Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c19.61

c19.61

*Siri-* The following account of the building of a Mahā Vihāra for the Tooth-relic, by Vijaya *vaḍḍhana* Bāhu III., in the thirteenth century, contains most interesting descriptions of buildings, images and golden utensils, of which the chronicle speaks in truly poetical language, which must, of course, lose greatly in translation. The period is earlier than that generally dealt with in this volume; but the ideal, if not the attainment, of the eighteenth century was similar, and the chronicler’s words give the keynote of the part played by the arts in Sinhalese life from first to last. The description includes an account of the magnificent procession along the decorated road from Dambaḍeniya to Sirivaḍḍhana*: