Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c6.55

c6.55

Kirti Śrī Rāja Siṃha He was no less active in the building and repair of Buddhist buildings throughout his kingdom; there is hardly a vihāra of any importance in the Kandy district which was not restored by him, or newly built; for example, on the east side of Kandy he built a vihāra called Gaṅgārāma; here he caused “a statue of the Conqueror (Buddha) nine cubits high to be hewn out by cunning workmen skilled in the art of cutting stone . . . and built a fine two-storied temple (still standing; Pl. VII., 5) delightful to behold . . . and to the workmen who executed the beautiful paintings he gave presents of cloth and jewels and other things as they liked best, and pleased them in various ways” (Mahāvaṃsa, Ch. C.).