Tag: Kaludiya Pokuna Forest

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.
Continue reading “Special Feature — THE FORGOTTEN TEMPLE: Dakkinagiriya & the Other Kaludiya Pokuna” →
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The Only Gold

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https://500px.com/photo/245823659/Sunrise-Over-the-Kandalama-Tank-Sri-Lanka-1-by-Son-of-the-Morning-Light/
Sunrise over the Kandalama Tank, in north-central Sri Lanka, in February 2018. A low water level reveals the remains of trees drowned in the 1950s reconstruction of this 1st century BC reservoir, built by King Vasabha of Anuradhapura. Towering over the tank is the Earawalgala Ridge, cloaked in the dense Kaludiya Pokuna Forest.

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.

The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #13

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The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #13 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Located a few kilometers east of the Kandalama Tank, the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest is a protected woodland with a variety of wildlife, and some interesting archeological sites dating to the Late Anuradhapura Period. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time”, was the March 2018 cover feature on the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya.
Continue reading “The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #13” →

The Giants of the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest #3

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The Giants of the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest #4 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Huge trees, some twisted into strange shapes, dot the jungle east of Dambulla and Kandalama, in north-central Sri Lanka. Shot for my March 2018 cover feature in Serendib, on the Dakkinagiri Viharaya and the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“.

The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #26

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The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #26 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Shot for my March 2018 Serendib cover feature, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“, on the Dakkinagiri Viharaya, and the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest that surrounds it.

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.

Morning Over the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka

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Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #28 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Shot for my story on the Dakkinagiri Viharaya, “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“, which ran in the March 2018 issue of Serendib magazine.

The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #25

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The Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, Sri Lanka #25 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Located a few kilometers east of the Kandalama Tank, the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest is a protected area with a variety of wildlife, and some interesting archeological sites dating to the Late Anuradhapura Period. Shot for “A Mountain Monastery Forgotten by Time“, my March 2018 Serendib cover story on the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya.

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.