A glimpse of Somawathiya

Thousand Apologies! =D Thanks Chavie for letting me know about that issue with the pics. I just checked it and even I can't use CTRL+ Click to expand them! I think I made a mistake while uploading. Will re-upload and fix that issue so all the pics can be enlarged when clicked. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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It took me a while to get back but finally I'm going to wrap up the Somawathie series. Lots happened here but sadly I don't have time to share them all.


So today I'll be sharing only a few selected shots from my Picasa album. I'll add the link to the album at the bottom of this post.


Before I start, here's a recap about Somawathiya: It is one of our most sacred temples as it enshrines the right tooth relic of Lord Buddha. So for us Buddhists this temple is just as important as the world famous Temple of the Tooth. (Sri Dalada Maligawa)

CTRL + Click as usual to see the pics in their original size.

Let's begin the tour.




The Elephant Pond with lifelike elephant sculptures




The Moonstone with unusual patterns




Oil Lamps with glass jars instead of clay lamps




Big old banyan tree that sheltered most of the devotees




Bird nests inside the Wahalkada




Bell Tower and the tiled compound next to the Stupa




Old brick layers in the midst of the stupa




Incense sticks and their silky smoke




Stupa and the banyan tree




Part of Wahalkada and the pinnacle of Stupa + a rainbow lens flare




A sparrow perched on basal rings of stupa




Samadhi Buddha Statue and the Bodhi Tree




Somawathie Stupa and the Wahalkada

If you'd like to take the complete virtual tour sit back and click here. The descriptive captions will take you on a guided tour. ^__^

Random captures at the Maligawa

Captured these the last few times we visited the Maligawa (The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) in Kandy.


Wel Bodhiya

It is one of the famous sacred Fig trees rising at one corner of the Maligawa premises. There is a legend behind this Bo tree which I might relate in a future post.

This site gets pretty crowded with devotees of all ages, especially during the big exam seasons like the Year 5 Scholarship, O/Ls and A/Ls. The whole Bo tree gets covered in flag festoons and small pieces of cloths wrapping coins and notes around then. Some of these flags have inscriptions of blessings with or without the name of the persons in question *(= exam candidate, etc.).

And then they keep pouring pots and pots of water to the roots of the Bo tree, sometimes sprinkled with sandalwood powder, jasmines and what not. It's all good but.. do they ever wonder even the Bo tree is a tree and there's a specific amount of water it can absorb and the excess water will only damage its roots. We had that issue in our village temple's Bo tree too and now it's finally been resolved.

It's nice to water the Bo tree to invoke blessings but.. just not too much. Also I've heard that if we light too much incense sticks, their smoke too can harm these trees. Same goes for lighting too many oil lamps.

I hope sometimes in the future our environmentalists *if they do exist here* will bring up some policies on how to continue our age old rituals and traditions without harming these sacred trees or the environment.

PS: At least I can't blame these big exam seasons, cause that is the only time when most seemingly non-religious people become all too devoted and sainted. But the parents should know if their children don't study well, the supernatural powers alone can't make them get through these exams.


*As usual CTRL + Click to expand the pics.


The view of the Bo tree and its surrounding fortification when we enter from the Maligawa side.


Lateral views




The topmost boughs and branches of the Bo tree.


Taken from the Bo Maluwa (courtyard). The gateway in the distance leads to the Natha Devala (a temple dedicated to the deity called Natha) premises.


Vistas of the St. Paul's Church that sits quite close to the Wel Bodhiya.


Being able to capture Bo leaves and a historical church both in one shot is something quite unique.. in my perspective.. for they symbolize the harmonious coexistence of two different religions.
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That's all for now. ^__^

Pinnacle of reverence wrapped in traditional artistry

I was planning to share these photos some time back but somehow or other it was procrastinated until now. Anyhow here's some of the photos I captured at Sri Dalada Maligawa, very well known throughout the world as The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. It is the temple that enshrines the sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. It is also the very temple that hosts the biggest and the most spectacular pageant of Lanka - The Esala Perehara which draws millions of crowds to Kandy, every year.

For more info please refer the above link. So here are some of the places that caught my cam's eyes.

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I do apologize in advance for the poor quality in some of them, as even though it was cloudy that day, the sun was still glaring and so I ended up with lots of silhouettes than expected. I tried my best to tweak the brightness and contrast though.

PS: The pics were taken on different days.

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*And as usual ctrl+click to zoom in the pics.



Statue of lil Madduma Bandara, Lanka's child hero who sacrificed his life in the name of our motherland.



Statues of Princess Hemamala and Prince Dantha, who brought the sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha as a gift from India.



Maligawa as seen from a distant. The golden cap dazzling above the roofs is the gilded canopy sheltering the repository of the sacred Tooth Relic. The flags flanking the paved walkway are called Buddhist flags.

