Dambulla the Best Preserved Cave Temple in Sri Lanka

 

Dambulla a town situated in the border of the Central and North Central Provinces of Sri Lanka has been in the limelight from ancient times. Today it is a bustling commercial hub ‘The Awakened City’ attributed for its banks being kept open 24/7 for business. The transit point for all agricultural and farm produce coming from the central hills and the extreme north of Sri Lanka.

 

 

The history of Dambulla goes back to the 1^st century. based on a large cave formation on a massive, gargantuan rock outcrop that is visible from miles around the plains. Earliest recorded history says King Uttiya [267-257 BC] donated the caves to the Sangha [Buddhist Clergy] as dwellings. King Walagambahu, who became the king for the second time, converted it to a Buddhist image house. King Walagambahu was deposed in the South Indian Chola invasion of 103 BC; while being just five months in reign. The Maha Kalu Sinhalaya [the dark skinned Sinhala King] fled the city of Anuradhapura into hiding for 14 years, living in caves and other, organising forces for invasion. He regains the Kingdom for a second term defeating the Chola in 83 BC and reign till 77 BC. Almost all the caves where he dwelt during the 14 years in hiding were converted to Buddhist temples or image houses. Dambulla being the largest and best preserved has had state patronage from succeeding rulers.

Colonial history in Sri Lanka notes two insurrections against the British rule in 1817 and 1848 that are connected to Dambulla. During the Uva rebellion in 1817 the British troops that were sent to Matale to quell the out brake is said to have been quartered in the Dambulla Cave Temple, with the strictest orders issued against doing any damage to the image house.

 

 

 

 

 

In 1848 the economic recession in the United Kingdom, burdened the Kandian peasantry with direct taxation from the colonial rulers. License fees were imposed on guns, dogs, carts and shops. Labour on plantation roads was made compulsory. The taxes bore heavily on the purse and traditions of the Kandyan peasant. A mass movement against the oppressive taxes was developing. The masses without a King and their chieftains crushed in the Uva rebellion sort leadership through ordinary people. In July 1848, Gongalegoda Banda is consecrated as "Sri Wickrama Siddapi" by the head monk of Dambulla Vihara, Ven. Giranegama Thera. His brother Dhines, was declared the sub-king, while Dingirala named the uncrowned king of the Sath Korale [Seven Counties]. Puran Appu was appointed the prime minister to Gongalegoda Banda. It is noted that an army of around 4000 left Dambulla via Matale to capture Kandy from the British. They attacked the Kachcheri Building in Matale, destroying tax records. Dingirirala instigated attacks in Kurunegala. Martial Law was declared in Kandy and Kurunegala. Puran Appu is taken prisoner and executed. Gongalegoda Banda and his brother Dhines goes into hiding. They were arrested and put on trial for waging war against the British King. The court condemns them to be hanged. Subsequently, a proclamation is issued to amend the death sentence to 100 floggings and deportation to Malacca [Malaysia]. 

It is this defiance nature of the Dambulla Temple that distanced it from the other two superior temples of the Kandian era; the Malwatte and the Asgirirya. One could conceive it to be the same rebellious approach the temple has had in recent times against the Kandalama Hotel that came up in its vicinity, the demand to build the Dambulla Cricket Stadium on temple land, the launching of a national radio broadcasting channel ‘The Rangigiri Dambulla Radio”. The new Rangirir Dambullu Temple built at the foot of the pathway to the cave temple with a colossus Buddha statue depicting the Mahayana features and lately the displeasure towards a mosque being renovated and expanded.

