Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
placed around the dagoba so that Dutugemunu's final sight could be of his 'completed'
masterpiece. A limestone statue south of the great dagoba is popularly thought to be of
Dutugemunu.
The land around the dagoba is rather like a pleasant green park, dotted with patches of
ruins, the remains of ponds and pools, and collections of columns and pillars, all pictures-
quely leaning in different directions. Slightly southeast of the dagoba you can see one of
Anuradhapura's many monks' refectories. Keeping such a large number of monks fed and
happy was a full-time job for the lay followers.
Thuparama Dagoba
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
In a beautiful woodland setting north of the Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba, the Thuparama
Dagoba is the oldest dagoba in Sri Lanka - indeed, probably the oldest visible dagoba in
the world. It was constructed by Devanampiya Tissa in the 3rd century BC and is said to
contain the right collarbone of the Buddha. Its 'heap-of-paddy-rice' shape was restored in
1862 to a more conventional bell shape and to a height of 19m.
The slender, capital-topped pillars of the surrounding
vatadage
(circular relic house),
perhaps the dagoba's most unique feature, enclose the structure in four concentric circles.
Impressions on the dagoba pediments indicate the pillars originally numbered 176, of
which 41 still stand. Although some Sri Lankan scholars believe these once supported a
conical wooden roof, there is no archaeological evidence for this theory, nor does it follow
any known antecedent in South India, whose dagobas were the prototypes for virtually all
Sinhalese dagobas.
Abhayagiri Monastery
For the sheer delight of exploring an ancient city, much of it still enveloped in tropical
forest, the 2000-year-old Abhayagiri Monastery area can't be beat.
Abhayagiri Dagoba
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
Dating back to the 1st century BC, this colossal dagoba was once the ceremonial focus of
a 5000-strong monastery. Originally over 100m high, it was one of the greatest structures
