beautiful woodwork of the building. At one time these unique stone pillars were in grave danger of being neglected and were overgrown with creepers. Except for the medium, these carvings are similar to the wood carvings of Embekke Devalaya.

Henry Cave provides a detailed description in 1908, even by then had a proper tiled roof over this ambalama, He states;

One of these buildings (ambalams), at Embekke, has been referred to. It stands on a rock in the middle of a paddy field, and consists of a roof supported by an inner rectangle of four, and an outer one of twelve, monolithic pillars of the usual pattern. They have not separate capitals, but each group of four pillars at each corner is treated as forming a unit, and is surmounted by four short beams laid cross-wise, with carved ends which take the place of capitals. Over these beams are longer beams which connect the four groups and support the roof. The roof is not exactly square, but has a short ridge, each end of which is crowned with a linial. There is a very similar madama, half way between Kandy and Matale, of square plan, but with wooden instead of stone pillars, which is said to have been constructed of timber left over from the building of the Audience Hall (Plate 456). Here also we have on the pillars the same geometrical or floral patterns and figures of animals, the lion, elephant, horse, and sacred goose—the latter in couples with necks interlocked—a favourite Buddhist emblem. On some of the pillars the equally sacred cobra is carved in a coil, resembling a flower with its stalk.
The mythical animals here, however, are fewer than at Embekke, ordinary animals predominating. There appears to be no reason for doubting that the Embekke madama dates back to the time of Wikrama Bahu III., i.e. the latter part of the fourteenth century, and its plan only differs from the other in that It is not quite a square, while in the other, though not more than one hundred years old, the shape of the pillars and the style of carving are identical. This serves to show what we would expect to find, that Kandyan architecture has changed little in the course of centuries.

References

  1. Abeyawardhana, H. A. P. (2004) Heritage of Kandurata: Major Natural, Cultural, and Historic Sites. Kandy: Kandurata Development Bank, in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
  2. Cave, H.W. (1908) The Book of Ceylon, Being a Guide to its Railway System and an Account of its Varied Attractions for the Visitor and Tourist. London.

Also See

Map of Embekke Ambalama

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Driving Directions to Embekke Ambalama

Route from Kandy to Embekke Ambalama
Through : Gampola Road
distance : 17 km
Travel time : 45 mintutes
Driving directions : see on google map

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