There is a nice green turf on either sides of this paved walkway. While the elders take a break lying down on the well trimmed grass, the kids would run about and play cheerfully. During the perhera (pageant) season the turf is full of elephants and tuskers nibbling the juicy Kitul (fishtail palm) leaves.. closely watched by their mahouts.



This was taken few meters from Maligawa (tweaked the white balance of my cam and this is what I got)



The Octagon or 'Pattirippuwa', is a prominent landmark of Maligawa. Currently it is used as a library housing a good collection of Buddhist scriptures in ola leaves.



There are two types of walls you will see in the premises, while a similar parapet wall is built around the Kandy Lake, sited in the vicinity. One of these walls are called the 'Walakulu Bemma' or Cloud-like-drift Wall, and the other is called the 'Diyareli Bemma' or the Wave-like-swells Wall.

From its shape I think the one at the bottom is the cloud-like-drift parapet while the one at the top is the wave-like-swells parapet.



The main entrance to the premises is a lofty gateway flanked with fine relief carvings of tuskers, led by a stone stairway and a moonstone. This is a newly built gateway or rather a renovated one, as the old one was severely damaged during the terrorist attacks, some years back.



The new shrine hall inside Maligawa temple complex has scores of statues gifted from various countries. The hall itself is a work of craftsmanship, overflowing with traditional Lankan artistry in every nook and corner.



The magnificent ceiling of the new shrine hall. You can see 2 rows of golden tuskers projecting from the corbel brackets (at the top of the pillars). And right below these brackets are the beautiful paintings depicting the Buddha's life and Jataka Tales and significant moments of Maligawa.



Each painting at this hall has a description affixed below inscribed in both Sinhalese and English.



This is the lower floor, right below the 'Wedahitina Mahala' or 'Uda Mahala' (the chamber where the sacred Tooth Relic is enshrined). Right around this hall are wooden pillars finely crafted and painted in vibrant motifs. And to contrast its earthly tones there is a stunning golden railing encircling the hall.

The building in the rear is the new shrine hall.



Maligawa has several entrances, and this is what you see when you pass through the middle entrance and come through the 'Ambarawa', a tunnel packed with murals. This is also the frontal view of the above hall (with wooden pillars).

A striking embroidery drapes from its doorway, portraying the Princess Hemamala and Prince Dantha. Right above this drapery is a 'Makara Thorana', another important architectural element of our religious architecture.



These guys (= a flock of ducks and geese) were fringing few meters of the bund of the Kandy Lake. Passersby (big and small) would pause for a moment and stare at them with a grin or a smile cause the sight itself was very interesting. Even though these guys hardly did anything amusing than doing a bit of grooming or walking their wobbly walk and gaping (not really) into the empty waters until they spot a fish or two.

Some of them were totally white like swans while some were black and white like cows. There was a bunch of cormorants too nearby, wading in the water and busily feasting on fish while the geese and ducks stared enviously. Wish I had time to capture everyone but unfortunately we had to hurry, and this was captured on our return trip, and so I missed the lot.



This scenery was captured on another day, opposite from Maligawa across the lake. This is how the temple complex appears from a distance to this side of Kandy. The whitewashed building perched on the lake is 'Bisokotuwa', an enclosure for the queens to bathe, furnished with a sluice gate.

And the milky white frill extending next to it is the 'Walakulu Bemma' or the Cloud-like-drift Wall that covers a portion of the Lake round.

The sea of rock ~ Tantirimale

Tantirimale is a place I remember since my schooling days. Nope, never been there before the trip we had on 1st of August 2009. It's just that there was this documentary show about it on TV those days, with a very beautiful theme song. Cause my mom was so fond of it, she asked me and sis to note it down. It was played a few times on TV and I used to remember it by heart too.. for a long time.

Sadly now I can recall just a few words of this song along with the tune.. and have no memory of the scenery I saw on TV. So until I set foot in Tantirimale, I didn't know what the place would be like. Though.. I have already heard about it dozens of times from mom. Still.. it was a completely different world I stepped into.. when we finally got there.

If I briefly put it.. it was a sea of rock.. wrapped in a green coat!

You can read about the Tantirimale temple here. *sorry that I've been posting about nothing but temples since lately but can't help it, since I collected all these pics from our last pilgrimage* ^__^

Today I will only add captions.. cause pictures speak a zillion words. Also the pics will be in medium size this time for your convenience. If you wish to see their original size, simply control + click on the images.

