RASSL lecture on “The marvellous Mahatupa”
View(s):The Royal Asiatic Society Sri Lanka (RASSL), monthly public lecture “The marvellous Mahatupa” by Archt. Shereen Amendra will be held on Monday, September 30 at 5 p.m. at the Gamini Dissanayake Auditorium No. 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7.
The Mahatupa is a presentation which explores the seemingly modern knowledge of the ancient people of South Asia as recorded in such texts as the Mahavamsa chronicle and Vastuvidyastra of Mañjuari, an architectural manual, among others. The Mahatupa of Anuradhapura is now known as the Ruvanveliseya or Swarnamali chaitya, a part of the national heritage of Sri Lanka.
The planned construction of enormous proportions in the 2nd century BCE was functional and symbolic, bringing together many people, among whom were those who had an understanding of science, technology and electrical phenomena and the expertise and capacity to utilize such forces as lightning while protecting the monumental Mahatupa. This presentation, which is open to all, visualizes the early design through texts and graphical representations.