The Anuradhapura Kingdom - XVIII

The Anuradhapura Kingdom - XVIII

Contiued with part seventeen   here to go previous one

Those of the later Anuradhapura period, such as the Indikatusaya at Mihintale, and the stupa at the Vijayarama at Anuradhapura are of modest proportions, their domes elongated in shape and the three basal terraces reduced to moldings. These seem to have been inspired by the Mahayanists. One feature of the colossal stupas merits special mention: the frontispieces which project from their bases. The exuberant architecture of these frontispieces vahalkadas, as they were called with their ornamental sculptures are in agreeable contrast to the stark simplicity if not monotony of the lines of the stupas. The best examples of vahalkadas are those of the Jetavana and Abhayagiri dagobas at Anuradhapura and the Karnataka at Mihintale. These sculptures bear evidence of the influence of the Amaravati school but with a restraint which makes up for a lack of vitality.

Among the architectural features of this period is the vafadage, a circular shrine enclosing a small stupa. The largest of the vafadages is at the Thuparama at Anuradhapura, which had four circles of stone pillars encompassing the stupa, while each of those of Madirigiriya and Polonnaruva has three circles of pillars, those of Tiriyay and Mihintale having two each. Though the vatadages all follow a common design, each has some distinctive feature of its own. The earliest extant vatadage to which a date can be assigned is that at Madirigiriya from the reign of Aggabodhi IV (667-83). The Lovamahapaya or the Brazen Palace is unique among the ancient monuments of Anuradhapura. Designed to house the monks of the Mahavihara, it was begun by DutthagamanI and is believed to have risen on completion to nine stories in all. The bhikkhus were accommodated on the basis of rank, with the uppermost floors being reserved for the most senior and, presumably, the most venerable among them. All that remains of this early skyscraper are some 1,600 weather-beaten granite pillars which are a haphazard reconstruction of the twelfth century, with some of the pillars upside down and not even on the original site.

Literary works refer to the splendid mansions of kings and nobles, but few traces of these have survived since they were built mostly of wood, and there are no traces at all of the habitations of the common people. Stone played only a limited role in Sinhalese architecture and was usually restricted to ornamental details and ancillary features. But this latter have survived, while the woodwork which was the basis of Sinhalese architecture, domestic and public, has not. As an example of this are the stone-faced baths, various in shape and dimension but elegant in design, located within the precincts of the monasteries and royal parks. These have survived. The abundance of timber suitable for building purposes, and the lack of a type of stone which was at once durable and easy to work appear to have hindered the development of a style of stone architecture in Sri Lanka. When such a style did emerge, the inspiration came once more from an Indian source, from South India this time, where the earlier architecture of brick and wood was yielding place, so far as religious edifices were concerned, to one solely of stone. This had its influence on Sri Lankan architecture. The best example of a stone architecture of this period is the galge at Devundara, the southernmost point of the island, the shrine built to house the image of Upuluvan, the ancient Varuna, the protector of the island. The simplicity and lack of ornamentation in this shrine was in striking contrast to the exuberance of the Dravidian style that was developing about the same time in South India.

Both in terms of its variety and artistic achievement, the sculpture of the Anuradhapura kingdom is as rich and impressive as its architecture. Some of the outstanding features of this sculptural heritage are reviewed here, beginning with the moonstones which many scholars regard as the finest product of the Sinhalese artist. At a time when the Buddha image came to be regarded as a regular feature of a Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka, the moonstone was central to the theme of worship.18 Its decorative features were intended to communicate symbolic significance to the worshipper. 11 Moonstones are semi-circular slabs richly decorated in low relief and placed at the foot of a stairway leading to a major shrine, with a standard pattern consisting of several concentric bands of ornament, beginning with an outer zone of luxuriant foliage followed by a spirited procession of animals the horse, elephant, ox and lion remarkable for their poise and probably symbolising the four quarters of the world. This band of animals is followed by a belt of stylised vegetation and then a row of hamsa (sacred geese) dangling flowers in their beaks. The appears to have come to Sri Lanka from the Andhra country, but it had its fullest development in Sri Lanka. There are six moonstones at Anuradhapura, each one a masterpiece. The earliest Buddha images found on the island go back to the first century AD. A standing Buddha of Amaravati marble, about 6 feet high and probably imported from Amaravati (Vengi), has been discovered almost intact at Maha Illuppallama in Anuradhapura. Fragments of Buddha images in the Amaravati style and in the distinctive marble of that school have also been found. In time Buddha images were carved and sculpted in Sri Lanka, and developed peculiarly Sri Lankan characteristics, without however effacing all traces of the Indian prototype on which they were modeled. Buddha images in bronze of characteristically Sri Lankan workmanship have been found in western Java, Celebes, Vietnam, and Thailand. Images of the Buddha in a sedentary position, from the early period of Sinhalese sculpture, are perhaps more exciting and impressive than the more stately statues of the Buddha in a standing posture the very simplicity of the conception is singularly successful in its dignified and elegant evocation of the concept of samadhi.