Dambulla Cave Temple
Dambulla cave temple is also known as the Golden temple of Dambulla.It is a world heritage site in Sri Lanka and it is situated in the central part of the country.It is about 148km from Colombo and 72km from Kandy and also 43km from Matale.Sri Lanka’s largest and the most preserved cave temple complex is Dambulla cave temple complex.There are 80 caves in the area.And there are 5 caves contains statues and paintings and it is the most attractive place in the temple.There are toatal of 153 Buddha statues,3 statues of sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddeses.Later it added god Vishnu and Ganesha.There are murals in these caves and they covers an area of 2100 square meters.Among these murals,the temptation by the Mara,and Buddhas first sermon can be seen.The burial sites with human skeletons which are old about 2700 years proves that the prehistoric sri lankans lived in those cave complexes and the Ibbankatuwa burial site is an example.This temple dates back to the first century B.C.In 1938,the architecture embellished with arched colonnades and gabled entrances.The ceiling inside the caves are painted with religious images and patterns.Among them images of Lord Buddha and Bodhisathvas,as well as various images of gods can be seen.
The king Valagamba of Anuradhapura is traditionally thought to have converted the caves in to a temple in the first century B.C.These cave complex area is the place he seek refuge from south Indian attackers after exiled from Anuradhapura.After reclaiming his throne,the king built this temple in thankful worship.And many kings added new parts later and by the 11th century it became a majorreligious centre.The king Nisshankamalla of Polonnaruwa glided the caves and added about 70 Lord buddhas statues and it again restored and painted in the era of Kandy.
Great New Monastry
This is the third cave and the Maha Alith Viharaya is the name for it in Sinhala.Tyhe paintings in the cielings and the murals in the walls have typical kandy style painted In the reighn of the king Kirthi Sri Rajasingha,a famous Buddhist revivalis.Exept the 50 statues of Lord Buddhas,there are statues of the king too.These arts and statues explains the art skills of Sri Lankan painters and also the crative thinking of sinhalese ,
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