As importantly however, some things haven not changed. In particular the richly painted cave temple still attracts a multitude of travellers and pilgrims as in the past. Dambulla today is a world renowned tourist destination in Sri Lanka and  a node point within the cultural triangle of tourism. [the area within the cities of Anuradhapura, Pollonnaruwa and Kandy] 

The uniqueness of the Dambulla Cave Temple is that it has been well preserved restored and upgraded with state patronage throughout. Records show that King Nissanka Malla [1187-1196], renamed the temple the Rangiri Dambulla after restoration and gold gilding of several Buddha images. King Keerthi Sri Rajasingha [1747-1782] restored the complex completely and converted the third cave as an image house and introduced his own statue in it. The next major phase of development took place in the 18th century; the upper terrace was restored and refurbished. The painted surfaces within the caves were re-painted or over painted in a style characteristic of the Kandian era. The front screen walls were rebuilt and roofed to form an outer veranda.  Even with the royal patronage ending in 1815 [the king of Kandy is captured and deported by the British], periodic repainting of sculptures and touching up of the deteriorating surfaces continued. In 1915, thanks to the efforts of a local donor, the 5th cave was entirely repainted. The veranda was rebuilt incorporating a mixture of European and Asian detailing, with an entrance porch reconstructed in a conjectural 18th century style in the 1930’s.

The paintings have been touched up by folk artists who were assigned on royal decree. Jeevan Naide from Nilagama was the last link of this Sittara clan who passed away recently. The restoration work by the Nilagama family has been recorded in detail in the Nilagama Tudapatha, [a palm leaf manuscript] where the skill of Jeevan Naide and his ancestors is dealt in detail. The pigments were from vegetable dyes and soil forms mixed with oil extracted from the bark of the Dorana tree that gave a varnished sheen to the paintings preserving it from insects. The paint brushes too were made of natural plant fibre; mainly Vatekeiya [Pandaness] and cat fur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dambulla has also one of the richest collections of Sri Lankan sculpture amounting to 158 Buddha images in the form of standing, meditating and reclining postures. Outstanding figures of gods, deities and Bodhisatva [Future Buddha] and three royal portrait sculpture. A large number of these statues date from the mid Anuradhapura period. Even though these images have been restored their original styles and iconography have been preserved. The materials used for the sculpture were wood, bricks, clay, terracotta and even live rock and cotton netting. 

Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy’s treasured book ‘The Medieval Sinhala Art’ come into life at Dambulla. The joinery in timer work in the door sashes, the stone work in the door frames and the intricate timber door bolts the ‘Dandu Agula’ are all still serving good ….though centuries old. 

 

 The ‘Dandu Agula’ still in good order… though centuries old

Paradise At The Doorstep

Paradise in a religious sense is a place with positive existence where life is harmonious and eternal. Generally, a place of contentment where peace and prosperity prevail. In a practical sense, a land of satisfaction but not necessarily a land of luxury and idleness. A tropical island where one feels as though everything is perfect and wonderful is also defined a paradise. 

Sri Lanka’s misty untouched mountains, the sun drenched sandy beaches bordering gyrating coconut palms; its National Parks in the lowland shrubs where elephant, deer and leopard roam; was once a specimen for paradise. This may sound an exaggeration today with the development taking place in the countryside not heeding to norms of nature. Yet though, there still exists places which qualify the criteria. 

Laxapana, in the central hills of Sri Lanka is a village, still remote in terms of accessibility. Located in the foothills of the magnificent Seven Virgins Range is famous for a water-fall…. and as a place of Sri Lanka’s hydro-power generation.

Waterfalls are a fascination to watch; a pure white thick strip of silk like liquid descending vertically to crash on the rocks below to dissipate the enormous kinetic energy.

 Result… a continuous spray of water vapour which turn the immediate atmosphere into a mild and wholesome one; while the sunlight changing its angle in the vapour create multiple rainbows throughout the day.

This is the typical picture that man tried to create through his imagination of paradise. 

Laxapana - Falls in the bygone days was a view from far; being inaccessible in a forest. Today one could get to its toe, a 300 m descend by foot from the motor road. Its immediate being opened for tea cultivation by small time farmers; some have their abodes in the midst of the tea. The surround may be different from what it may have looked then but the tea and the housing is not much of an eyesore as such spoiling nature.

The people living here are swayed to slumber every night to the continuous harmony of the falling water, and they open their doors every morning to a vista of a falling veil of water………..

 

Living off the three leaves and the bud; [the harvest of the tea leaves] which supplement their bare necessities are ignorant of the luxury of the location they dwell.

