Vatadage at Medirigiriya :

Unique architectural marvel housing ancient stupa

Medirigiriya Vatadage, the ancient stupa house is situated 25 km from Polonnaruwa. The structure located in beautiful surroundings, has a history dating back to pre-Christian times. The first reference to the site in the chronicles was made during the reign of King Kanittha Tissa (192-194 AD) of the Anuradhapura era. Later, many kings contributed to the complex, and finally, after the invasion of Maga, the site was abandoned when the Sinhalese migrated to southern parts, unable to bear the torture under foreign rule. Former Archaeological Commissioner H. C. P. Bell discovered the site in 1897, hidden in the middle of a thick jungle; realising the importance of the site he called it an architectural jewel.

Initially, Muslim labourers mainly carried out the restoration work as Buddhist labourers did not want to work at a Buddhist temple for money, which they deemed a sin. The work was finally completed in 1945 and the site was opened to the public, providing a glimpse of what the temple would have looked like over 1,000 years ago. In 1937, 664 acres of land was reserved for the archaeological site due to the large number of ruins found from the area.

However, the area started undergoing a rapid population increase, with people migrating there from various parts of the country. They gradually started destroying and removing the invaluable ruins for sale, as well as to remove any signs of ruins so that they could encroach and capture the land. Today, only 250 acres remain of the original 600 acres, and even from that area, only 6.5 acres have been identified as the temple premises and visited by the pilgrims.

The ruins, which filled the landscape around the Vatadage, are no longer there, said the caretaker of the site who is employed by the Department of Archaeology. The Vatadage was a unique architectural building, completely housing a stupa. These buildings are believed to have been constructed at the very early periods, as the stupas built during the later period were quite small. The Vatadage at Medirigiriya is built on a small rock. Its entrance is on the northern side. At the bottom of the staircase is a massive stone frame. This is 9x9 feet tall and 4x9 feet in breadth (width). After climbing 27 stone steps, you come to a resting area. Then, there are four more steps to reach the stupa house.

We happened to visit the temple at the mid day, when the rock was heated like an oven. You have no other option other than walking bare-footed on the heated rock. So, it is best to visit the temple during the evening around 4, then you can enjoy the beautiful greenish atmosphere with the cool breeze. The stupa house is covered by a stone wall which is about one metre in height. On the four sides are four beautifully carved Buddha statues in the seating position. In the centre had stood the stupa, but it is in ruins today. The stupa house had enshrined three Bodhisattva statues, but only two remain today.

The roof of the stupa house has been built on three concentric circles of stone pillars, most of which can still be seen in their original state. The innermost circle of 16 pillars is 17 feet in height; the other two circles are 16, 9 feet in height, 20, and 32 in numbers respectively. In addition to the main stupa house, there are remains of three image houses and a stupa in the area. A stone used as the covering of a toilet pit can be found on the right side near the main entrance. A pipe that had brought water to the toilet can also be seen at the premises.

Pichchamal Vihara

This building housing more images is located away from the Vatadage in the area locally known as the Pichcha-mal Vihara. It is 20x20 feet in size and there are five images of the Buddha, three standing and two seated. The special feature of these seated Buddha statues is that one statue bears a slight smiling expression. It is a very rare kind of statue in Sri Lanka.

According to the caretaker, the statues represent the different moods of the Buddha each day. Every morning when the Buddha wakes up, He looks for people in need. When He finds such people, He feels sad, and the Buddha statues we see everywhere reflect that mood. The statue with the smiling expression represents the Buddha's mood on days when there are no people in need. "These statues are rare, because the days He hadn't helped anyone in need are rare," he added.

Ponds

There are two ponds in the area. These would probably have been used by the bhikkhus who lived in the temples. According to the caretaker, one of the ponds at the site never dries up even during a drought. In addition, the waterway that brings water to the pond has still not been discovered.

The hospital

There are remains of a hospital in the same area. This is built as two squares. The outer square has 33 stone pillars and the inner square has 20 pillars. There have been three entrances to the building. There are indications that the rooms had doors.Seventy-five per cent of the hospital had been reserved to cater to bhikkhus, while the rest had served civilians.

The beheth oruwa (medicinal boat), which had been discovered here, has now been housed for safety at one of the image houses by Dr. Senerath Paranavitana. When the site was eventually discovered, it was covered with a thick forest.

Therefore, he had wanted to ensure the safety of the medicinal boat, said the caretaker. The boat is made out of hard rock so that the medicine would not be absorbed into the rock. The cavity is built to fit a human of any size.