Nalanda Gedige

Nalanda Gedige is an ancient complete stone temple near Matale, Sri Lanka, and its original location is considered Sri Lanka’s geographical center. The structure was built between the eighth and tenth centuries with dravidian architecture in the Pallava style and is thought to have been used by Buddhists. A pillar inscription discovered at the site from the 9th to 10th centuries A.D. revealed that Nalanda Gedige was a Buddhist monastery. It is written in Sinhala and includes a code of regulations for the temple. [4] According to some scholars, this structure is a Dravidian architecture dedicated to a Mahayana cult with pronounced Tantric learning and is known as an ancient monument with possible Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhist affinities.

Nalanda Gedige is styled after a Hindu temple, complete with a mandapa, an entrance hall (originally roofed), a short passage to a bare cello, and an ambulatory around the holy centre. Within the temple, only a few of the original Hindu deity statuettes remain; however, a statue of the God Kubera appears on the south side of the tympanum over the sanctuary, a feature unique to Sri Lanka.

The richly decorated facade sections, which were painstakingly reassembled in 1975, are primarily in the South Indian style. Although they cannot be precisely dated, they are thought to have originated between the eighth and eleventh centuries.

History of Nalanda Gedige

This structure was constructed over 1,000 years ago. This was a time of great turmoil on the island, with South Indian kings establishing themselves in the aftermath of the Sinhalese monarchy’s demise. It’s possible that Nalanda Gedige was a daring attempt at fusing Sinhalese cultures.

The history of Nalanda Gedige as an archaeological site began in 1893, when “land was acquired round this little-known and solitary shrine of granite construction, popularly styled gedige,” according to then Archaeological Commissioner H. C. P. Bell. It is set on elevated ground in paddy fields, surrounded by low hills and wooded hamlets. In 1911, a small gang was detached from the Sigiriya labour force to thoroughly root out all the jungle growth on and around the ruin, as well as to cut even further back the earth silt concealing the bold stylites upon which the fane stands

This one-of-a-kind temple holds special significance because it is the only example in Ceylon of composite architectural styles skillfully blended to form a delightfully homogeneous edifice.

Bell also intended to demolish and relocate the entire structure to a more suitable location. He had the impression that the temple was in a perilous location; an elevated area that could collapse at any time, causing irreversible damage to Nalanda Gedige. His plans, however, did not come to fruition until many years later, after he had left his position as Archaeological Commissioner.

The waters of the newly constructed Bowatenne Tank threatened to flood the shrine in the 1980s. As a result, researchers took advantage of the opportunity to dismantle the ruin and rebuild it on the tank’s retaining wall, high above the waters. It was rebuilt alongside the tank and is now accessible via a flower-edged causeway with a magnificent backdrop of tree-clad hills.

“There are plenty of Hindu buildings, plenty of Buddhist buildings, and some muddled mongrels elsewhere, but here the styles are intertwined.” The ground plan is Buddhist, the vestibule is pure Hindu, and the little windowless shrine is Tamilian; the plain moonstone and crocodile balustrade and rivers of dwarfs and architrave of the doorway are Sinhalese, and jambs are Tamilian; even the sculptures are fairly shared. The overall effect is charming and unexpectedly classical for me, and I did not find the exterior “over-richly decorated,” as Bell did, despite the fact that it is crowded with pilasters and horseshoe false windows and more jolly dwarfs. And the dome must have been a worthy climax when all four faces were present, each with a horseshoe niche and a statue, rather than the one that was discovered.”