I was here recently……. and weren’t we in paradise lying on the rocks below gazing at the passing clouds above………. with the tingle of the water spray on your face with rainbows all around.

For a moment yes we were in paradise until we decided to ascend up to the road? Being so unfit lacking exercise……. our exhausted lungs in the rib cages giving out crippling pain while one could only hear your own heart beating so loud and fast from within in your ears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Seven Virgin Hills a uniquely formed seven peaks on a continuous wall of granite act as a barrier to this enchanting vista….. as if blocking the evil eye of its spells on paradise as narrated in Greek Mythology.

 

It was onto this massif the ill-fated Martinair airline chartered by Garuda Indonesian Airways crashed killing all 262 passengers and crew en-route to Mecca on December 4, 1974, marking Sri Lanka's worst ever air tragedy.

A wheel of the airline from the crash site is displayed at the Norton-bridge Town as a monument to those who perished. 

Changing the Skyline to Enhance Milk Production..?

Landscapes are definitive land areas that stand apart from each other. They are classed under different physical elements; mountains, hills, deserts, ices-capes, water-bodies,  rivers, lakes, ponds and seas. They also vary on living elements as land-cover and vegetation. Human elements also create landscapes though land use practices; architecture, building construction, large scale farming and agriculture. Man’s association with natural landscapes has created different lifestyles and cultures. 

Sri Lanka too has varying landscapes from the low-country dry-arid shrub jungles to the centrally located montane cloud forests. Human activity in recent times has its impact on the serenity of such pleasing landscapes. Information Technology and the Telecom Industry has changed our montane skyline with the numerous communication towers built by competing agencies. Roadside bill-boards block the vista of the Kadugannawa-pass on the way to Kandy. 

Pidurutalagala and many other montane skylines are now an eyesore

Bible rock or Batalegala with a Buddhist Temple on a  rock out crop in the foreground - a marvelous vista in Kadugannawa

 I was very much disappointed on a recent  trip to Horton Pains via Ambewela.

Ambewela a locality beyond Nuware-Eliya is famous for milk production in Sri Lanka with a climate that suite New Zealand breeds. A unique rolling landscape carpeted with velvet like grass, isolated stunted trees with gyrating foliage shaped such by the heavy gales and winds in a foggy climate. 

A rolling landscape, a green velvet,  stunted trees,  gyrating foliage, unique to Ambewela

A landscape unique to Ambewela

Gracing 'Holstein Friesians'  an identity for Ambewela

This unique picture in one’s memory of grazing “Holstein Friesian”cows in the  landscape described above, was an identity to Ambwela. This identity is now changing to a different skyline with  technology in the milk industry. The high cost of energy today is compelling the industrialist to generate his own.  Today the skyline of Ambewela is far from natural,,,,a row of wind-turbines  dominate the skyline.

A new skyline with wind turbines,- away from nature

 Disappointed over the new skyline ………..I give hearing to two academics discussing the subject of enhancing milk production. A zoologist and  an animal science graduate. 

Gracing alone will not suffice to produce sufficient milk quantities in commercial farming. They need to be supplemented with corn based feeds to enhance milk production. These corn based feeds on the other hand produce harmful gut parasites due to digestive implications. Thereby causing significant production losses that result in substantial economic losses. Diseases may be subclinical and unnoticed but severe infestations can cause even death. They definitely affect in reduced milk production, delayed puberty, decreased fertility and reduced pregnancy rates in mature cows. 

The danger is said to be in the treatment of disease ………… heavy doses of antibiotics given to counter  disorders  finally end up in substantial quantities in the precious milk that all of us  consume………..?

Two Countries in one Country…..?

Those of us who went to school before 1972 would recall when many specimen applications for government employment [self made Bio-Data’s was not the order then] had a question asking if you belonged in the “Up-Country or Low-Country”.

This confused me ever since a schoolboy; I was born in Kandy in the so called Up-Country and my father too was born in Kothmale again a locality in the Up-Country, but I was listed as a Low-Countryman as my grandfather was born in Wadduwa a township in the Low-Country.

