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Sandwiched between the Polonnaruwa Rest House and the Polonnaruwa Archaeology Museum are set of ruins which had been restored comparatively recently. These include an ancient Bisokotuwa of Parakrama Samudraya, An large brick pond consisting the Royal Baths of king Nissanka Malla (Nissanga Malla – 1187-1196 CE) of Polonnaruwa kingdom.
The water is supplied to the bath from the brick pond, which receives water from the Parakrama Samudraya reservervior through a seperate sluice gate made out of massive stone blocks which too has been restored. The Bisokotuwa (the ancient valve-pit) of this sluice is right at the kitchen door of Rest House.
The Royal bath which is opened to the pond is complete with a changing room. Completely built of stone blocks, there are 4 stone cut steps to get down to the changing area. From there you could just walk in to the pond.
An inscription has been found at this site which says that king Nissanka Malla held the Bathing Ceremony (diyakeliya) here.
References
- Wikramagamage, C., (2004). Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural, and historic sites. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.140.
Also See
Map of Royal Baths of king Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa Kingdom
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
The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town, and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.
| Route from Colombo to Polonnaruwa Sacred City | Route from Kandy to Polonnaruwa Sacred City |
| Through : Central Highway – Kurunegala – Dambulla Distance from Colombo :230 km Travel Time : 4.45 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Matale – Dambulla – Habarana Distance : 140 km Travel Time : 3.5 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 : 103 km Travel Time : 2 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Though : Chenkaladi – Valachchena Distance : 97 km Travel Time : 2 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |