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| Sunday, 19 December 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The magnificent palace of a great king The Royal Palace of Parakramabahu I known as Vyjayanta Pasada occupied a premier place in the citadel (fortress) at Polonnaruwa. The palace was at the southern end of the citadel and had a number of buildings around it which are not visible now.
The building is described as "adorned with many hundreds of pillars painted in different colours ... supplied with hundreds of alcoves ... radiant with ornaments of climbing plants and flowers ... the height of its splendour was reached in the royal sleeping apartment ... resplendent with thick bunches of pearls, white as moon beams ... adorned with a wreath of large golden lampstands which breathed out continually the perfume of flowers and incense ... the network of tiny golden bells suspended here and there giving forth a sound like five musical instruments". Inside the palace, close to the entrance is a large hall, 31 metres long and 13 metres wide, thought to have been an audience hall. Its roof was held up by wooden pillars and the sockets cut for them can still be seen. The three-metres thick walls of the central room show sockets where the beams supporting the next storey had been. The hall has decorative elephants cut in its base. The remains of a stairway are visible to the left of the central room, and the remains of a lavatory are on to its right. The walls of the building are believed to have been plastered and painted, though only the brick-work can be seen now. Smaller apartments located outside the main building are thought to have been the lodgings of King Parakramabahu's two queens, his officials, bodyguards and servants. The boundary of the palace forms one corner of the citadel and is marked by the ruins of a watch tower. ***** Kumara Pokuna To the southeast corner of the palace, is the Kumara Pokuna or Prince's bathing pool which is reached by a flight of steps leading downwards. The area where it is located is thought to have been part of the royal pleasure gardens known as Nandana Uyana. The pond is built in solid rock which would have ensured that the water flowing into the pond is cool at all times. The water, flowing into the pond from the sides, is thought to have been perfumed. Two of the spouts designed like the mouths of crocodiles still remain. Vatadage - which protected the Sacred Tooth Relic We have already talked about the Vatadage at Medirigiriya. Today we tell you about a similar structure in Polonnaruwa.
The Vatadage, one of the most beautiful buildings in Polonnaruwa, was designed by local architects to protect the dagoba built to enshrine the sacred relics of the Buddha. Circles of stone pillars had supported a cone-shaped roof built over the complex. A moonstone can be seen at the foot of the steps which lead to the building. The guardstones which stand beside the steps were established to guard the sacred premises, to prevent evil from entering. The makara balustrades on the side of the steps are held up by dwarfs. The most beautiful moonstone of the Polonnaruwa period is found at the second flight of steps leading up the Vatadage. The seven-hooded cobra (naga king) figures here are decorated with beautiful jewellery. At the top of the steps, screens of stonework ornamented with flowers protect the upper platform. The base of the screens are moulded in the shape of lotus petals. They are believed to have been built by King Nissanka Malla. Four Buddha statues are built with their backs to the dagoba facing the four directions - north, east, south and west. The Vatadage is believed to have been simpler in design earlier, but had been improved to its latter resplendent (brilliant) state by kings who reigned later. |
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The Royal palace, of which a large part of the building still remains,
was named by Parakramabahu the Great as Vyjayantha Pasada after the palace
of God Indra. The palace is thought to have been a huge building as it is
described in the Chronicles as seven storeys high with a thousand
chambers. Three storeys of the brick-made building still stands.
The circular building known as the Vatadage is part of the Terrace of
the Tooth Relic or Dalada Maluwa which was in the centre of the ancient
city. The Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, which is now at the Dalada
Maligawa in Kandy, was housed at this temple during the Polonnaruwa era.
The Terrace has some of the finest decorated architecture at Polonnaruwa.