It becomes funnier when my son  born in Galle the main city in the Low-Country is listed as a Up-Countryman for his grandfather was born in Kotmale  in the hills.

This stupidity in living in a different country within Ceylon was done away with, once Sri Lanka became a Republic on May 22, 1972. [Sri Lanka was officially Ceylon before 1972]

History records that Sri Lanka has been invaded by foreign forces from time to time. It was under Parakramabahu VI of Kotte that it was last united under one flag. 

In 1505 Don Lourenço de Almeida, son of the Portuguese viceroy in India, had to find refuge in Galle, [Southern Port City] when his fleet looking for Moorish ships to attack and plunder are forced to dock at Galle to overcome rough weather. 

It is this incident that sends news to the throne in Kotte  Parakramabahu VIII (1484-1508), of strangers who "eat hunks of white stone [white bread] and drink blood [presumably wine]. . . and have guns with a noise louder than thunder. . ."  The king suspecting danger of another invasion, offers  gifts of cinnamon and elephants while permiting the building of a residence in Colombo for trading purposes. With the building of this heavily fortified "trading post" in Colombo their militaristic intentions became apparent. 

Ever since 1505 we have records of the Dutch outdoing  the Portuguese in 1658 and the British takeover from the Dutch in 1798 and subsequently the whole country under the British throne in 1815.

With the maritime regions of  the South-West coming under the rule of the Europeans the life style and the social structure of the Low-Country peasantry was to change both economically and politically. Many even converted religiously. The economy controlled by the King  was now  in the hands of the Dutch East India Company later the British East India Company. With the British takeover from the Dutch all the maritime provinces around the country is lost to the Kandian Kingdom. 

Map showing Kandian Territory with the Maritime provinces under the British

The impact of the loss of territory is noted  when the ship commandeered by the  Knox’s is impounded in the eastern shores and sixteen of the crew, including the Knoxes, are taken captive by the troops of Rajasinghe II. There is historic evidence of attacks on the Galle Port and the Matara Fort by the armies of  Rajasinghe II to take them over as the intended taxes were not honoured. 

Later the British fought many a battle in the hills at Gannoruwa and Lewella [so named to symbolise the bloodletting on the shores of river Mahaveli ]  against  Ragasinhe II to gain control of the Kandian kingdom. Unsuccessful on the difficult terrain they looked for other means and wait until Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe is installed.

Finally they take control in 1815 through cunning. They set the Adigars of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe,  [Adikarm in Sinhala, was a feudal title associated with high office in the Kandian Kingdom]   against the King who revolt to their advantage to capture the fleeing King and Queen;… finally fooling the Adigas as well. 

From hereon the division of the Up-Country and the Low-Country……. The Low-Countryman who had adopted much of European culture was used as the middlemen in affairs with the interior. 

In Kandyan times, all those living in the Kandyan territories were subject to the Kandyan law. Some of these legal factors in marriage and land use the British also continued with. The Kandyan attitude of aristocratic superiority toward the Low-Country Sinhalese precluded marriage between them. But with the increase in wealth and sophistication of the latter with other outside contacts, these barriers are no more.   

The extent of the Kandian Kingdom comprised of the Central Province, Uva and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, North-Central Province and the greater part of the North Western Province roughly up to the Sandalankawa. 

The landmarks dividing these boundaries would have been many, that may have vanished with development. 

The Marker Rock on the 55th km on the Kandy Road at Danowita

There is but one such landmark on the 55th Kilometre on the Kandy Road at Danowita.,,,,,,,,,,,  known as the “Danowita Rock” ………….still sacred to the older Kandian. One notable signature is the women's dress code of the “Kandian Osariya” taking dominance to the “Indian Saree” of the Low-Country beyond this point to this day.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Danowita Rock [Pics by Author]

However there lingers much pun in social gatherings of the Kandian attitude to this day…..they say the Kandian's would  still be stuck in the hills, if not for the ‘Suddha’ [white man]  tunnelling the rock at Kadugannawa on the Kandy road. [ No Malice Intended ]

Kadugannawa Tunnel [Sudha Gala Viddha]