Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c41.72

c41.72

That the Sinhalese builders of this period could however rise to great heights in their architectural productions is plainly shown in another of the many monumental buildings which constituted the glories of Polonnaruwa in the twelfth century. This is the Wata-dage, or "Hall of the Relic," a building constructed mainly of stone masonry and designed on an elegant plan of concentric circular platforms and passages, enclosing a round central shrine, within which is a memorial in the form of a small dagoba. Such an exquisite example of the building art was evidently intended to contain some very precious and sacred emblem, and it is accordingly presumed to have been the edifice known as the Dalada Maligawa built by Parakrama the Great to enshrine the immortal tooth-relic. This relic reposed in the votive stupa within the building, and it may have been the rounded shape of this dagaba which suggested the circular treatment of the structure as a whole. Not only is the Wata-dage an architectural conception of a notably graceful kind, but its accessories and plastic embellishment are equally, well executed, while originally the interior wall surfaces were decorated with paintings. The main elements of its composition are three in number, in the first place the circular configuration is the basis of the scheme and is maintained throughout, secondly the designer has made skilful use of pillars to accentuate the essential lines of his circular elevation, and thirdly at the appropriate places he has interrupted these lines by means of an entrance at each of the cardinal points, the main one on the east being a work of great beauty. One of the most attractive monuments throughout the entire range of Sinhalese building art, although of no great size, it was not only the conception of a genius, but it was evidently carried out in its mass as well as in its detail by the leading master craftsmen of the time. The same high standard of handiwork may be seen in other and lesser structures at Polonnaruwa, such as some of the "pokanas," including the famous "Lotus Bath," and the architectural gem known as the "Floral Altar," all of which serve to prove that in the twelfth century under enthusiastic patronage, the arts of Ceylon attained their consummation.