Polonnaruwa
Day 3 After a really calm night at Giritale were went to sleep early. Aravind was really tired after the car journey. He was also feeling unwell, and so on day 3 of the trip we decided to go to Polonnaruwa instead of Anuradhapura.
Polonnaruwa is very close to Giritale, about 20 kms away, and as Aravind was not well, we thought we shall visit the nearby place so that we can get back to the hotel early for rest.
Anuradhapura is the first capital of Srilanka ( 500 BC to 1017 AD ). The Chola kinds of South India attacked Anuradhapura and caused so much destruction, that the once great city was completely in ruins, the dams were destroyed and hence the city had to be abandoned. The capital was moved to Polonnaruwa, and it is hence called the 2nd capital.
Mathow picked us up. We passed through the Minneriya national park, the marching cadets of the nearly Army training institute, the wide lake and the several birds that inhabit the lake. As we approach the country side, again, it seems so much like India. The farmers now use mechanized motors to till the soil. The paddy is green and was from the Giritale and Kaudulla tank are used for irrigation.
We reached Polonnaruwa is 45 mins. We passed through a lake which was as big as a ocean. It was the Parakrama Samudra, build by the 2nd king of Polonnaruwa Parakrama Bahu. It had birds of many kinds and had fishermen fishing. The early Srilankan kings decided that water was precious and had to be conserved, and hence commissioned the construction of a tank of a monstrous size, which is called Parakrama Samudra. From one end, it was not possible to see the other end. In fact, it is 5 independent tanks connected by canals.
We also passed through some primitive dam structures. We saw water getting stored on one side, and part of it flowing through canals through primitive sluice gates like of rock structures.
The package tour that we took included entry fee to all the sites that we were about to visit during the trip. The entry fee can be anywhere between 8 to 15 US$ per head. Also, in some places like Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa which are a cluster of ruins, stupas and temples etc, each of these complexes attract a separate entry fee. Thomas Cook and Mathow took care of all the tickets for us. We din’t have to pay for it.
The first halt was at the Polonnaruwa museum. The complex is itself inside a ruined rampart. The museum is well maintained unlike any museum in India. The floor and the walls are clean, and all the exhibits are clean and well displayed, inside clean exhibition counters. The lighting is good. The wash rooms, water facility and the small cafeteria which sells some soviners was also good. The museum had replicas of all the structures that we were about to see. There were photos of the monument before and after restoration, and a ditto replica of the structure, how it would have looked in its days. The museum is one of the best I have visited.
Then, we went to visit the individual ruins, complexes and statues of Polonnaruwa.
Regarding the history of Polonnaruwa, it was the 2nd capital of the country. King Vijaya Bahu 1 founded this city. He defeated the Hindu Chola kings of South India and founded this city here. The real hero of Polonnaruwa is his grand son King Parakrama Bahu 1.
Parakrama Bahu’s days are considered the Golden Age, when trade and agriculture flourished. He invested lot of time and money on constructing dams, irrigation systems far superior than those of Anuradhapura, which would supply water for paddy cultivation. The greatest of his dams / lakes is the Parakrama samudra which in fact surrounds the city of Polonnaruwa. It also acted as a moat for the kingdom, to prevent intruders. The kingdom was self sufficient during his times.
However, after Parakrama Bahu, the only other successor of mettle was his immediate son Nissankamala 1, all the others were weak. The successors decided to get into matrimonial alliances with the strong Chola rulers, so maintain peace in the kingdom. These alliances led to superseding of the local royal lineage, this lead to Kalinga invasion by King Magha in 1214. After this, a South Indian king of Pandyan Dynasty – Arya Chakrawarthi invaded Srilanka in 1284 and took control of Polonnaruwa. The capital was next shifted to Dambadeniya. Dambadeniya is the 3rd capital of Srilanka.
Polonnaruwa today is one of the best ancient archeological sites, and is one of the best planned cities of ancient times, and stand testimony to the greatness of his rulers and planners. We drove to several kilometers of roads through the ruined city, which has over grown trees and looks like a perfect haven. All the roads, ramparts, ruins, homes, monastic buildings, palaces, libraries, chapter houses, halls, conference halls and places of worship are well marked and maintained.
