Lankatilaka Raja Maha Viharaya

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The 14th-century Laṅkātilaka Rājamahā Vihāraya is a majestic brick masterpiece perched atop Paṇhalgala rock. Commissioned by King Bhuvanekabāhu IV, this Gampola-era shrine blends Polonnaruwa architectural traditions with South Indian design. Its towering image house, ornate Makara Torana, and vibrant Kandyan paintings reflect the pinnacle of medieval Sri Lankan art.

Laṅkātilaka Rājamahā Vihāraya, is a historic Buddhist shrine located in the Udunuwara area of Kandy. It is built atop a large rocky plateau known as Paṇhalgala, in the hamlet of Hiyarapitiya. Renowned for its architectural grandeur, the temple dates to the 14th century, during the Gampola Kingdom period (1341–1408).

Historical Background

The origins of the temple lie in the 14th century, a period in pre-colonial Sri Lanka marked by the rule of several regional kingdoms. At the time, the capital of the Sinhalese kingdom was Kurunegala. This phase came to an end when King Bhuvanekabāhu IV (1341–1354) established a new capital at Gampola, a strategically secure location on the banks of the Mahaweli River.

An inscription at the Laṅkātilaka Temple records that its construction was completed in the Śaka year 1266, corresponding to 1344 CE, three years after the coronation of King Bhuvanekabāhu IV. Notably, this completion coincided with that of the nearby Gadaladeniya Vihāraya in the same year. The project was supervised by the king’s chief minister, Senalankādhikāra, while the architectural design is attributed to a South Indian master builder, Sthapati Rayar, as mentioned in the temple inscription. Originally, the structure consisted of four stories, although today only the ground floor and part of the first story remain, with the upper levels having collapsed over time (Seneviratna, 1983, pp. 119–123).

Architectural Layout

The temple complex is organized around its central feature—the four-story image house—aligned along an east–west axis. The summit of the rock was enclosed by a rectangular boundary wall constructed of rubble masonry. According to an 18th-century copper plate inscription from Laṅkātilaka, the original height of the building, including all four functional stories, was 32 cubits, or approximately 25 m (about 82 ft). The structure measured 29.3 m (approximately 96 ft) in length from the front moonstone to the rear and 23.8 m (approximately 78 ft) in width (N. De Silva, 1990, pp. 82–84).

The Image House

The Laṅkātilaka Image House is the most prominent feature of the temple complex. Constructed primarily of brick, it reflects the architectural traditions of the Polonnaruwa period. Built roughly 150 years after the reign of King Parākramabāhu I (1153–1186), who commissioned notable brick shrines such as Laṅkātilaka Pilima-ge and Tivanka Pilima-ge in Polonnaruwa, this structure represents a rare continuation of that architectural lineage, as few comparable buildings were constructed during the intervening period.

Some of the walls are nearly 1.5 m (about 5 ft) thick, demonstrating the robustness of the construction. The design incorporates elements of Polonnaruwa-style architecture combined with Indo-Chinese influences, possibly inspired by monastic structures in regions such as Myanmar and Japan. Inscriptions within the temple detail the statues once housed on each of the four stories, as well as the patrons responsible for their installation (Abeyawardhana, 2004, pp. 76–77).

Today, the image house appears as a two-story structure, likely due to the collapse of the upper levels. Its current height, from the base to the top of the finial, is approximately 18.3 m (about 60 ft), while the garbha (inner sanctum) measures about 10.7 m (approximately 35 ft) on each external side (N. De Silva, 1990, pp. 82–84).

Interior Decoration

The entrance corridor to the image house is adorned with two large lion paintings and a pair of guardian figures facing one another. Inside, the shrine houses an impressive 3.7 m (12 ft) tall Buddha image set beneath an ornate Makara Torana. The interior walls and ceiling are richly decorated with paintings characteristic of the Kandyan period.

Associated Shrines

Beyond the main image house, the temple complex includes seven devales dedicated to various deities, including Kataragama, Saman, Vibhīṣaṇa, Kumāra Bandāra (the Ridigama deity), Vishnu, and Gaṇapati. Notably, Vishnu and Gaṇapati share a single devale (Wajiragnana Thero, 1961, pp. 52–64).

The Laṅkātilaka Vihāraya, together with the Gadaladeniya Vihāraya and the Embekke Devalaya, forms an important triad of religious and architectural landmarks in the Kandy–Gampola region.

References

Abeyawardhana, H. a. P. (2004). Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural, and historic sites. Kandurata Development Bank, in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
De Silva, N. (1990). Sri Lankan Architecture During the Period 1200 – 1500 A.D. In N. Wijesekara (Ed.), Archaeological Department Centenary (1890-1990) : Commemorative Series : Volume Three : Architecture (1st ed., Vols. 3–4, pp. 71–93). Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.
Seneviratna, A. (1983). Kandy: an Illustrated Survey of Ancient Monuments With Historical, Archaeological and Literary Descriptions Including Maps of the City and Its Suburbs. Central Cultural Fund, Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Wajiragnana Thero, G. (1961). විහාර වගවිත්ති. M. D. Gunasena & Co Ltd.

Also See

Kandy – The Last Kingdom of Sinhale

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