Sri Lanka Holidays

Gal Vihara (Stone Shrine), Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

The Gal Vihara at Polonnaruwa represents the pinnacle of Sinhalese rock carving. The four great Buddha statues herein with the serene facial expressions & liquid flow of the robes, all carved from the same massive slab of granite, originally formed part of King Parakrambahu's northern monastery complex. As the sockets cut into rock behind the statues indicate, each statue would originally have been housed in its own enclosure.

Buddha in parinirvana
The great reclining image of the Buddha entering nirvana is 14m long. A huge but supremely graceful figure is carved in a serene posture. The face, delicately flecked with variations in the natural colour of the rock is especially beautiful. The unknown sculptor has carved the great statue with such tenderness even the bolster like pillow carry a subtle depression under the head & sun-wheel symbol on the pillow end. Buddha's parnirvana (final extinction, rather than death) is indicated in part, by means of the higher foot which is slightly withdrawn: the pain caused by the last breath. This Buddha statue is of such beauty that it inspired hundreds of years of Sinhalese art, but was never matched.

Standing Buddha Statue
The seven meter tall standing Buddha statue next to the reclining Buddha statue is the most unusual of the group of four Buddha statues: his arms folded & his eyes half-closed. It's a sorrowful expression. Dark strata in the rock sweep contour lines across the delicately carved features of his face like the slipstream from a dream.

Seated Buddhas
Two splendid seated Buddhas complete the group. Both are sculpted in "dhyani mudra" (meditation posture). The smaller seated Buddha is cut into in a cave-like recess. The larger seated Buddha is framed by Sanchi-style arch, with tiny bodhisattavas looking down on him from their celestial dwellings-perhaps showing a touch of Mahayana Buddhist influence, with its belief in Bodhisattvas.