Vatadage, Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

Vatadage, Polonnaruwa (29 August, 2005)


The Vatadage of Polonnaruwa is probably the most renowned of the many vatadage found in Sri Lanka. Vatadages are structures unique to the country. The name simply means circular religious building. Some Vatadages have a stupa within it.

The Vatadage of Polonnaruwa dates from the 7th century, and was part of a monastery which flourished in Polonnaruwa when the capital was still at Anuradhapura. As with many other vatadage, it had a stupa in the centre with four Buddha images facing the cardinal directions.

One of the four entrances to Vatadage, with the moonstone mat and the flanking guardstones (29 August, 2005)


Reflecting the tradition of the time, the Vatadage entrances are embellished with moonstones to welcome, and guardstones to ward off evil. It probably had a wooden roof which is now long gone, although the bricks and stone columns are still standing. Subsequent kings made additions to the temple. King Nissanka Malla added a very elaborate makara balustrade.

When visiting Vatadage, and particularly when photographing it, I have to remember to face the Buddha statue. It is forbidden to take photograph of persons with their back towards a Buddha statue in Polonnaruwa and many other places in Sri Lanka, so it is not possible to take a group shot unless the people stand behind the statue.

One of the seated Buddha statues at Vatadage (29 August, 2005)


Another seated Buddha at Vatadage (29 August, 2005)


Yet another seated Buddha at Vatadage (29 August, 2005)


A broken Buddha statue at Vatadage (29 August, 2005)


Circular base of Vatadage (29 August, 2005)

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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