Heritage

Western Monastery ‘A’ of Ancient Anuradhapura (අනුරාධපුර බටහිර ආරාමය A)

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Ruins of the Western Monastery 'A' of Ancient Anuradhapura — Ruins of the Western Monastery ‘A’ of Ancient Anuradhapura

A special type of vihara complexes are found western and northwestern suburbs of the city of ancient Anuradhapura. They are variously referred to as ‘Outer Circular Road Palaces‘, ‘Western Ruins‘ or ‘Western Monasteries‘, ‘Double-platform buildings‘, ‘Tapovana Monasteries‘, ‘Padhanagara Monasteries‘ etc., The distinctive feature of these buildings are that their central structure is made up of 2 segments, a prasada and a malaka connected through a narrow passage.

Padhanaghara monasteries found west of Anuradhapura Ancient City are identified as

Western Monastery A
Western Monastery B
Western Monastery C
Western Monastery D
Western Monastery E
Western Monastery F
Western Monastery G
Western Monastery H
Western Monastery I
Western Monastery J and
Western Monastery K
Western Monastery M
Western Monastery N

Padhanaghara Complexes were used by the meditating monks and are located away from the cities and human settlements. Padhanaghara are built on a unique architectural style with a moat surrounding them. Quite often these structures were built as twin structures on a rocky outcrop surrounded by the moat. Sometimes there are waterways even inside the moat underneath the buildings such as this building complex.

The Western Monastery “A” is located hidden among new houses and shrub jungles in Anuradhapura. The site is so hidden, that no pilgrim would find or visit this site. The main Padhanaghara complex has been partially restored in the past. However, its area is mostly covered in shrub jungle now due to disuse.

The site lies off the Arippu road past Western Monastery B.

Plan of the Western Monastery 'A' of Ancient Anuradhapura — Plan of the Western Monastery ‘A’ of Ancient Anuradhapura
Source: Sinhalese Monastic Architecture: The Viháras of Anurádhapura By S. D. Bandaranayake

References

Bandaranayake, S., 1974. Sinhalese Monastic Architecture – The Viharas of Anuradhapura. Leiden: Brill.

Also See

Anuradhapura – The city of the God King

Map of Western Monastery ‘A’ of Ancient Anuradhapura

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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Driving Directions to Anuradhapura (Western Monastery ‘A’)

Anuradhapura can be reached through many routes from Colombo. The two main routes are through Puttalam (Puttalama) and through Kurunegala. Travelling from Puttalam, you will pass the scenic Wilpattu area. From Kurunegala, there are two main routes to Anuradhapura. The most common route is through Dambulla. The other route is through Galgamuwa. Out of all the routes, the most commonly used is the Kurunegala-Dambulla route (Route 2).

Route 01 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route 02 from Colombo to Anuradhapura
Through : Negombo – Chilaw – Puttalam Distance from Colombo : 210 km Travel time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala – Dambulla Distance from Colombo : 223 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google maps
Route 03 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route from Kandy to Anuradhapura
Through : Katunayake Expressway – Narammala – Wariyapola – Padeniya – Thambuthegama Distance from Colombo :203 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Through : Katugastota – Matale – Dambulla Distance from Colombo :136 km Travel Time : 3.5 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map

Route from Anuradhapura Railway Station to Western Monastery ‘A’

Distance : 5 kilometers
Travel time : 15 minutes
Driving directions : see on google map

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First World War Memorial in Galle (ගාල්ල පළමුවන ලෝක යුද්ධ ස්මාරකය)
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References

Also See

Map of Western Monastery ‘A’ of Ancient Anuradhapura

Driving Directions to Anuradhapura (Western Monastery ‘A’)

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