South
Asia’s largest reclining Buddha statue lies in an ill-maintained,
little known viharaya in Karandeniya
BREATHTAKING
By Lankika de Livera
The
road goes up the hill through cinnamon plantations to arrive at
the Karandeniya Galagoda Shailatharama Viharaya, which houses the
largest reclining Buddha statue in South Asia. Three hundred feet
above sea level, the view from this point is a grand vista of the
countryside sprawling below.
Inside the hall of the temple lies a gigantic statue - 115 feet
or 35 metres in length (the famous reclining Buddha statue of Gal
Vihara fame of Polonnaruwa is 46 feet or 14 metres). This statue
seems to be made of cement but is supposed to be about 800 years
old, belonging to the Dambadeniya period in history, in the reign
of King Parakramabahu II.
Ven.
Magala Somananda Thera, chief incumbent of the temple says he believes
the Buddha statue had been one of the tasks undertaken in that period.
He says it would have been done by Devapathiraja, the prominent
chief minister of the King. This minister had been responsible for
the construction of many temples down by the coast.
Dr.
Vernon Mendis in his book, The Rulers of Sri Lanka, writes that
“after the expulsion from the North, the Sri Lankan Kingdom
established itself in Dambadeniya in the South West under King Parakramabahu
the Second”.
The Chulavamsa records that King Parakramabahu II reigned from 1291-1302.
The Dambadeniya era is between the Polonnaruwa and Kotte periods
in Sri Lanka’s history.
Ven.
Somananda Thera had come to this temple on the hill six years ago
when it was an abandoned shrine, overgrown with jungle. There was
jungle all around with wild cinnamon aplenty. The entire hall with
the statue had been infested with bats hanging from the ceiling.
They had dirtied the statue which was black with bat droppings.
The place also had a terrible stench. The Thera had got the statue
washed and cleaned and had the bats chased away.
He also arranged for a road to be constructed up the hill and got
it tarred. Before this, villagers would come by bus and climb up
208 steps to reach the temple. The steps can still be used by those
who don’t come in a vehicle and the ascent begins from Karandeniya.
The
soft-spoken monk points out that when he came here, the chest area
of the statue and the eyes of the statue had been dug out by vandals
probably hoping to find some treasure inside.
There
had also been an “Ulpatha” – a natural water spring
– in the garden coming from underneath a rock. Elderly villagers
remember having a drink here to quench their thirst after climbing
the steps. Not so long ago, vandals had blasted the rock and since
that day, the spring has run dry.
The
statue is so large, that the hall is barely large enough to accommodate
it. There are seven doorways to enter this hall just from one side.
One cannot go back far enough to be able to get the whole statue
into a camera frame. The massive size of the statue takes one’s
breath away.
Ven.
Somananda Thera believes that when the statue was originally built,
it would have been out in the open like at the Gal Vihara. The hall
has been built much later. He says that when he was getting little
repairs done to the temple, the statue was on rock. His workers
had misunderstood him and cemented the floor area, covering the
rock. He laments that this was a costly mistake as it takes away
the historical value of the place. The monk says that the five door
frames (Uluvahu) opening into the outer hall had been turned out
in rock and this was an indication that it belonged to a bygone
era. The Buddha image depicts the death-bed of the Thathagatha.
It is the “Pirinivan Manchakaya” – as the two
feet are not symmetrical, being placed alongside, but with a gap
lengthwise. Ven. Somananda Thera thus concludes that it is not merely
a statue of the Reclining Buddha.
While
the inner chamber houses the statue, the outer chamber is also impressive.
At either end of the chamber are statues of the two kings Dutugemunu
and Elara atop elephants with their soldiers alongside. They seem
to be coming forward as if to meet. In between on the sides are
ten-foot statues of the past Buddhas and also some of the Arahats.
The walls, upto roof-level are adorned with paintings from Jathaka
stories.
About
100 years ago, the temple was supposed to have been renovated by
a pious villager, Iyonis. It seems such a shame that Ruhuna has
overlooked this place of religious and historical significance.
It is a place that the country could be proud of, although now lying
forgotten and ill-maintained due to lack of funds.
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