Sigiriya

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Ancient City of Sigiriya*
UNESCO World Heritage Site

Sigiriya Rock from the main public entrance
State Party Flag of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iii, iv
Reference 202
Region** Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1982  (6th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is an ancient rock fortress and ruins of a castle situated in central Matale District of Sri Lanka.

The site has tremendous cultural and historical significance, gaining acclaim especially for the ancient paintings (frescos) strikingly similar to the paintings in Ajanta Caves of India.

Built during the reign of King Kasyapa (477 – 495 C.E.), Sigriya numbers among the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka.

History

Sigiriya, inhabited from prehistoric times, has been used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the fifth century B.C.E. Devotees to the Buddhist Sangha prepared caves. King Kashyapa built the garden and palace. Following Kasyapa's death, the site again became a monastery complex until abandoned in the fourteenth century.

British explorer John Still rediscovered the ruins in 1907. Archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana deciphered the Sigiri inscriptions, publishing an authoritative two volume work, "Sigiri Graffiti."[1] He also wrote the popular book "Story of Sigiriya".[2]

Location of Matale District

Mahavansa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, describes King Kasyapa as the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive into a room, proceeding to usurp the throne from to his brother Mogallana, the rightful heir to the throne. Mogallana, fleing to India to escape assassinating by Kasyapa, vowed revenge. He raised an army in India, intending to return and reclaim the throne of Sri Lanka. Planning for Mogallana's return with an army, Kasyapa built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya as a fortress.

Mogallana attacked with his army. Chronicles relate that Kasyapa's battle-elephant changed direction to get a better fighting position, but the army misinterpreted it as the king fleeing. His armies abandoning him, Kasyapa committed suicide by falling on his sword. Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura and turned Sigiriya into a monastery complex.

Kasyapa's actual fate has been difficult to ascertain. One version relates that a concubine assassinated him with poison. Another has him cutting his own throat when faced with inevitable capture during his final battle.[3]

Several versions of the building of Sigiriya exist. In one account, King Dhatusena had been the ruler to begin building Sigiriya, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honor of his father. Still another account portrays Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya a pleasure palace. In another account, the site had been created by a Buddhist community, with no military function at all. All in all, the historical background for Sigiriya has been difficult to unravel.

Archaeological remains and features

File:IMG 3564.jpg
Aerial View

Sigiriya rock, a hardened magma plug from an extinct and long-eroded volcano, stands high above a surrounding plain visible for miles in all directions. The rock, resting on a steep mound, rises 370 meters. With sheer wall on all sides, the rock overhangs its base in many places.[4]

Sigiriya, consisting of the remains of an ancient castle built by King Kasyapa during the fifth century C.E.. The remains include:

  • An upper palace siting on the flat top of the rock. The upper palace includes cisterns cut into the rock that still retain water.
  • A mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes
  • The lower palace that clings to the slopes below the rock
  • The moats, walls and gardens that extend for some hundreds of meters out from the base of the rock. They have retained much of their original exquisite beautiful.[5]

The site most likely served as both a palace and fortress. Reasonably well preserved, Sigiriya provides the visitor with a stunning insight into the ingenuity and creativity of its builders.

Site plan

The Sigiriya Rock seen from the Gardens

Archaeologists consider Sigiriya one of the most important urban sites of the first millennium, revealing an elaborate and imaginative city plan. The architects interlocked the symmetry of the fort with the natural surroundings. On the west side of the rock, the designers placed a royal park. Some of reservoirs, including sophisticated underground channels, still function. The south side reveals a man made reservoir of the type used extensively in dry zones of ancient Sri Lanka. Five gates mark entrances to the city, the more elaborate western gate may have been reserved for royalty.[6] [7] [8]

The Gardens

The landscape of the Sigiriya city, considered one of the most important aspects of the site, has one of the oldest landscaped gardens of the world. The gardens take three distinct forms; water, cave and stone. The water gardens, created according to a sophisticated design, site in the western side. The water gardens contained pools of various depths, with streams flowing over slabs of marble. Underground hydraulic systems provide water into the fountains which still operate. Other water gardens use water courses to cool the pavilions. Stone gardens integrate pathways with pavilions and ponds.

