Sigiriya
Sigiriya
Sigiriya or Sinhagiri is an ancient rock tower located in
the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province,
Sri Lanka. It is a place of historical and historical importance dominated by a
large rock column about 180 m (590 ft) high.
According to the ancient Sri Lankan legend the Cūḷavaṃsa,
this area was a vast forest, after storms and landslides it became a mountain
and was chosen by King Kashyapa (AD 477-495) for his new capital. He built his
palace on this rock and decorated its sides with colorful paintings. On a small
plateau about half the side of this rock he built a gate in the form of a large
lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure; Sīnhāgiri, the
Lion Rock (an equivalent of Sinhapura, the Sanskrit name of Singapore, the Lion
City).
The capital and the royal palace were abandoned when the
king died. Until the 14th century, it served as a Buddhist monastery. Sigiriya
today is a UNESCO Listed Heritage Site.One of the most well-preserved instances
of old town planning is this one.
History
It seems that the area of Sigiriya may have been inhabited
since ancient times. There is clear evidence of the many rock shelters and
nearby caves occupied by Buddhist monks and ascetics from the early 3rd century
BC. The first evidence of human habitation in Sigiriya is the Aligala soft rock
on the eastern side of Sigiriya rock, indicating that the area was inhabited
almost five thousand years ago during the Mesolithic period.
Buddhist monastic sites were established in the 3rd century
BC on the western and northern slopes of the mountains surrounding the rock of
Sigiriya. Many rock shelters or caves were created during this period. These
shelters were made under large rocks, and carved around the mouths of the cave.
Rock inscriptions are carved near the seals on many of the shelters, recording
the donation of the shelters to the Buddhist monastic community as a place.
Between the third century BC and the first century AD, they were produced.
In 477 AD, Kashyapa I, the king's son by a non-royal wife,
usurped the throne from King Dhatusena, after a coup aided by Migara, the
King's brother and the commander. Moggallana, the rightful successor, escaped
to South India out of dread for his life.Fearing an attack by Moggallana,
Kashyapa moved the capital and his residence from the traditional capital of
Anuradhapura to the safer Sigiriya. During the reign of King Kashyapa (477 to
495 AD), Sigiriya was developed as a complex city and fortress.Most of the constructions
on the top of the rock and around it, including fortifications, palaces, and
gardens, date from this period.
King Kashyapa is identified as the son of King Dhatusena in
the Cavasa. Kashyapa killed his father by protecting him alive and then usurped
the throne to which his half-brother Moggallana, the son of Dhatusena was the
rightful queen. Moggallana fled to India to escape being killed by Kashyapa,
but he vowed revenge. In India he raised an army with the intention of
returning and regaining the throne of Sri Lanka, which he thought was
rightfully his. In anticipation of Moggallana's return, Kashyapa is said to
have built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya as a fortress as well as a
pleasure palace.In 495 AD, Moggallana finally made his appearance, declared
war, and vanquished Kashyapa. During the battle Kashyapa's army deserted him
and he took his own life by falling on his sword.The Cūḷavaṃsa and legends tell
us that the war-elephant on which Kashyapa rode changed course to make good use
of it, but the army misjudged the move as the king decided to retreat, and
prompting the army to abandon him altogether. He said that he was so proud that
he could not surrender, he removed his sword from his waist, cut his throat,
raised the sword with pride, put it on, and fell to his death. Moggallana
returned the capital to Anuradhapura, and converted Sigiriya into a Buddhist
temple, which survived until the 13th or 14th century. After this period, there
are no records of Sigiriya until the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was
briefly used as an outpost of the Kingdom of Kandy.
Other stories have the first builder of Sigiriya as King
Dhatusena, with Kashyapa completing the work to honor his father. But other
stories describe Kashyapa as a playful king, with Sigiriya as his happy palace.
Even the fate of Kashyapa is uncertain. In some versions he was killed by a
poison given by a concubine; in others he cuts his own throat when abandoned in
his final battle. But other interpretations consider the site to be a work of
the Buddhist religion, without any military work. This site may have been
important in the rivalry between the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions
in ancient Sri Lanka.