The most interesting ruined complexes to visit in Polonnaruwa are statue of Parakrama Bahu 1, Potgul Vihara ( the library ), The Palace ruins, the Conference Hall, the Bathing tank, The Tuparama ( Chapter house ), Shiva Devale ( Shiva temple which has a shiv linga ), Wata Dagoba ( Circular monastery with its beautiful Buddha’s ), Hata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 60 days ), The Ata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 8 days ), The image house which has some beautiful frescos and a large destroyed statue of the Buddha.
The places of worship have beautifully carved moonstones at the entrance. They have a row of cows, swans, horses, elephants and lions and the lotuses in the center indicating that life is full of trials, which one needs to cross before attaining the nirvana.
The site also has a large stone relic, and has inscriptions by King Nissankamala, giving details about the city. It is considered the largest stone relic in the world.
I was waiting all along for the Gal Vihara, which house three huge and magnificient statues of Buddha – in Sitting, Standing and Sleeping posture. I clicked several photographs.
Pollonnaruwa is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Visiting all these places took about 4 hrs. Then, we went to the Polonnaruwa cultural guest house for lunch. This place is by the Parakrama Samudra and has a beautiful view of the large lake.
Srilanka was according to me a very expensive place. Indian rupee is stronger than the Srilankan rupee, but every thing was so very expensive. We spend about Srilanka Rupee 600 for lunch per head. So, about S Rs. 1200 per head, which is equal to INR 600. But, in India, whenever I travel, I manage to get a great lunch for a maximum of Rs. 100. So, in that sense Srilanka was expensive.
After the trip, we got back to our hotel by about 3 pm. Arvind was not feeling well and decided to take rest. I din’t have much to do. There is practically nothing on TV in Srilanka. There are a few Srilanka channels, Sun TV comes, so I could watch some tam songs, and there is a German and a French Channel. So, basically I kept it off most of the time. I freshened up and sat in my balcony to observe the langurs, the fishermen and the birds in the Giritale lake.
Polonnaruwa is very close to Giritale, about 20 kms away, and as Aravind was not well, we thought we shall visit the nearby place so that we can get back to the hotel early for rest.
Anuradhapura is the first capital of Srilanka ( 500 BC to 1017 AD ). The Chola kinds of South India attacked Anuradhapura and caused so much destruction, that the once great city was completely in ruins, the dams were destroyed and hence the city had to be abandoned. The capital was moved to Polonnaruwa, and it is hence called the 2nd capital.
Mathow picked us up. We passed through the Minneriya national park, the marching cadets of the nearly Army training institute, the wide lake and the several birds that inhabit the lake. As we approach the country side, again, it seems so much like India. The farmers now use mechanized motors to till the soil. The paddy is green and was from the Giritale and Kaudulla tank are used for irrigation.
We reached Polonnaruwa is 45 mins. We passed through a lake which was as big as a ocean. It was the Parakrama Samudra, build by the 2nd king of Polonnaruwa Parakrama Bahu. It had birds of many kinds and had fishermen fishing. The early Srilankan kings decided that water was precious and had to be conserved, and hence commissioned the construction of a tank of a monstrous size, which is called Parakrama Samudra. From one end, it was not possible to see the other end. In fact, it is 5 independent tanks connected by canals.
We also passed through some primitive dam structures. We saw water getting stored on one side, and part of it flowing through canals through primitive sluice gates like of rock structures.
The package tour that we took included entry fee to all the sites that we were about to visit during the trip. The entry fee can be anywhere between 8 to 15 US$ per head. Also, in some places like Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa which are a cluster of ruins, stupas and temples etc, each of these complexes attract a separate entry fee. Thomas Cook and Mathow took care of all the tickets for us. We din’t have to pay for it.
The first halt was at the Polonnaruwa museum. The complex is itself inside a ruined rampart. The museum is well maintained unlike any museum in India. The floor and the walls are clean, and all the exhibits are clean and well displayed, inside clean exhibition counters. The lighting is good. The wash rooms, water facility and the small cafeteria which sells some soviners was also good. The museum had replicas of all the structures that we were about to see. There were photos of the monument before and after restoration, and a ditto replica of the structure, how it would have looked in its days. The museum is one of the best I have visited.