The Mirror Wall

The Mirror Wall & Spiral Stairs leading to the Frescos
File:Sigiriya ladies.jpg
Part of the Frescos

Originally the wall had been so well polished that the king could see himself while walking alongside it. Made of a kind of porcelain, the mirror wall now contains verses scribbled by visitors to the rock. Well preserved, it has verses dating from the eighth century. People from all walks of life wrote on the mirror wall, reflecting on subjects like love, irony, and every day experiences. Writing on the mirror wall has been prohibited by the Sri Lanka government.

Frescos

The paintings originally covered most of the western face of the rock, an area 140 meters long and 40 meters high. Some of the graffiti refers to 500 ladies in those paintings. Many of them have been destroyed, cleaned off the Palace once more became a Monastery so that they would not disturb meditation.

The paintings have been classified as from the Anuradhapura period, but with a unique painting style. The line and application style of the paintings differ from the Anuradhapura paintings. The lines are painted in a form which enhances the sense of fullness of figures. The paint has been applied in sweeping action strokes using more pressure on one side giving the effect of a deeper color tone towards the edge. Other paintings of the Anuradhapura period contain similar painting techniques. But they lack the sketchy nature of the Sigiriya drawings, as the painting of the Anuradhapura period uses a technique of drawing distinct lines.

Image gallery

Outer Gardens and Moat

The complex is surrounded by an extensive set of walls and man made pools.

Gardens

Lower Palace

Mirror Wall and Lion Gate


Top of the Rock

See also

Notes

  1. Ceylon Archaeological Dept. and Senarat Paranavitana. Sigiri graffiti; being Sinhalese verses of the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries (London: Published for the Govt. of Ceylon by Oxford University Press, 1956). OCLC 889931.
  2. The Story of Sigiriya: WWW Virtual Library Sri Lanka. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
  3. The Sigiriya Story (html). Asian Tribune. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
  4. Encyclopædia Britannica Article about Sigiriya (html). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  5. Sri Lanka: Slip Into Antiquity. The Epoch Times. Retrieved 2005-05-04.
  6. Sigiriya - The fortress in the sky (html). Sunday Observer. Retrieved 2004-10-10.
  7. Sigiriya (html). BuddhaNet. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  8. Sigiriya: the most spectacular site in South Asia (html). Sunday Observer. Retrieved 2006-08-03.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Bandaranayake, Senake. 1999. Sigiriya: city, palace, and royal gardens. Colombo: Central Cultural Fund, Ministry of Cultural Affairs. ISBN 9789556131116.
  • Bopearachchi, Osmund. 2006. The pleasure gardens of Sigiriya: a new approach. Colombo: Godage Book Emporium. ISBN 9789552096419.
  • Ceylon Archaeological Dept., and Senarat Paranavitana. 1956. Sigiri graffiti; being Sinhalese verses of the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries. London: Published for the Govt. of Ceylon by Oxford University Press. OCLC 889931.
  • De Silva, R. H. 2004. Archaeological guide to Sigiriya. Colombo: Bibliotheque (Pvt.) Ltd. ISBN 9789558655023.
  • De Silva, R. H. 1971. Sigiriya. [Colombo]: Dept. of Archaeology. OCLC 572596.
  • De Silva, R. H. 2002. Sigiriya and its significance: a Mahayana-Theravada Buddhist monastery. Nawala: Bibliotheque. ISBN 9789558655016.
  • Lokubaṇḍāra, Vi. Ja. Mu, and Patrick Ratnayake. 2007. The mystique of Sīgiriya: whispers of the mirror wall. Colombo: Godage International Publishers. ISBN 9789553006103.
  • Murphy, Richard. 1989. The mirror wall. Winston-Salem, N.C. USA: Wake Forest University Press. ISBN 9780916390365.
  • Paranavitana, Senarat. 1972. Ānanda-shtavira. OCLC 164946751.

External links

Coordinates: 7°57′25″N 80°45′35″E / 7.95694, 80.75972

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