Tag: Dakkinagiri Viharaya

Special Feature — THE FORGOTTEN TEMPLE: Dakkinagiriya & the Other Kaludiya Pokuna

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A thousand-year-old ‘mountain monastery’, lost in the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, east of Dambulla; forgotten by the tour guides, and seemingly by time itself. For the visitor seeking something literally off the beaten track, the Dakkinagiri Viharaya is an intriguing but serene detour away from the well-trodden sites of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle.”

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The stupa of the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya, with Erawalgala behind it.
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The Death of Prabhāsvaratā*

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A dying frangipani tree (known locally as a temple tree) stands before the ruined stupa of the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya, deep in the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, east of Dambulla. February 2018. The smaller of the guardstones flanking the steps is inscribed with writing attributing this Buddhist pabbata monastery to King Sena II of Anuradhapura. The other houses the carving of a Hindu Nagaraja deity.

• 18mm • f/7.1 • 1/160 • ISO400 • 600D & EF-S18-200/3.5-5.6 • circular polariser •

*Sanskrit term for the Buddhist concept of luminosity or light

Transcendental Rise

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The Forgotten Temple, Sri Lanka #40 - A thousand-year-old flight of stone steps lead up to the elevated precincts of the Dakkinagiri Viharaya.
A thousand-year-old flight of stone steps lead up to the elevated precincts of a ‘pabbata viharaya’; a suburban or rural Buddhist monastery, architecturally distinct from the better known ones within the ancient cities. In addition to the characteristic elevated rectangle, ‘pabbata viharayas’ are distinguishable by four structures on this raised area, and the moat surrounding it. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines, as part of my cover story on Dakkinagiriya, a 9th century ‘pabbata viharaya’ from the Late Anuradhapura period, located in the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, east of Kandalama. ‘A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time‘ ran in the March 2018 issue.

Crumbling Guardian

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The Forgotten Temple, Sri Lanka #51 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
A carved Nagaraja guards the steps to the ruined stupa of the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya, in the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, east of Dambulla. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“, was the cover feature of the March 2018 issue.
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No Fighting over Food, or Else!

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The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #6 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
A medieval Sinhalese inscription on the wall of a “kutti”, a shallow rock niche used by meditative Buddhist monks, in the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, in north-central Sri Lanka. The script declares that the rice and buffalo curd donated to the Dakkinagiri Viharaya by a certain Mr Dathanaga in the 9th century would be given instead to the cows and dogs if the priests were to fight over the food. Shot for my photo story, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“, which ran in the March 2018 issue of Serendib magazine.

A Footprint Wiped Away by Time

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The Forgotten Temple #16 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
A square of marble at the Dakkinagiri Viharaya, that was once engraved with a likeness of the Siripadha — the footprint of the Buddha, atop Adam’s Peak. Years of neglect has allowed the engraving to disappear in recent times as a result of constant exposure to the elements. Photos from even a few years ago show the stone with some of its imagery visible (see below).
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The Forgotten Temple #50

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The Forgotten Temple, Sri Lanka #50 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
The crumbling brick stupa of the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya, a rural Buddhist monastery of the ‘pabbata viharaya’ type. The stairs are flanked by guard stones, on the largest of which is a carved Nagaraja (the king of snakes; a Hindu deity), while the smaller holds medieval Sinhalese script, identifying Dakkinagiriya to the time of King Sena II of Anuradhapura. Shot for my photo story, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“; the cover feature of Serendib magazine’s March 2018 issue.

The Forgotten Temple #4

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The Forgotten Temple, Sri Lanka #4 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
The stupa of the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya, built by King Sena II of Anuradhapura. Dakkinagiriya is a prime example of a ‘pabbata viharaya’, a suburban or rural Buddhist monastery, distinguished from the urban monasteries of Anuradhapura, such as the Abhayagiriya, by a unique architectural design that appeared around the 7th century. In the background is the Erawalgala Ridge which, along with the viharaya, is surrounded by the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, a protected area east of Dambulla and the Kandalama Tank. Shot for my photo story, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“; the cover feature of the March 2018 issue of Serendib magazine.

The Forgotten Temple

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The Forgotten Temple #36 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
The distinctive architecture of a ‘pabbata viharaya’, a form of rural monastery first appearing around the 7th century, is seen in the ruins of the Dakkinagiri Viharaya’s wall and moat. Shot for my photo story, ‘A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time‘; the cover feature of the March 2018 issue of Serendib magazine.
Continue reading “The Forgotten Temple” →