Thursday, January 12, 2012

Sri Lankan Oldset Stupa

The Thuparamaya is the oldest stupa in Sri Lanka as well as it was constructed by King Devanampiyatissa in 3rd century BCE. It is connected with the Maha Vihara Temple- the temple holds the tooth of the Buddha and people are believe the Thuparamaya holds the collarbone of the Buddha. The Thuparamaya is believed to have served as the residence of the woman monks of the Maha Vihara Temple. This structure is considered the earliest memorial of history in Sri Lanka. Over the years the stupa was destroyed numerous times and what we see today was re-constructed by King Agbo II in 1862 CE. The dome is 11 feet 4 inches (3.45 m) in height from the ground, 164½ ft (50.1 m) in diameter. The compound is made-up with granite and there are two rows of stone pillars around the Thuparamaya.

Lovamahapaya was constructed by king Dutugamuna in 150 BCE, for the bhikkhus who studied at Mahaviharaya Buddhist University as well as it was nine story building built as a residence. The important thing is this building is recommended over 3000 bihikuhs for residence. The building was also referred to as the Audacious Palace since its roof was covered with bronze tiles. There are 40 rows; each row consists of 40 stone pillars and a total of 1600 stone with beautiful carvings pillars were used for the building. The Lovamahapaya was one of the most valuable, beautiful and luxurious of its time: the window frames were made of silver and gems were embedded into the railings, pictures on the wall were painted with gold and lines of pearls were used to beautiful decorate.

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