In Professor Senarath Paranavithana's book The Story of
Sigiriya, it is said that King Dathusena took the advice of the Persian
Nestorian Priest Maga Brahmana in building his palace in Sigiriya. According to
Paranavithana, during this period more than seventy-five ships carrying Murundi
soldiers from Mangalore arrived in Sri Lanka and landed in Chilaw to protect
King Dathusena, most of them Christians. King Dathusena's daughter married
Migara, a Christian and the commander of the Singhalese army.Archaeological
remains and features
In 1831 Major Jonathan Forbes of the 78th Highlanders of the
British Army, while returning on horseback from a trip to Pollonnuruwa,
encountered the "bush covered summit of Sigiriya".Sigiriya came to
the attention of antiquarians and, later, archaeologists. Archaeological work
at Sigiriya began on a small scale in the 1890s. H.C.P. Bell was the first archaeologist to conduct extensive research on
Sigiriya. The Cultural Triangle Project, launched by the Government of Sri Lanka, focused its
attention on Sigiriya in 1982. Archaeological work began on the entire city for
the first time under this project. There was a sculpted lion's head above the
legs and paws flanking the entrance, but the head collapsed years ago.
Sigiriya consi In 1831 Major Jonathan Forbes of the 78th
Highlanders of the British Army, while returning on horseback from a trip to
Pollonnuruwa, encountered the "forest covered peaks of Sigiriya".
Antiquarians and then archaeologists became interested in Sigiriya.Research
work at Sigiriya began on a small scale in the 1890s. H.C.P. Bell was the first
explorer to do extensive research at Sigiriya. In 1982, the Government of Sri
Lanka began the Cultural Triangle Project, which concentrated on Sigiriya.
Under this initiative, work started for the first time on the entire city.There
was a carved lion's head above the legs and feet above the door, but the head
fell off years ago.
Sigiriya includes an ancient palace built by King Kashyapa in the 5th century. The site of Sigiriya contains the ruins of a high palace located on a flat rock face, a central terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the palaces at down stuck on the mountains under the rocks. The walls, walls and gardens of the palace extend for several hundred meters from the bottom of the cliff. The place is a castle and a tower. The towering castle at the top of the cliff includes wells cut into the rock.sts of an ancient citadel built by King Kashyapa during the 5th century. The Sigiriya site contains the ruins of an upper palace located on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the lower palaces clings to the slopes below the rocks. The moats, walls and gardens of the palace extended for a few hundred metres from the base of the rock. The site was both a palace and a fortress. The upper palace on the top of the rock includes cisterns cut into the rock.
Site plan
Sigiriya is considered one of the most important urban
planning sites of the first millennium, and the planning of the site is
considered very detailed and thoughtful. The design combined the concepts of
symmetry and asymmetry in relation to the intentional symbolic and natural
features of the environment. To the west of the rock lies a park for the royal
families, laid out on a similar plan; the park has hydraulic structures,
including special systems on the ground / underground, some of which are
working today. To the south is a man-made reservoir; these were mainly used
from the former capital of the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Five gates were placed at
the gates. The more elaborate west gate is thought to have been reserved for
the royal family.
Mirror wall
A mirrored wall and spiral staircase lead to the frescoes
In the beginning this wall was so reflective that the king
could see himself as he walked by. Made of brick masonry and covered with
highly polished white plaster, the wall is now partially covered with verses
written by visitors, some of them dating back to the early 8th century. Most,
however, are from the 9th and 10th centuries. People of all walks of life, from
poets to district governors to housewives, wrote on the wall. Even the bhikkhus
were not exempt; they wrote poems on various subjects such as love, irony, and
experiences of all kinds. The solitary instance of poetry from the Anuradhapura
era has been discovered.
Water Garden
The water gardens can be seen in the middle of the west
side. There are three large gardens to be found here. The first farm consists
of a plot of land surrounded by water. It is connected to the main neighborhood
using four main roads, with gates placed at the head of each road. This garden
is built according to an old garden known as char bagh, and is one of the
oldest surviving examples of this form.
Boulder gardens
Terraced gardens
The gardens are established from the natural mountain at the
base of the Sigiriya rock. A series of terraces rise from the path of the rock
garden on steps on the rock. These were made by building brick walls, and are
located in a circular plan around the rock. The path through the gardens is
formed by a stone staircase. From this staircase, there is a covered path on
the side of the rock, leading to the top of the terrace where the lion
staircase is located.
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