A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c8.162

c8.162

Circular temples or shrines, of which three notable examples are known, are the most original and peculiar of Ceylonese buildings.¹ That at Polonnāruwa, erected by King Nissanka Malla at the close of the twelfth century, is considered by Mr. Bell to be 'the most beautiful specimen of Buddhistic stone architecture existing in Ceylon'. He declares that 'no photographs or drawings can adequately reproduce, nor can words but faintly outline, the inexpressible charm' of the inner platform. The