Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c41.71.1

c41.71.1

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.