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Dambulla cave temples
Temple of Infinite Buddhas
The temple is composed of five caves, which have been converted into shrine rooms. The caves are on top of an enormous granite outcrop which rises over 160m above the surrounding countryside. The caves were occupied since prehistoric times and converted to Buddhist temples in the first century BC when they were created by building partition walls into the space beneath the huge rock overhang. Most of what we see now dates from the xvii the xvii - xviii c CE when Cave 3 and other restorations were carried out. Repainting and other additions are traditionally carried out right through to the twentieth century. From the site entrance it’s a steep ten-minute climb up to the caves.

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Dambulla


Soon after the entrance on the left there is a devalaya the abode dedicated to the worship of the four protectors of Buddha-sasana (the Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka). Worship of this type is very popular among the local Buddhists, the ritual usually consists in the offering of food and drink as well as breaking a coconut. Once the ritual is over the devotee partakes the offerings having a sacramental value. The coconut offered to the deity is thrown to the ground with such force as to make them explode. A bo tree stands opposite.
The five caves are under a vast overhanging rock, a drip line carved in the rock keeps the interiors dry. The arched colonnades and gabled entrances were added in 1938.
We started the visit from the last cave proceeding backwards towards the main entrance.

Dambulla

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Cave 5, ('Devana Alut Viharaya' Second New Temple), is the most modern of the temples, images here are made of brick and plaster. The main figure is a ten-metre reclining Buddha. On the wall behind his feet are paintings of a dark Vishnu flanked to the right by Kataragama with his peacock and to the left by Bandara the fearless guardian portrayed in the attire of a Kandyan chief.

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Dambulla


Cave 4, ('Paccima Viharaya' Western Temple). Multiple identical figures of seated Buddhas in the meditation posture sit around the walls, along with a few larger seated figures, the main Buddha figure sits under an elaborate makara torana arch. The small dagoba in the middle was broken in searching for treasures. The walls are covered with heavily repainted pictures of Buddhas and decorative patterns.

Dambulla

Sri Lanka stock photographs


Cave 3, ('Maha Alut Viharaya' Great New Temple) the larger of the five caves is on a far grander scale lined with over fifty standing and seated Buddhas. To the right of the entrance stands a statue of Kirti Sri Rajasinha the xviii century king who instituted a religious revival in Sri Lanka, with attendants painted onto the wall behind him. The meditating Buddha and the reclining Buddha by the left wall, are both carved out of solid rock. The meditading Buddha statue sits under a makara-torana where the typical makaras are replaced with white lions. Two paintings of the sloping ceiling show the future Buddha, Maitreya, preaching in a Kandyan-looking pavilion. In the first he preaches to a group of ascetic disciples, in the second he addresses a gathering of splendidly adorned gods. Behind a pair of seated Buddhas is a picture of a garden with ponds, trees and animals a nineteenth-century addition to the original Kandyan-era murals.

Sri Lanka Stock pictures

Dambulla


Cave 2, ('Maharaja Vihara' Temple of the Great Kings), is the biggest of the series. Altered several times the cave was completely restored in the eighteenth century. The Reclining Buddha and an array of Buddha statues are lined on the sides and on the back. The main statue in the cave is a life-sized image of the Lord Buddha carved in the standing posture under a Makara Torana, and on either side a unique grouping of Mahayana Bodisatvas: Maitreya on the left and Natha (Avolokatesvara) on the right. Behind the standing Buddha statue there are the statues of Saman and Vishnu, while the usual images of Kataragama and Ganesh are painted on the wall. The murals are among the finest in Sri Lanka. Kandyan-style strip panels show scenes from the Buddha’s life (note the small white elephant which appeared in a dream to the Buddha’s mother during her pregnancy).
Three beautiful panels shows the Defeat of Mara the tempter ('Mara Parajaya'): in the first panel Buddha is seated in bhumisparsha mudra (calling earth to witness) under a bo tree whilst crowds of demons attack him led by Mara riding an elephant; in the next panel Buddha seated in the dhyani mudra (meditation posture) is tempted by the Daughters of Mara; the third panel shows the Isipatana, Buddha seated in the vitarka mudra (Gesture of Explanation: the thumb and one finger forms a circle representing the wheel of dharma) gives the first sermon to an assembly of gods. The cave includes a small dagoba surrounded by 11 seated Buddha statues.

Dambulla

Sri Lanka stock photographs


The narrow Cave 1, ('Devaraja Viharaya' Temple of the Lord of the Gods) is filled by a 14m-long sleeping Buddha, carved out of solid rock with a statue of Ananda, the Buddha’s most faithful disciple, amongst all monks around the Buddha standing at his feet he occupies a unique position. The bright frescoes have been constantly repainted over the centuries, there is even an Italian-style cherub.

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Dambulla




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- Sri Lankan Buddhist art and architecture


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