Gaveshaka
takes you to Degaldoruva temple near Kandy
Paintings with great beauty and charm
The
Kandyan king, Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1780) was a great patron
of the arts. It was during his time that some of the best paintings
in upcountry temples were created. Among them, the Degaldoruva Raja
Maha Vihara paintings stand out. Degaldoruva is just a few miles
away from Kandy close to Kundasale and is well worth a visit to
get an idea of the Kandyan style of paintings. Incidentally, the
temples which received the patronage of the king came to be known
as ‘Raja Maha Viharas’ and to this day they are identified
as such. So when you next see a name board of a temple with the
wording ‘Raja Maha Vihara’, that means the king had
given lands and other valuables to that temple.
While
the Degaldoruva paintings were started by King Kirti Sri Rajasinghe,
the king had died before they were completed. It was during the
reign of his younger brother, King Rajadhi Rajasinghe, who succeeded
him, that they were completed. After the work was done, the king
had handed it over to Moratota Dhammarakhkhita Nayaka Thera, who
was his teacher. Popularly known as Moratota Hamuduruwo, he was
a very learned monk.
Four ‘Sittara’
painters are credited with the Degaldoruva paintings. Among them,
Devendra Mulachari is regarded as the leader. Devaragampola Silvattenne
Unnanase was the best known out of them. ‘Silvat Unananses’
were those who had become monks but not received higher ordination
or ‘upasampada’. In addition to Degaldoruva, he has
also drawn the paintings at Ridi Vihara. Hiriyale Naide and Nilagama
Patabendi are the other two painters.
Critics
regard Degalduruva paintings as ones with great beauty and charm.
The decorative paintings also indicate the customs, manners and
social conditions of the time. Elephants are gaily decorated, the
uniforms of attendants are clearly shown and the insignia of royalty
well depicted.
Four Jataka
tales are seen in the ‘budu-ge’, the image house. These
are portrayed as continuous stories. When the devotee walks from
one end to the other, the story unfolds from beginning to end. Vessantara
Jataka, Sattubhatta Jataka, Sutasoma Jataka and Mahaseelava Jataka
are the four stories of the Bodhisatva which are depicted at Degaldoruva.
A feature of
the paintings is that the figures, whether they be humans, animals,
trees or any other, generally are of a uniform size. Another feature
is that the back view of human figures are not shown. It is always
the front view or the side view that the devotee sees. The trees
take a stylised form where a tree is shown with branches and leaves
spread on either side. A stream can be identified by a few fish
swimming and some floral decorations. The prominent colours used
are red and green. Colours were made from the bark of trees found
in the village.
Apart from the
Jataka tales, the life of the Buddha is also painted. The ‘Mara
Yudde’ - the war with Mara - is one of the most prominent
paintings at Degaldoruva. There are several features of the Mara
depicted here. The Mara has five faces. The forces of Mara carry
guns similar to the ones used by the Sinhalese and considered superior
to the ones used by the Portuguese, who occupied the maritime provinces
in the 16th century. These have been delicately portrayed.
While the Degaldoruva
paintings are some of the finest portraying folk tradition, they
also depict the clothes the people wore and the houses they lived
in. The clothes show a distinct difference between what was worn
by people in the low country and those worn by upcountry people.
Inside the houses, the furniture is also shown. Thus these paintings
are important in studying the social conditions in the 18th century.
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