Buduruwagala - Sri Lanka

Rock Carving of Maithri Bodhisathva - Buduruwagala, Sri Lanka

Buduruwagala was one of several stops I made on my way to Arugam Bay in July. The area is known for an archeological site located in the middle of the jungle relatively close to the town. The main features of the site are the seven figures that have been carved into the side of a large rock. The rock itself is said to look like an elephant kneeling down with its trunk in its mouth. Buduruwagala loosly translates to "Stone images of the Buddha".

More photographs inside.

 Rock Carvings of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva - Buduruwagala, Sri Lanka

The centre carving is a standing Buddha statue which measures 51 feet. This is the tallest standing Buddha statue in Sri Lanka and perhaps the world (since the Bamiyan statues were destroyed). The statue is complete above the waist but the bottom section is still rough. This may indicate that this statue was actually a model.

The Buddha Statue - Buduruwagala, Sri Lanka

The main figure in the group to the right of the Buddha statue is Avalokitesvara Bodhisatva. This figure has retained a substantial amount of its white finish and traces of orange around the head. The main statue too has traces of white robes. The centre of the crown of the Avalokitesvara statue is a figure of the Buddha in meditation. The figure to the left of the Avalokiteswara has been identified as Tara Devi and the figure to the right is said to be Prince Sudhana.

Rock Carvings of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva - Buduruwagala, Sri Lanka

The centre figure on the group to the left of the Buddha statue is the Maithri Bodhisatva , the fifth Buddha for this aeon (first photograph). The details of the crown, ornaments and the robe can be clearly seen. The statues on either side of the Maithri Buddha have not been identified.

The statues at Buduruwagala - Sri Lanka

We made it to Buduruwagala at around midday and the light was terrible for photography. We had a long drive and there was no way we could have made it any earlier. Since we were driving on to Arugam Bay on the same day, we were not able to stay overnight in the area. I've converted some of these photographs to black and white images as I felt they brought out the textures a bit more.

All photograps on this post were taken with the 24-105mm lens and the Canon 7D.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

The wheel of a Mazda

I thought I'd take a break from the usual bird and butterfly shots and add a bit of variety to the blog, so here's a shot of the wheel of a Mazda. I had a few minutes to kill and the camera was with me. This resulted in the shot above. I liked how the Mazda logo was positioned and I felt all the leading lines made a strong composition.  I wanted the image to be a black and white one and exposed the image accordingly. Read on for more lighting information.

I actually didn't use any strobes to light the wheel. The shot was taken around 10.00 in the morning with the light coming from camera right. The wheel was slightly turned and this allowed the light to only hit the face of the wheel and keep the insides and grooves in shadow.

Do drop a comment if you have any suggestions on how this shot could be improved.

Embekke Devalaya - Kandy

Embekke Devalaya (temple), which is famous for its elaborate wood carvings, was built in the 14th century during the reign King Wickremebahu III who ruled in Gampola from 1357 to 1374. UNESCO has identified these carvings as "the finest products of woodcarvings to be found in any part of the world". Many of the carvings depict legends which describe the origin of the devalaya. More images and info after the jump.

The temple was supposed to have been built by queen Henakanda Bisobandara in association with a drummer named Rangama. This temple, dedicated to Kataragama deviyo (god), is supposed to have been housed in a three story building which no longer exists. Currently, only the drummer's hall and the dancing hall remain besides the temple itself. Each of the 32 columns in the drummers' hall, shown in the first image, have square carvings on all four sides. The columns end in a carving designed on a leaf (second image above). Every carving on the columns is different and it is believed that they were created by an artisan named Devendra Mulachari. Some of the square shaped carvings found on the columns can be seen below. Click images for larger versions.

 

 

The carvings found on the roof are also in good condition and the intricate details are still visible. The shot below is of one of the beams which appears between the two rows of columns on either side of the drummers' hall. The midday light helped define the detail in all the carvings. 

 

The roof of the Embekke Devalaya is a masterpiece in classic carpentry. The "Madol Kurupuwa", a wooden pin, is used to hold together 26 rafters at the hipped end of the roof. The pin is shown in the image below. 

The doors which lead into the main devalaya itself have two big brass locks. The first door is made of a dark heavy wood. The inner door is covered with a painting. 

