Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s10.3

v6.c41.s10.3

The Ceylonese monuments are situated in these two capital cities. Of all known countries Ceylon alone ‘contains a complete series of Buddhist monuments extending from the time of Aśoka to the present day.’ The two *dāgabas* of Anurādhpur are of the largest size known. The dome of the one, the Abhayagiri, is ‘exactly hemispherical, and has a diameter of about 328 feet, being thus more than 1,000 feet in circumference, and with the base and spire must have made a total elevation of about 260 feet.’¹ It is ascribed to king Vattagāmini Abhaya, who is stated to have built, in the first century B.C., a *vihāra* on the site of a Jain temple to commemorate the reconquest of his kingdom. Nothing is stated about the *dāgaba* or *chaitya* which must have been there. It was extended by Gajabāhu I in the second century A.D. ‘The *stūpa* stands on a stone-paved platform 590 feet square, raised about 9½ feet above the ground level, and ascended on each side by a flight of steps 27 feet wide. The chapels or thrones for the Dhyāni-Buddhas (in this *stūpa*) are like those in Sanchi and Kalinga *stūpas*.’²