Tag: Late Anuradhapura period

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

Reserved for the Elders

David BlackerLeave a comment
Kuttam Pokuna, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka #3 - Steps lead down to the cool waters of the smaller of the Kuttam Pokuna (twin ponds).
Steps lead down to the cool waters of the smaller of the Kuttam Pokuna (twin ponds) built by King Aggabodhi I of Anuradhapura in the 6th century, as bathing pools for the Buddhist monks of the nearby Abhayagiri Viharaya. While this pool is 91ft x 51ft, its nonidentical twin is more than a third of a length longer, at 132ft. The smaller northern pool was reserved for the use of the monastery’s senior monks, while the larger could accommodate as many as 5,000 junior monks. The Kuttam Pokuna are entirely of granite, and water is fed to them from three reservoirs, via an intricate system of underground piping, and then drained to the Malwatu Oya. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, ‘The First Kingdom of Lanka‘, ran in the February 2017 issue.

Reserved for the Clergy

David BlackerLeave a comment
The Kuttam Pokuna, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka #2 - Granite steps lead down to the cool waters of the larger of the two nonidentical Kuttam Pokuna (twin ponds).
Granite steps lead down to the cool waters of the larger of the two nonidentical Kuttam Pokuna (twin ponds). Built by King Aggabodhi I of Anuradhapura in the 6th century as bathing pools for the Buddhist monks of the nearby Abhayagiri Viharaya, the basins are entirely of granite. Water is fed to the Kuttam Pokuna from three reservoirs through an intricate system of underground piping, and then drained to the Malwatu Oya, flowing to the east . Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, ‘The First Kingdom of Lanka‘, ran in the February 2017 issue.

Transcendental Rise

David BlackerLeave a comment
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.