The forgotten past of Pankuliya

Story and pictures by Mahil Wijesinghe

Scrambling over the ruins that seem to cover every inch as far as the eye could see, we made our way through in search of the impressive archaeological site of Pankuliya where a magnificent Buddha statue is located hidden amidst the ruins and lush green serene setting surrounded by vast stretch of paddy fields encompassing the Malwatu Oya which flows through the area.

Though it is called Asokaramaya today, this was known as Pankuliya in ancient time. In fact, Pankuliya or Asokaramaya is one of the unique places where the grandeur of finest creation of ancient Sinhala arts is showcased vividly.

The word 'Pankuliya' evokes much excitement may be because we hear less about this little village on the outskirts of Anuradhapura with its farming community. This is literally a road rarely travelled by the usual pilgrim or tourist.

On the way to Pankuliya we passed about five kilometers from the road leading to Gal Paalama (stone bridge) from Kuttampokuna in Anuradhapura, where we came across a residential area and a notice board showing a road on the right side to the Asokaramaya or Pankuliya.

At this junction about a one kilometer, narrow motorable road ends abruptly in the middle of the paddy fields. From this point no vehicle can enter and we walked about 500 metres along the deserted footpath to the Pankuliya archaeological site amidst the breeze from Malwatu Oya. On either side, vast green paddy fields spread across the flat landscape and the calls and dances of the peacocks added to the serenityin the morning.

The main road about one and half kilometres across the vast stretch of paddy fields, leads to an ancient stone bridge over Malwatu Oya, close to Pankuliya. This ancient bridge made of stone once is a marvel of engineering of the days gone by. Many of the pillars of stone which held up the structure still stand, some near the bank, some further away, with a few sticking up mid-stream and some of which are still visible.

Asokaramaya is located in one acre of land in a serene setting amidst a lush green canopy surrounding the the village of Pankuliya. This is a fairly unknown site to the average pilgrim but houses one of the finest stone carved Buddha statues in the country today. This statute almost equals the artistic qualities of the famous Samadhi Buddha statue at the Mahamevna Uyana and the Tholuvila Buddha statue which is now kept in the Colombo museum. This statue is also known as Pankuliya Buddha. Unfortunately this area has been neglected and isolated, rarely visited by the pilgrims although it has been conserved by the Department of Archaeology.

Although we don't have any historical information of the site, Pankuliya is believed to have been built by Princess Asokamala, the consort of Prince Saliya, but there is no actual evidence to prove it further. However, archaeologists believe that the complex was most likely a nunnery according to the inscription of King Dappula V (918-930) BC, found at the site. Presently this archaeological site is popular among the historians and archaeologists because of its Buddha statue.

The multitude of ruin structures scattered throughout the complex are remnants of the ruined Dagaba which lies beside the image house. They have been conserved and constructed on a platform at a higher elevation from the ground. There are four cardinal entrances to ascend the Dagaba with a flight of steps and at the bottom of the each flight of steps contain a unique stone carved pair of guard stones which showed much antiquity of the complex and what we can see today is only its brick foundation.

However, venturing in, soon we were surrounded by countless ruins which included stone pillars, flower altars, a ruined stone bathing pond, Janthaghara, guard stones, remnants of two stone stands to keep Punkalas and several stone pots which were kept beside each flight of steps to ascend the platforms. The archaeologists believe that these pots would have been kept full of water to wash hands and feet of pilgrims before they ascended the elevated sacred areas.

Several uneven stone pillars and beautiful stone carved moonstone with a pair of stone carved guard stones which are an exquisite work of art by ancient sculptors lead to the image house on the higher platform. Taking in the serene atmosphere that held a spell of enchantment, we made our way to the unique image house where the Buddha statue of Pankuliya has been placed on a concrete structure. The several ruined pillars which are located near the image house probably indicate that there had been a roof over the statue in the past.

However, the Buddha statue of Pankuliya according to the archaeologists may belong to the ninth or tenth century in late Anuradhapura period. It is also a unique masterpiece of Sinhala Buddhist sculpture. The statue is sculptured out of dolomite marble, seated in Virasana posture and displays the Abaya Mudraa. The hollowed carved eyes indicate that they were once studded with precious stones - treasure hunters have removed those long ago.

The six feet and nine inches tall dolomite carved Buddha statue of Pankuliya has been exposed to natural elements such as rain, breeze and sun for centuries. A modern roof has been erected over the statue by the Dept. of Archaeology in the recent past, although this somewhat affects the real beauty of the statue. But its enchanting aesthetic appeal and sense of serenity has never been lost even though it has been exposed to the mercy of the elements.

Paying our homage at the Buddha statue of Pankuliya at the image house, we went outside stopping for a moment to look at the surrounding vista. Through the ruins and paddy fields we glimpsed the sacred Ruwanweli Maha Seya in the distance.

With the sun setting low, we had to end our journey. I had visited the Buddha statue of Pankuliya 15 years ago, what drew me back was the profound serenity of this desolated spiritual site.