The 'Dalada Maligawa', Kandy, Sri Lanka.

The Temple of Tooth at kandy is the final location of the sacred tooth of the lord Buddha which was brought to srilanka during the reign of king “keerthi sri Megawarna” by prince “Dantha” and Princess “Hemamala” from the kindom of kalingu India. It became the palladium of srilankan kings and was preciously guarded in a special shrine built within precincts of royal palace where the capital was located.
The Temple of the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, sri dalada Maligawa is in the centre of the city, the highest venerated religious place with steeped in cultural heritage attracting the highest respect of the Buddhists as well as the other religions all over the world. The beautiful magnificent temple was built by late king Vimaladharmasooriya 1st in 1592 AD.

The Relic Shrine is approached by a large draw-bridge over the moat and through a beautifully decorated frontispiece. A tunnel” ambarawa”, leads to the main shrine complex, having a central courtyard surrounded by storied structures.
The two-storied open pillared hall in front constitutes the area where visitors and devotees gather. The lower hall has its central part set apart for the beating of drums and other forms of traditional music performed during ritual service hours. On either side are the Pallemale Vihara constructed by king Kirti Sri Rajasimha and the Octagon (Pattirippuva) built by the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasimha on one side and the small “stupa” supposed to contain the Bowl Relic of the Buddha on the other. The storied structures to the right and left of the shrine, constitute the residence quarters of the monks engaged during daily service (Tevava), the conference hall, the Library and the Office of the Diyawadana Nilame.The recognition of the sacred temple it has been declared kandy as a world heritage city by UNESCO. Ven.Monks of the two chapters of Malwattu and Asgiriya conduct daily worships in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performing 3 times daily at dawn, at noon and in the evening. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the sacred relic with an herbal preparation from scented water and fragrant flowers called “Nanumura Mangalya”.
This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and it is distributed among those present.
I took these photos of the varied facets of this temple complex.
http://sridaladamaligawa.lk/Sri-Dalada-Maligawa

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Sigiriya, water garden, Versailles water garden, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Sri Lanka.

This photo was taken by me using a small Nikon Coolpix film camera a few years back. The photo was taken from the 'mirror wall' parapet. Two claims are made for Sigiriya.
1.That it inspired the architect of the French Versailles water  garden, who may have visited this site.
2.That the inspiration for the scene in Hamlet by Shakespeare, where the wood invaded the fortress, had its origin in the story of the defeat of King Kashyappa. It is claimed that Robert Knox carried the story to England.
A good account of the water garden at Sigiriya is given in the web-link below :-
http://panique.com.au/s…/sigiriya-gardens-ponds-palaces.html

Statue of Lord Buddha, Yudhaganaawa, off Buththala, Sri Lanka.

Yudaganawa town is in the Buttala Divisional Secretariat Division of the Moneragala District. The Dagoba could be reached by traversing 1½ km along the left turnoff at the Yudaganawa Junction 16km from Wellawaya on the Wellawaya - Moneragala road.
Yudaganawa derived its name fron the two words Yuda meaning war and Anganaya meaning arena being the place where the armies of prince Dutugemunu and prince Saddhatissa fought each other in 2nd c B.C. Another school of thought has it to be the spot where Prarakramabhahu the Great built a dagoba enshrining the ashes of his mother, Queen Ratnavali.

This Dagoba is by far the biggest ancient monument found in the Uva Province. Although the period to which the architecture of the Dagoba belonged is not clearly disernible, an image house of the Kandyan era is found near the Dagoba. However the Sutighara Dagoba of Dedigama, Demalamahaseya of Polonnaruwa and the Yudaganawa Dagoba had been built in the same design of Kotavehera type. As all these dagobas had been built up to half their height in brick it could be surmised that all three dagobas belong to the same era.http://www.archaeology.gov.lk/web/index.php…
I took a picture of a Buddha statue in the 'image house' mentioned above.
The youngster showing us the image said that the features of Lord Buddha in the image house shows a lack of serenity found in other images of Lord Buddha in the Island.

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Buduuruwagala, Wellawaya, Sri Lanka.

Buduruwagala is located about 5 km from the Wellawaya on the Thanamalwila road. The name Buduruwagala means “the rock with the statue of Buddha” And this is exactly what it is. Seven figured are carved in this rock with a massive 51 foot Buddha statue in the Abhaya Mudra gesture at the centre. The rock it self has shape of a kneeling elephant with its head own. Although there is no documented information about this site in the ancient scriptures, Different historians have dated these statues from the 6th centuary to late Anuradhapura period. (between 8 – 10 Century). These carvings are of the Mahayana Buddhist style and belongs to the Pallawa- Sri Lankan art tradition and similar to the statues at Dova Temple.- http://amazinglanka.com/wp/buduruwagala/

'Ran masu uyana' - Golden fish (? coin) gardens, Anuuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Please click on the web-link below with your speakers on:-

https://youtu.be/rTApbj9BFyc

Two baths one for male, one for females built out of granite stones. Decorative elephant motifs in the bath, water from the reservoir close by and a large 40 acre garden - this was the life of a King 2000 years ago in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

List of Sinhala words of Portuguese origin

email from Nihal Gooneratne
 List of Sinhala words of Portuguese origin
https://medicalbatchcolombo1960.blogspot.com/2017/09/list-of-sinhala-words-of-portuguese.html

"Mal puja" at the 'Ruwanweli Saeya' , Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Please click on the web-link below with your speakers on :-
 
https://youtu.be/p0P19JfmY60

Monkey tricks and snake charming by a Gypsy at the vicinity of the "Kuttam pokuna", Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Please click on the web-link below with speakers on:-

https://youtu.be/ij3G_rP97bo

"Kuttam Pokuna' - Twin ponds, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, 6th to 8th Century AD.

