Kustarajagala

Homage in rock to a Bodhisatva

Story and pictures by Mahil Wijesinghe

Having visited Rumassala, which we featured last week, we headed toward the coastal fishing town of Weligama, through delightful seaside resorts. The placid bay of Weligama is located 30 kilometers from Galle. The seascape is filled with ubiquitous stilt fishermen’s single poles with a cross bar to catch small fish in chest-deep water on the beach. This is a visual treat and one of the most photographed scenes in the world. Unfortunately, being a Poya day, we couldn’t see even a single fisherman and we really missed the most picturesque sight on the Weligama sandy beach.

Though Weligama is seen as a drowsy small sea town today, in colonial period it was a highly prosperous centre of foreign trade. The 16th century lace-making craft which was introduced by Portuguese still remains in some parts of the coastal area of Weligama. The only remnants of the colonial period in Weligama, I managed to spot was a few old buildings here and there with tall columns with some lattice work.

The magnificent ancient Kustarajagala archaeological site is located within the hustle and bustle of the Weligama town area in proximity to the Aggrabodhi Vihara off the old Colombo road. Urbanization has engulfed the surrounding areas of Kustarajagala site which is confined to cramped small plot of land today.

The houses on every side and Matara-Colombo railway line is just behind the site. A huge playground lies in front of this sacred site where children play cricket and stray cows graze here and there. Although the pace of time has overtaken this sacred place, it still retains its character as a place of peace and tranquility.

The Kustarajagala rock cut statue about 15 feet in height stands on an isolated rock. We got the feeling that time has rushed past leaving the statue forgotten. Carved in a tombstone-shaped niche in a large rock facing the east, folklore is the only source that can shed some light on this figure’s past.

An intricately carved and elaborately dressed splendid statue of Bodhisattva is set deep into the rock. It lies in the shade of overhanging Bo-tree. When I stepped in to the site, the morning rays of the sunlight were flickering through the branches of the massive Bo-tree.

Incurable skin disease

Perhaps, a huge rock boulder has been sliced in two to create this work. The other half lies just opposite, wrapped within the roots of an ancient Bo-tree. Since the statue was carved out into the rock at a somewhat higher elevation, we can view it above the eye level about eight feet from the ground. After climbing the opposite rock, we came up to eye level with the statue. From this point the whole statue seems very different and every detail becomes so clear. Then we realized the massive scale of the statue.

Known as Kustaraja, the statue was created between 7-8th century according to the notice board erected here by the Department of Archaeology. There are various legends associated with the name and the construction of this statue. The favorite among them seems to be that it is an image of an ancient king who suffered from an incurable skin disease. Legend has it that it was on this spot that the king was cured of his sickness and it was he who had made the statue.

The ancient chronicle records that King Aggrabodhi IV (667-683AD), suffered from an incurable disease and had got this sculpture made under his patronage. Since Aggrabodhi IV lived in Ruhuna for a long time he may indeed have constructed this statue.

Intricately carved statues

Looking closely at the details of this rock heaven statue, we came across several features. The statue is heavily draped in elaborate ornaments and clothes. The head dress too is very elaborately designed with four figures of Buddha carved on three sides of it. Many necklaces adorn the neck. Parts of the head dress touch the shoulders. Perhaps, this is one of the most beautiful and intricately carved statues in Sri Lanka suggestive of the influence of Mahayana Buddhism in the country in the 7-8th centuries.

Tragically, someone has attempted to dig out an area between the chest and the waist of this statue removing a piece of rock which contained an elaborately carved ornamental design across the statue.

Several similar marks are found in the head-dress of the Kustarajagala statue which is also believed to represent a Bodhisattva. Avalokitesvara is assigned a higher status than Maitreya by the Mahayanists. He is identified as Natha Deviyo and is said to represent the influence of Hindu pantheism in Sri Lanka. The left hand of the statue’s ring finger and the middle finger are bent to touch the palm of the hand. This Mudra (pose) is believed to signify a beckoning to devotees for a blessing.

Saviour of mankind

Nearby, the Aggrabodhi Rajamaha Vihara is one of the first 32 saplings of the Sri Maha Bodhiya at Anuradhapura. It is also speculated that this Vihara was called Aggrabodhi since it was constructed under the patronage of King Aggrabodhi IV (667-683AD). The Kustarajagala statue is said to have been part of this temple at the time, though some others it was part of an old Avalokitesvara-Natha temple that used to stand on this site.

This tallies with the doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism, as the Avalokitesvara was the saviour of mankind and the healer of the sick. So Kustarajagala may belong to the Mahayana sect, long since defunct here and considered heretic. In Ruhuna, we found several other Mahayana sites where similar Avalokitesvara Bodhisatva statues exist - Situlpahuwa, deep in Yala National Park, Maligawila at Okkampitiya and Buduruwagala rock carvings at Wellawaya are examples.

The Kustarajagala statue is the most outstanding relic today of a period during which Mahayana and Tantric Buddhism held sway in Sri Lanka. When the statue was completed is not known and this lack of any detailed history may be due to the statue’s Mahayana origins.

European tomb

The competition between Mahayana and Theravada became a veritable war at one point in Sri Lanka’s history. Finally, the original sect of Theravada prevailed. With time, memories of Mahayanism faded away completely. Most Sri Lankans today consider Mahayanism an exclusively foreign sect.

However, devotees still come to the Kustarajagala statue to worship and pray for relief from diseases - they regard the statue as a Mahayanist Bodhisattva who is considered a healing deity.

In front the Kustarajagala statue just a few feet away, lies a tomb of a European. Some believe it may belong to an engineer who came to build the railway track. Why this tomb is erected here is not known and mysterious, but its details carved out on a granite plaque are still readable. It says “In loving memory of Thomas H.D. Gadder, Born 25 Aug. 1825, Died 10 Aug. 1907, Jesus is our Peace”.

If you find some extra time on your hands on a trip to Weligama, do not forget to see this statue.