Sigiriya SriLanka
IN THIS PAGE
- HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SIGIRIYA (THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD!)…
- A TALE OF GRANDEUR AND TRAGEDY of SIGIRIYA
- THE BREATHTAKING ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE LION ROCK
- THE BEAUTY OF SIGIRIYA FRESCOES
- REFLECTIONS OF ANCIENT POETRY…
- INTERCONNECTED GARDENS – ENHANCING AESTHETICS AND SECURITY…
- TAKE A JOURNEY THROUGH TO RELIVE THE HISTORY…
- WANDER THROUGH A SANCTUARY…
HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD!
Sigiriya, the eighth wonder of the world is a magnificent historical monument standing tall (about 180m in height) in the heart of Matale district in Sri Lanka. The rock is the remains of the hardened magma neck of an old volcano eroded billions of years ago. This archeologically important site contains ruins of an ancient royal complex believed to be initially built by King Kashyapa as a safe hiding place from his brother’s invasions and developed using unbelievable architecture and technology later during his reign (AD 477 – 495). The name ‘Sigiriya’ or ‘Sinhagiri’ (Lion Rock) is said to be derived from the giant gateway built in the shape of a lion at the entrance to the palace. Sigiriya rock and the royal city complex account for unique and exceptional landscaping and were declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1982.
King Kashyapa had wanted to build his kingdom similar to ‘Alakamandawa’ which was believed to be the prosperous city of the Gods. This vision and inspiration led him to give life to this wonder! The main points of attraction within this well-preserved site are the ruins of the ancient city complex surrounding the rock fortress, the Lion Gate entrance leading the visitors towards the palace through an open mouth of a lion, the walls along the way up painted with colorful frescoes, the mirror wall engraved with lyrical poems and the interconnected garden complex exhibiting exemplary use of architecture and technological advancements. The beauty, mystery, and majesty of the Sigiriya rock attract thousands of both local and international visitors each year.
A TALE OF GRANDEUR AND TRAGEDY…
History reveals that King Kashyapa assassinated his own father King Datusena to seize the throne in the Anuradhapura kingdom, Sri Lanka. However, he fled from his born palace in search of safety from possible invasions from his half-brother Moggallana, who was the rightful heir to the throne, upon which he chose to establish his kingdom atop a giant rock surrounded by a natural forest. He sought both physical protection and mental solace and pleasure through his new kingdom. Therefore, Sigiriya rock fortress and royal city complex was developed to provide optimum safety and luxury to the new king with ramparts, interconnected gardens, and a technologically advanced hydraulics system that fed lakes and reservoirs within and around the fortress. Some of these water channels are said to be functional even to this date giving evidence to the intelligence of the ancient man who have took successful efforts in integrating the natural surrounding with that of man-made architecture.
Moggallana sought refuge in South India upon the death of his father, with the intention of returning to Sri Lanka with a powerful army to fight King Kashyapa and win back the lost throne. He declared war and was successful in taking revenge from his half-brother Kashyapa. Literature states that during this battle, King Kashyapa’s army abandoned him due to a misunderstanding of his own movements and was left to fight alone with the raging troupes led by Moggallana. King Kashyapa who refused to taste defeat has then committed suicide showing his mighty pride! However, there are contradictions to this story of the death of the King too as some scripts says otherwise that he was poisoned. Upon the death of the King, the palace complex was abandoned and was later used as a monastery by Buddhist monks who took shelter within the rock caves until the 14th century. Rock inscriptions in Sigiriya however reads that the caves with drip edges built under large rock boulders have been donated to the monks as monasteries even before the reign of King Kashyapa.
As per folklore and literature it is evident that prior to the establishment of this new kingdom, Sigiriya has been inhabited since the prehistoric era. Even though the common belief is that King Kashyapa built the Sigiriya rock fortress with well-planned city complex, alternative literature suggest that it was King Datusena who initially built the royal city complex and was later completed by Kashyapa to honour the demise of his father. Some other scripts also interpret that Sigiriya is a work by Buddhist clergy and no military interventions have been used in the construction and establishment.
THE BREATHTAKING ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE LION ROCK…
The overall landscape of Sigiriya provides both physical defense and psychological defense. The interlinked waterways and ponds, terraces and arches obstructing direct entry to the palace atop a large rock surrounded by a forest provide physical security. The use of the lion at the entrance gives a sense of psychological security, to symbolize as if visitors are swallowed in by a ferocious guardian lion. The fortress had four entrances and the royal city complex had been surrounded by three gigantic ramparts and three moats. At present however, only about twenty percent of the total original structures are remained as preserved ruins within the premises.
Sigiriya is renowned as a remarkable monument showcasing the intelligence in planning and landscaping by ancient engineers of Sri Lanka. Serving as both a palace and a fortress, Sigiriya royal complex has drawn the attention of many archeologists over time who have worked towards revealing the hidden truth of the eighth wonder of the world. The first discovery of the ‘rock fortress hidden amidst a thick jungle’ is said to be by Major Jonathan Forbes in 1831. Research and excavations began thereafter. In 1982, the Government of Sri Lanka launched the Cultural Triangle Project which drew more attention and raised awareness towards this archeologically important monument.
THE BEAUTY OF SIGIRIYA FRESCOES
One of the main attractions within Sigiriya for visitors is the world-famous picture gallery; frescoes which is believed to have once covered an area of over 140m in length and 40m in height in the western side of the rock. Many past explorers have found it breathtaking to observe these unique paintings and often have referred to as one of the largest paintings in the world! The frescoes show a remarkable technique of 3-D form of painting style where the painters have taken the depth and volume into account when painting. The colour tones and brush stroke patterns used have elaborated the resemblance to real-life human features in these paintings. Some folklore says that the females represented in these paintings are said to be the ladies of the King, while others say that they are devotees taking part in religious observances. Studies revealed that the Sigiriya frescoes have a close resemblance to the renowned cave paintings in the Ajantha caves in Maharashtra, India.
