Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c41.71

Language: English

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In reviewing the remains of Polonnaruwa one feels that something of the contemporary feudal system in Europe, which expressed itself in impregnable fortresses, may have in some manner communicated itself to king Parakrama the Great as well as to his nephew and successor Nissanka Malla (1187-1196), and so moved the former to construct his capital as a great walled city. But there was an oriental spaciousness, luxury and splendour in the Sinhalese conception rarely found in the strongholds of the West What is further remarkable is that in such a relatively limited time so much should have been accomplished, and all of the most superb quality. Moreover in the broad lay-out of this city the ramparts of which cover a circuit of nearly four miles, there are definite evidences of that traditional form of planning observable throughout the ages in many capitals of the orient. With its trace in the shape of a parallelogram, one of its long sides is built on a "bund" or rampart overlooking the expansive stretch of water known as the Topa Vewa, and against this in the form of a smaller parallelogram also enclosed by a wall and within the city area, was the citadel.

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Apart from the fact that the lake acted as a protection, it also brought cool air and an open view to the palace buildings on its verge, the entire scheme being worked out on a general principle which underlies most imperial city plans Within this enclosure an aggregation of buildings was erected which in number and variety few cities can excel. These comprised palaces, temples, monasteries, audience and council chambers, stupas and bathing places, together with all the miscellaneous structures, large and small, which go to make up an eastern capital of the first class. Polonnaruwa thus in the twelfth century became not only a city of marked architectural grandeur, but it was significant of a movement of great importance in the history of the building art in Ceylon From its remains, now emerging throughout a large area of tangled undergrowth, certain important examples may be here selected which will explain the trends of the art at this period. One of these buildings, although perhaps not specially attractive in its composition, is notable as its conformation is fully expressive of the ideals which motivated Buddhism at this stage of its development. For it represents a change in the structure of the creed which reacted in a marked manner on the religious architecture of the time, as may be seen in such distant places as in the building art of Bihar in India, Burma, Cambodia, and even extending into Java.

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Briefly, in place of the abstract tumulous in the form of the stupa or dagoba, a desire arose for an anthropomorphic conception of the founder of the religion for the purposes of worship, and so in the course of time temples were erected enshrining colossal figures of the Buddha within halls specially adapted for this purpose. This movement naturally affected to no inconsiderable degree the formation of the building as a whole, and the Lankatilaka or Jetawanarama Temple is a typical example of the procedure adopted to attain this end. (Plate CXXVIII) Constructed entirely of brick covered with stucco, even the statue of the Buddha which is nearly sixty feet high in the interior being built up by the same process, the external appearance of this building shows how the Tamilian sytle of Southern India maintained its hold. Clearly designed as a shrine rather than a temple, the interior consists of two compartments longitudinally aligned measuring 170 feet in length by 70 feet wide, the outer one forming a kind of portico leading to the great cella containing the standing statue, obviously the main intention of the scheme. Except for the fluted buttresslike pilasters which flank the main entrance, no special originality is shown in the architectural treatment of the building, but when in its prime it must have been a stately and dignified structure, worthy of the city which it adorned.