"Kuttam Pokuna" or the twin ponds are another hydrologic engineering marvel of ancient Sri Lanka. These two ponds belong to the Abayagiri aramic complex and probably been used by the monks for bathing. The origins of these ponds are not known but it is thought to have been built during the reign of King Aggabodhi I (575-608).
The smaller pond (the northern) one has been constructed first and the larger one at a later stage. They are connected through a pipeline at the bottom. The northern pond is 91 feet (28 meters) long and the other 132 feet (40 meters) .
Water to these ponds have been supplied through underground pipelines and the water is sent through several filtering chambers before it falls on the northern pond through a mouth of a dragon. The water from both ponds is drained from a small outlet in the smaller northern pond.
Though the underground pipelines are no more, you can see 4 levels of filtering of the water before it enters the ponds.
Though the underground pipelines are no more, you can see 4 levels of filtering of the water before it enters the ponds.
(amazinglanka.com)

Dr. Senarath Paranavithana was actively involved in the restoration of the ponds, in which small figures of fish, a conch, a crab and a dancing woman were found in the bottom.

For symmetry and beauty, constructed out of granite, 1500 years ago, it is hard to beat.

Please click on the web-link below:-
 
 https://youtu.be/hze1cY5tfd8

Abhayagiri Chaithya, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

http://amazinglanka.com/wp/abayagiri-monastery/

Jetawanaraamaya and Ruwanwelisaeya, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

The tallest brick structure and the widest Chaitya of the ancient world - Jethawanaaramaya and Ruwanvelisaeya, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Jethawanaaramaya stupa
located in the ruins of Jetavana in the sacred world heritage city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Mahasena of Anuradhapura (273–301) initiated the construction of the stupa following the destruction of the mahavihara. His son Maghavanna I completed the construction of the stupa.[1] A part of a sash or belt tied by the Buddha is believed to be the relic that is enshrined here.
Design and construction[edit]
As the largest ancient stupa constructed and one of the tallest ancient structures in the world, the structural ingenuity and engineering skills employed for the construction are significant. The foundations of the structure were 8.5m deep and the size of the structure required bricks which could withstand loads of up to 166 kg. The solid foundation lay on bed-rock and the dome was constructed of full and half bricks and earth fill, the unique shape of a perfect ellipsoid allowed for stress and thus allowed the construction of the large structure.[6] The Mahavamsa describes the foundation laying, where fissures were filled with stones and stamped down by elephants whose feet were protected with leather bindings. The bricks used for the construction were a significant development of ancient Sri Lankan engineering, the bricks used for Jetavanaramaya had a composition of 60 percent fine sand and 35 percent clay, the bricks could withstand 281 kg/in2.[6] Linear elastic finite element analysis under self weight produced a maximum compressive stress of 839 kPa at the bottom centre, thus the maximum stress in the dome is ten times less than what the bricks could withstand.[7]
Finely crushed dolomite lime stone, sieved sand and clay provided the bonding material for the bricks. The clay employed was pliable and thus accommodates movement within the structure. One of the sides of the brick was roughened to trap the bonding slurry thus limiting lateral movement.[6] The stupa was then covered with lime plaster; the plaster used contained seashells, sugar syrup, egg whites, coconut water, glues, oils, plant resin, sand, clay and pebbles. The plaster also provided waterproofing for the structure. The Mahavamsa also mentions the use of copper sheets over the foundation and arsenic dissolved in sesame oil to prevent insect and plant intrusions inside the stupa.[6] It is estimated that Jetavanaramaya took 15 years to complete and would have required a skillful workforce of hundreds, including brickyard workers and bricklayers, and stonemasons.[6]
(From Wikipedia)

Ruwanveli Saeya
It was built by King Dutugemunu c. 140 B.C., who became lord of all Sri Lanka after a war in which the Chola King Elara, was defeated. It is also known as Mahathupa, Swarnamali Chaitya, Suvarnamali Mahaceti (in Pali) and Rathnamali Dagaba.
On such a full-moon day King Dutugemunu had the inscribed stone pillar that was erected by King Devanampiya Tissa, removed; had the site leveled; had it dug to a depth of seven cubits; had round stones spread there by warriors; and had the stones broken with hammers;
then he had them stamped down by elephants; fine clay was brought from the Himalayas by Arahant novices, spread over the layer of stones; had bricks laid over the fine clay, rough plaster over the bricks, quartz over the rough plaster, a network of iron over the quartz, fragrant clay over the network of iron, white stones over the fragrant clay, rock-crystal over the white stones, and slabs of stones over the rock-crystal. Then he had mercury, resin of the wood-apple, and fine clay mixed together; had these spread over the slabs of stones; and had bronze sheets eight inches thick laid over these.
He had arsenic and sesame oil mixed together; had these spread over the bronze sheets; and had silver sheets four inches thick laid over these.
When the king had thus built and completed the foundation of the Great Stupa, he arranged that the foundation stone should be laid on the full-moon day of the month of Āâsàëha (June–July).
(From Wikipaedia)

Coastline, Tissa, Sri Lanka.

At the 'Somawathy Chaithya', Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.

On the way to Somawathy Chathya from Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.

Stone bridge on the old Avissawella to Yatyanthota railway line, Sri Lanka.

This railway line has been disused from 1938. A house has been built on the bridge now.

Kandyan dancers, Gampaha, Sri Lanka

The sea-shore at Devundara, Sri Lanka.

A school in the interior of Mannar, Sri Lanka, 2004

Coast of Devundara (Dondra), Sri Lanka.

Batticaloa - Kalmunai road, 2011, Sri Lanka.