Off we go on a virtual tour in Tantirimale!
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The shrine.. near the entrance



Stupa.. in the distance



Stupa.. hidden behind a boulder



Rocky outcrop.. sprawling towards the horizon



Bell tower.. touching the heavens



Bodhi leaves.. fluttering in the winds



Golden railing.. festooned with flags



Sitting Buddha statue... giving life to the rockyscape



Reclining Buddha statue.. redefining the skyline



Stupa.. against the cloudy sky



Pilgrims climbing.. one step at a time


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I've posted some of the other pics of Tantirimale in my previous posts. So now I've officially covered the whole trip that we had on 1st of August. *and it took me over 1.5 months to simply finish posting this bunch of pics!* =D

Works of Art, Works of Wonders - Anuradhapura

In my last post I covered one of the two places we visited in Anuradhapura. Today I'll be posting about the imposing Stupa (chedi) in Anuradhapura, the Ruwanweliseya. It is a much venerated Stupa for Buddhists, rich in history and an amazing architecture. It is also one of the three great stupas in Anuradhapura which can be spotted from great distances.

Lankan stupas mostly follow a predefined shape which would most likely be one of the following 6 shapes.

The primary shapes of Stupas in Lanka
1. Ghantakara (bell)
2. Ghatakara (pot)
3. Bubbulakara (bubble)
4. Dhanyakara (paddy-heap)
5. Padmakara (lotus)
6. Amalakakara (Indian gooseberry / nelli)

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Ruwanweli Stupa

Firstly let's see some stats.

Built in: 2nd century BC (161 - 137 BC)
Built by: King Dutu Gemunu *completed by his brother King Saddhatissa*
Shape: Bubble
Height: 92 m
Circumference: 292 m
Diameter: 90.8 m

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From the figures you can imagine its imposing dimensions, which you will see more clearly with these photos I captured during our pilgrimage last time.

* Click on the images to expand them



pic 1 - 3: Ruwanweli Stupa as seen from a distance, through a canopy of festoon bulbs




pic 1: A korawakgala (type of thick handrail), this one is made of brick and white washed, I think. You could also see a row of elephant relief neatly overlapping, behind the korawakgala.
pic 2: The overlapping elephant relief of 1st pic in a different angle. It is called the 'Eth pawura' (wall of elephants), which is the surrounding wall of Stupa.. and it's embellished with elephant sculptures. You can gauge their size from this pic, as there is a devotee walking past them in the right side corner.

*The ruddy tones in the pics, as usual, came up cause I had tweaked the settings.



pic 1: The hefty base of the Stupa, made of 3 level base (basal rings) going around the circumference
pic 2: 'Sala pathala maluwa' (stone laid compound), is the closest ground to the stupa. The surface is very smooth almost like a tiled floor.
pic 3: Some of the relics excavated at the premises were lined up along the wall. They looked like square stone elephants from a distance.



When we walked close to the Stupa, it was impossible to see its pinnacle, cause of its bubble shape. *took this photo after moving a good distance away from the stupa*

The top portion above the dome has a structure composed of a square, cylinder, spire and finally the crystal at the pinnacle. The crystal ('kotha') is something used since the ancient times, and it might have been used as a lightning-conductor as much as an embellishment.



Pic 1 and 2: When we first arrived, a group of devotees were already engaged in a certain ritual. You can see a big band wrapped around the circumference of the dome, isn't it? This is a lengthy robe made of the 5 colors found in a Buddhist flag.

What these pilgrims were doing is called 'kapruka puja', where a lengthy civara (monk's robe, usually in ruddy orange color) is wrapped around the dome as an offering to the temple.



pic 1: The huge structure set before the dome is known as 'Vahalkada', and there are four of them around the stupa.
pic 2: The base of vahalkada. Doesn't these square elephants at the bottom strip look a bit familiar?
pic 3: Top portion of the vahalkada



pic 1: A devotee paying homage to the small shrine at the foot of vahalkada
pic 2: close up of the sitting Buddha statue enshrined here.



pic 1: Portion of the reclining Buddha statue enshrined at the big shrine hall next to the Stupa.
pic 2: Life size statue of King Dutu Gemunu mounted on his royal war tusker named 'Kandula'.
pic 3: Life size statue of King Elara mounted on his war tusker named 'Mahapabbata'

*tusker is an elephant bearing tusks, while war tuskers (or elephants) were especially trained for battles.

There was a historic war between these 2 kings, it wasn't just a fight for the throne, but a fight to unite our land as one nation. Elara, even though he was an invader, was acclaimed as a great leader who enforced and practiced justice.. to the point of punishing his own son for a crime he committed. *wish our current politicians could take him as an example*

The 2nd and 3rd pics look a lil fuzzy, and I wonder if it was due to the tense ambiance I felt inside the shrine hall! You know.. after seeing 2 of the greatest kings of our history in battle-mode. Ironically.. they were flanking the reclining Buddha statue. And I wonder why they were sculpted that way.

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* Disclaimer: Referred the dimensions and some of the facts from Wikipedia, pdn.ac.lk (pdf), Lakehouse (pdf), Wikipedia-2