A vandalism act took place on the 14th of October 1967, causing damage to the Sigiriya frescoes. Vandalizers have splashed paint on to the frescoes and stabbed and scratched some of the paintings using sharpened tools. In order to recover the damage, international expertise was called upon by Sri Lanka. As a result, Luciano Maranzi, a well-trained expert from Rome assisted the local authorities in the restoration process which continued till around April 1968 preserving as much as paintings as possible. The Sigiriya frescoes currently are said to be facing a loss of its original bright colours and authorities have taken multiple efforts to slow down this process of fading.
REFLECTIONS OF ANCIENT POETRY…
During King Kashyapa’s reign, the mirror wall is believed to have been a brick wall plastered with a special mixture of lime, egg whites and bees honey and was well-polished that the king could see his reflection as he walked alongside it. The wall has been built with bricks laid in a way to form a slight inclination towards the rock. This inclination has helped to divert the weight to the wall and allowing to better attach to the rock face. The brickwork has been placed in such a way to result the wall to lean inward.
The mirror wall leading to the frescoes holds thousands of poems and verses from visitors from ancient times, oldest found dating back to the 8th Century. Studies have revealed over 1500 verses written on the wall exhibiting fine play of words with rhyme, pun, and irony by the ancient visitors. Literature states that the poems on the Sigiriya mirror wall can be regarded as the only sign of poetry from the Anuradhapura period of Sri Lanka. Most poems have been written praising the beauty of the ladies in the frescoes and others commonly words of love, envy, and grace. However, further writing on the wall is currently prohibited due to conservation considerations of the old writings.
INTERCONNECTED GARDENS – ENHANCING AESTHETICS AND SECURITY…
The gardens at Sigiriya are known to be one of the most well-preserved and oldest landscaped water gardens in South Asia. But most local and international visitors even though are mesmerized by the Lion Gate, frescoes, and the mirror wall, often are not quite aware of the interconnected garden system. The garden complex of Sigiriya consist of four clear garden systems: water gardens, boulder gardens, terrace gardens and the palace gardens on the summit plateau of the rock.
The largest and most intricate of the garden systems is the water gardens found spanning the central and western regions. There are three main water gardens. The first water garden is the largest consists of an island surrounded by water and interconnected via four causeway canals. Water garden 2 is named as the ‘Fountain Garden’. It consists of two streams leading to two deep pools placed on either side of the path. As the name suggests, the second water garden has fountains constructed using limestone plates and streaming out water through them. These fountains are functional even today! The third water garden is situated at a higher level than the first two. It forms a ‘double-L’ shaped pool at the entrance gate of the inner fortress and an octagonal pool towards the North-East corner. The octagonal pool is said to have been used by the king and his immediate royal court. Research have revealed that it had the technology of flushing and refilling with fresh water before every use. Beyond the third water garden, water meets rock and connects to the boulder gardens.
All pools in the Sigiriya royal city complex are fed by the lake and linked to one another adding more beauty to this earthly paradise. Towards the west of the first water garden a smaller water garden can be found consisting of smaller waterways and pools. This miniature garden is believed to have been built after King Kashyapa’s reign.
The Sigiriya water gardens are built symmetrically but the boulder gardens follow an asymmetric layout. Large natural boulders are connected by winding pathways and believed to have been topped by pavilions and buildings. Only the brick walls and timber columns footings and remains of foundation of theses olden day pavilions and buildings are visible at present. It is believed that these boulders were pushed from the top of the rock at enemies approaching. The cobra hood cave with a motif on the ceiling, the audience hall built for the king with his stone throne and the cistern rock with a deeply carved water tank are all parts of the boulder gardens.
A series of terraces with rubble retaining walls begin and rises the pathways of the boulder garden towards the stairways of the rock. This is termed as the terraced gardens which is basically formed of the natural hill. Two large brick stairways with limestone steps falls through the terraced gardens. This opens to a covered pathway leading towards the lion staircase and then finally to the fourth garden on the summit plateau of the Sigiriya rock; the palace gardens. The sky palace is built based on the architectural style of the Anuradhapura period suiting more of a dry and windy climate with open, spacious, and single-storied airy buildings supported by wooden roofs. The palace gardens atop the summit were built with careful rainwater runoff management mechanisms and has ensured a cool and soothing place.
TAKE A JOURNEY THROUGH TO RELIVE THE HISTORY…
The Sigiriya museum was established in 2009 to provide an opportunity for visitors to visualize through the prehistoric and historic cultural evolution of ancient Sri Lanka. The museum is also built by incorporating the art and architecture used in the Sigiriya royal city-garden complex. However, most visitors of Sigiriya often do not visit the museum due to lack of awareness of such an establishment. If one is fond of exploring the archeological and cultural heritage of Sigiriya kingdom, the museum is the ideal place for that
WANDER THROUGH A SANCTUARY…
Extending from the Sigiriya rock fortress up to the Minneriya National Park, the Sigiriya sanctuary is enriched with high flora and fauna diversity. It is a dry zone forest reserve rich in many bird species and brings a pleasant experience for visitors. Past research within this sanctuary have resulted in various recommendations towards promoting tourism while raising awareness in species and habitat conservation. The forest which once provided natural defense to the kingdom now is conserved as an ecologically important site.