Then, we went to visit the individual ruins, complexes and statues of Polonnaruwa.
Regarding the history of Polonnaruwa, it was the 2nd capital of the country. King Vijaya Bahu 1 founded this city. He defeated the Hindu Chola kings of South India and founded this city here. The real hero of Polonnaruwa is his grand son King Parakrama Bahu 1.
Parakrama Bahu’s days are considered the Golden Age, when trade and agriculture flourished. He invested lot of time and money on constructing dams, irrigation systems far superior than those of Anuradhapura, which would supply water for paddy cultivation. The greatest of his dams / lakes is the Parakrama samudra which in fact surrounds the city of Polonnaruwa. It also acted as a moat for the kingdom, to prevent intruders. The kingdom was self sufficient during his times.
However, after Parakrama Bahu, the only other successor of mettle was his immediate son Nissankamala 1, all the others were weak. The successors decided to get into matrimonial alliances with the strong Chola rulers, so maintain peace in the kingdom. These alliances led to superseding of the local royal lineage, this lead to Kalinga invasion by King Magha in 1214. After this, a South Indian king of Pandyan Dynasty – Arya Chakrawarthi invaded Srilanka in 1284 and took control of Polonnaruwa. The capital was next shifted to Dambadeniya. Dambadeniya is the 3rd capital of Srilanka.
Polonnaruwa today is one of the best ancient archeological sites, and is one of the best planned cities of ancient times, and stand testimony to the greatness of his rulers and planners. We drove to several kilometers of roads through the ruined city, which has over grown trees and looks like a perfect haven. All the roads, ramparts, ruins, homes, monastic buildings, palaces, libraries, chapter houses, halls, conference halls and places of worship are well marked and maintained.
The most interesting ruined complexes to visit in Polonnaruwa are statue of Parakrama Bahu 1, Potgul Vihara ( the library ), The Palace ruins, the Conference Hall, the Bathing tank, The Tuparama ( Chapter house ), Shiva Devale ( Shiva temple which has a shiv linga ), Wata Dagoba ( Circular monastery with its beautiful Buddha’s ), Hata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 60 days ), The Ata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 8 days ), The image house which has some beautiful frescos and a large destroyed statue of the Buddha.
The places of worship have beautifully carved moonstones at the entrance. They have a row of cows, swans, horses, elephants and lions and the lotuses in the center indicating that life is full of trials, which one needs to cross before attaining the nirvana.
The site also has a large stone relic, and has inscriptions by King Nissankamala, giving details about the city. It is considered the largest stone relic in the world.
I was waiting all along for the Gal Vihara, which house three huge and magnificient statues of Buddha – in Sitting, Standing and Sleeping posture. I clicked several photographs.
Pollonnaruwa is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Visiting all these places took about 4 hrs. Then, we went to the Polonnaruwa cultural guest house for lunch. This place is by the Parakrama Samudra and has a beautiful view of the large lake.
Srilanka was according to me a very expensive place. Indian rupee is stronger than the Srilankan rupee, but every thing was so very expensive. We spend about Srilanka Rupee 600 for lunch per head. So, about S Rs. 1200 per head, which is equal to INR 600. But, in India, whenever I travel, I manage to get a great lunch for a maximum of Rs. 100. So, in that sense Srilanka was expensive.
After the trip, we got back to our hotel by about 3 pm. Arvind was not feeling well and decided to take rest. I din’t have much to do. There is practically nothing on TV in Srilanka. There are a few Srilanka channels, Sun TV comes, so I could watch some tam songs, and there is a German and a French Channel. So, basically I kept it off most of the time. I freshened up and sat in my balcony to observe the langurs, the fishermen and the birds in the Giritale lake.
Also Read
Day 1 : Negembo
Day 2 : Dambulla
Stay at Giritale Hotel
posted by Sandhya Reddy at 12:21 PM
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