Jetavana Dagoba, Anuradhapura

Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)


Jetavana Dagoba in Anuradhapura is the tallest stupa in Sri Lanka. It stands majestically at 400ft (122m) tall. And, it is also the tallest brick structure in the world. (Compare it with other brick monuments in Asia, namely the Qtub Minar in Delhi, India, and the unfinished Mingun Pagoda in Myanmar). Among the world's ancient structures, only two of the pyramids in Giza surpass it in height.

Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)

This monstrous stupa has a diameter of 367ft (113m), a testament to the engineering feat from 1,600 years ago. Archaeologists undertaking recent escavations discovered that its foundation is 252 feet deep (I previously reported it as 27 feet!), sitting on the bedrock. It stands of a square platform eight acres in extent.

The Jetavana Dagoba is part of the 3rd century Jetavanamaya, or Jetavana Monastery, which was the residence for 3000 monks. The monastery was founded by King Mahasena (276-303AD), the first in a line of great tank builders of ancient Lanka. The site is also called Jethawanaramaya Dagoba, after the stupa and the monastery. The compound is almost perfectly square, with entrances at each cardinal direction.

The area where the Jetavana monastery stands was once known as Nandana Pleasure Grove. It got the title Jotivana, which means "the place where the holy one made the true doctrine shine forth", because it was here that the Buddhist Saint Mahinda preached the essence of the Buddha's teachings. The name Jetavana is of course derived from the Pali Jotivana.

Temple ruins at Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)


A lotus-shaped pedestal or base at Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)


Remains of ancient structures at the Jethawanaramaya compound (29 August, 2005)


Remains of ancient structures at the Approaching the Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)


Remains of ancient structures at the A kiosk at the Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)


Remains of ancient structures at the Multi-headed naga relief at Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)


These protruding elements on the Jetavana Dagoba reminds me of those on Maya stepped pyramids in the Yucatan (29 August, 2005)


Tim at the base of the Jetavana Dagoba (29 August, 2005)

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