Funday Times

Gaveshaka in his trail along the Anuradhapura gallery
The different types of Stupas
Stupa forms a most significant edifice in Buddhist architecture. Stupas came to be built in South, South-Eastern and Far-Eastern Buddhist countries using different architectural designs. In Sri Lanka, the designs closely followed the original Indian prototypes of Sanchi and other sites.
The Stupa consists of three main parts - medhi or pesava (terrace), udara or chamber (also known as 'garbha') and the superstructure consisting of the conical series of umbrellas or 'chatras'. Of these, the most significant is 'udara' or the bubble-shaped dome, which in the case of the colossal monuments like the Ruvanveli Maha Seya (in the picture from the Anuradhapura Gallery), rose from a triple-based platform or terraces.

The relic chamber was built at the centre of the dome, which was built with six stone slabs in the shape of a box. In the centre of this chamber was placed the Meru stone with the casket placed on top. This signifies the presentation of the stupa as the Universe and Meru its centre.

In addition to the 'bubbula' (bubble-shaped) dome, there are other dome shapes such as 'ghanta' (bell), 'ghata' (pot), 'dhanyaka' (heap of paddy), 'padma' (lotus flower) and 'amalaka' (myrobalam - the popular 'aralu', 'bulu', 'nelli' type - fruit). These shapes are illustrated in a big drawing hung at the Anuradhapura Gallery.

Earlier the dome was surmounted by a square railing of wood or stone, which later became a cube of brick masonry. A stone pillar embedded in the dome rose above the railing. The stupa is crowned by an umbrella ('chatra') or a series of umbrellas ('chatravali'). The whole section of the superstructure consisting of the 'hatareskotuva' (square tee), 'devatakotuva' (divinity enclosure) and the 'chatravali' (series of umbrellas) was later built solid with brick.

In the stupa are enshrined bodily relics of the Buddha. Legends attached to certain stupas in Sri Lanka state that they were built in the lifetime of the Buddha to commemorate His visits here. However, the earliest historical monument of this type is the stupa built by King Devanampiya Tissa known as the Thuparama Dagaba. When originally built, it was in the form of a heap of paddy. Today, after several restorations, it has a diameter of 59‘ 6” at the base.

As time went on, the stupas attained colossal proportions. King Dutugemunu built the Mirisaveti Dagaba with a diameter of 168 feet. The dimension of the Mahathupa or the Ruvanveliseya is 289 feet. Its height is around 300 feet. The largest stupa in Sri Lanka is the Jetavana which has a diameter of 367 feet at its base and a height of 323 feet.

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