  

The bells of the devalaya can be found between these two doors. I was unable to photograph the inner sanctum of the devalaya as it was closed when we got there. 

Legend of the Embekke Temple

In 14th century Sri Lanka there was a small village named Araththanna which was famous for producing dancers and drummers. In this village lived a drummer named Rangama who had a skin disease. He tried every possible medicine to try and rid himself of the skin disease but was unable to do so. He then decided to make the pilgrimage to Katharagam, in the southern part of Sri Lanka, to ask the god of Katharagama to cure him of his illness, promising to make the pilgrimage annually if he was successful. His illness was then cured and, as promised, he made the annual trip to Katharagama for several years.

After many years Rangama realised that he could not physically make the long journey to Katharagama and on his last pilgrimage, he prayed that he could no longer make his annual journey as he was too old. The god of Katharagama then spoke to him in his dreams and told him that in a few days a miracle would occur and gave him instructions on what he was to do.

There was a flower garden named Ambakka which belonged to queen Henakanda Bisobandara. A few days after Rangama returned from the south,  a gardener was trying to remove a "Kaduru" tree from the garden and he noticed that a stream of blood was flowing from where he had cut the tree. When Rangama heard of this, he went to the garden and started performing the rituals as instructed by god Katharagama. Rangama built a small temple around the tree and ever since it has been referred to as the Ambakka (Embekke) Devalaya.

When the King heard of this, he built a three story temple on the land and gave land and elephants as gifts to the temple.  Some of the queen's jewellery was also give to the temple as a gift.

To this day, the drummer's descendants are said to perform rituals at the temple.  

Anuradhapura in Black and White

Here are a few more images taken in the Western Monasteries area of Anuradhapura. For more info and images on the Western Monasteries, check out  http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/01/western-monasteries-anuradhapura.html. Other black and white images of Ruwanveliseya are available at http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/02/ruwanweliseya-anuradhapura-sri-lanka.html.

More images inside.

The shot above of the Moonstone was taken by my wife using a Canon 400D and a 50mm f1.8 lens. I feel that, apart from the composition, the leaves scattered around make the shot work. The black and white processing also helps to accentuate the details that have been carved in to the stone. I really like this shot and might get it framed at some point.

This shot was taken near the Samadhi Buddha statue. From Memory, I used the 400D and the 50mm f1.8 lens to capture these images. A creeper similar to the strangler fig had grown on the tree. I converted this image to black and white as I thought it would help define the carvings on the guard stones and steps as well as the roots of the creeper. I regret not having come across this place a bit earlier in the morning when the sun was a bit lower as the light would have been better for photography. I may have also been able to cut down on the blown highlights which are visible on the right hand side of the image.

This is an entrance to another building in the Western Monasteries complex. I took this shot with the 400D and the 50mm f1.8 lens. In hind sight I should have used a smaller aperture on this one in order to get a wider depth of field. This would have meant a longer shutter speed but I did have a tripod with me at the time! I'd love to head back to the Western Monasteries at some stage and spend a few days exploring and photographing the place.

Lankathilaka Viharaya, Kandy

 

The Lankathilaka temple, situated on the outskirts of Kandy, is one of the finest examples of Sinhalese temple architecture. More info and images inside.

 

The temple was completed in 1334 by king Buwanekabahu IV, who had chosen Gampola as his kingdom. The five kings who ruled from Gampola made significant contributions to art and culture. The Gadaladeniya and Embekke temples, which will be covered in future posts, are also from this period.

 

The Image house contains devales to the four guardian deities of the island, each with his consort. A Pali inscription can be found on the rock which the temple is built on and it is supposed to be a record of the valuable gifts given to craftsman who worked on the temple. The exterior of the image house is decorated with sculpted elephants and other decorative designs.

 

The arched passage of the image house leads into an inner sanctum which is decorated with floral designs. The two side walls and the ceiling are covered with paintings and the inner sanctum contains a huge statue of the seated Buddha under a "Makara Thorana". I was unable to go into the image house as the priest was not around and the image house was locked. However, I was able to take a few shots of the artwork that decorated the main door to the image house.

 

 

The shot below shows the wooden carvings found on one of the windows.