Veheragala Siri Sangabo Rajamaha Viharaya Ruins (වෙහෙරගල සිරි සඟබෝ රජමහා විහාරය නටබුන්)

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Veheragala Archaeology site now called Siri Sangabo Rajamaha Viharaya lies in between the Anuradhapura – Kahatagasdigiliya Road. Travelling 36 km from Tissa Wewa from Anuradhapura, the turn-off to the temple is marked by a board installed by the Department of Archaeology. Taking a right turn to a by-road the temple is 1.8 km from this junction.

The Department of Archaeology has conserved several ruins at the site including an ancient stupa and a pillar inscription.

However, very few know that the gold-plated solid bronze statue of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva which has adorned brochures and books on Sri Lanka was discovered from this site. This exquisitely cast 49.8 cm tall statue along with a seated and a standing gilt bronze casted statues was discovered in 1968. It depicts the Bodhisattva seated in the ‘royal easy posture’ in which the right knee is lifted and placed on the throne closer to the body and the left leg comfortably hangs down.

The crown of matted hair leans to the right. Valuables gems must have been inserted into the now empty cavities in the headdress. As is the identity of the bronze sculptures found in Sri Lanka belonging to the historical eras, two transparent rock crystals might have been fixed into the open cavities of the two eyes in this sculpture too.

This statue has been variously dated by several scholars between the 6th and the 10th century. Paranavitana places it in the 6th century and all the other scholars relate it to the late Anurādhapura period from the 8th to the 10th century.

This statue along with some other 51 valuable bronze sculptures belonging to the classical eras of this country was taken away from the Colombo Museum in 1991 and was on display till 1993 in several leading art museums of the world, in France, Switzerland, United States and Australia. During these exhibitions, this image has been acclaimed as a masterpiece among world religious sculptures by several world-famous art critics. One of them acclaimed: ‘He is but one gem of sculpture in a collection of the most beautiful, spiritual and powerful images made anywhere in Asia.’ C. Bolon, a specialist in South Asian Art at the Smithsonian Institute, selected this piece of sculpture for the cover page of their quarterly magazine Asian Art published in 1993.

According to folklore, the Veheragala area was known as Ranpathvila in the past as there were about 600 goldsmiths living in this area and they were well known for making gold leaves, “ranpath“.

The book “Sri Lankawe Tampita Vihara” by Kusumsiri Wijeyawardhana lists this temple as having a Tampita Viharaya. This reference probably refers to the ruins of a Tampita Temple at the site.

References

  1. Chandrajeewa, S. (2016) “Veragala Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva: an Inquiry into its Style & Period (The Mahayana Buddhist Bronze Statue in Colombo Museum),” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, 61(1), pp. 69–106.

Also See

Map of Veheragala Siri Sangabo Rajamaha Viharaya Ruins

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)
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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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Travel Directions to Veheragala Siri Sangabo Rajamaha Viharaya Ruins

Route from Anuradhapura to Veheragala Siri Sangabo Rajamaha Viharaya Ruins
Through : Mihintale
Distance : 28 km
Travel time : 45 minutes
Driving directions : see on google map

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