Dambulla City is situated at the center of the Cultural Triangle formed by the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka. Anuradapura from the North, Polonnaruwa from the North East, and Kandy from the South to the City. And close proximity to Sigiriya Rock in the North about 30 kilometers by modern roads. This location has been strategically important and been taken a vital role in the history of the country. Even today Dambulla is a center for tourist businesses such as hotels and guest houses and the economic hub for the farmers of the northern regions.
Places to Visit
Golden Rock Cave Temple
The hilly monastic complex had been existing since as early as the 4th century BCE. This was a forest meditation center, where there were about 80 natural caves around the main Dambulla bolder rock. Even today the monastery takes a leading part in the island’s Buddhist affairs as a part of the Mahaviharaya temple.
The caves are scattered in an area of about 50 acres. The temple caves have been located underneath an enormous rock outcropping nearly 500 feet in height from the surrounding plains, and the total length of the 5 caves is 2000 feet. The bolder’s elevation up to the summit is 1118 feet, and from the surrounding plains over 600 feet. Surrounded by the greenery plains of Kurunagala from the south and to the north by Ritigala mountains and magnificent Sigiriya Rock.
In the year 103 BCE, in the very early history of the Anuradhapura period, there was a sudden attack by seven south Indian leaders. Then King Watagamini Abhaya has no resistance but to flee away. The King setback, and then disappeared from the City of Anuradhapura. It is common history that he was hiding here in the caves of the Dambulla monastery under the guardian of the monastic elder Chief monk “Kupikkalamahatissa”. It took 14 years for King to demolish the invaders. The King finally attacked and killed the last leader who succeeded out of the seven invaders. And then he united the country again under the Lion flag. He ruled the country for 12 years in his second term from 89-76 BCE, crowned as King Walagamba.
He made a pledge for the enemy’s war victory depositing a promise to convert the caves into a beautiful image house of Buddha. That was the beginning of the present-day cave temple. According to folklore and tradition, cave number 4 and cave number 1 in orderly are the oldest among the 5 separate caves that exist here.
The massive large long natural cave had been separated by setting up walls in between when making newer temples by the 2 Kings of Polonnaruwa and Kandy periods.
The present name was added to the caves by King Kirthi Sri Nissankamalla when he rules the country from Polonnaruwa in the late 12th century (1187-1196 CE). He renovated the temple complex and added the second cave with many statues of Buddha images and an image of King Walagamba, including one statue of himself in a hidden place behind a Buddha statue. At the same time, he gilded all the Buddha statues and renamed as Golden Rock Cave Temple of Dambulla. Not only that but also applied beautiful murals on cave ceilings. This renovation may have been really needed at the time since it was after 13 centuries a long period after the cave temple was first founded.
A few centuries later, in the 17th century, King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (11th August 1747 – 2nd January 1782) of the Kandyan era, added a new separated image house, which is the third shrine room inline. At the time he renovated the whole temple including repainting the murals on ceilings and walls. And he replaced new statues of Buddha making the caves of infinite Buddha statues, most statues in the second cave had been replaced by new statues of the Kandyan style or the skills of the arts & craftsmen in the Kandyan period. Having great appreciation in my heart for all Kings and people in the past, I am proud to say that we have another Heritage that the world accepted as it is a World Heritage in 1991.
Each cave has a unique name, and I think these names are often derived from the daily practice of the devotees. The first small cave temple that you will find when you reach the sacred ground is a beautiful, spacious, and huge reclining Buddha statue, it has been calling as Devaraja Lena or in English “The Cave of the King of the Gods”. A fascinating huge Golden Statue of Lord Buddha is in a reclining posture depicting the last moment of the Lord King, so the people have been calling this cave “Devaraja Lena”. In the very large second cave between the caves inline, you can find the statues of 2 great kings. I think the devotees who came here may have called this cave “Maharaja Lena” or “Great Kings’ Cave” in memory of the Maharajas. The New Vihara of the Kandyan era is known as “Alut Maha Vihara” in Sinhala (New Big Temple). The other caves also have related names, the fourth cave is called the “Pachchima Viharaya”, which means western temple. The last cave is known as the “Second New Temple” and is said to have been built by a wealthy person in recent history.
By Eranga Suneth Jayasinghe
Rose Quartz Mountain – Namal Uyana National Park
The largest rose quartz mountain range in South Asia. This semi-precious gemstone mountain is situated at Jathika Namal Uyana in Galkiriyagama near Dambulla. There are seven mountains spanning over 972 hectares and are believed to be 500 million years old. These mountains are being protected and illegal to carry out even a little stone out of the reserve. Namal Uyana was declared a human sanctuary by King Dappula in the 10th century. It is probably the oldest recorded human sanctuary in the world. This meant that anyone fleeing their enemies, or even on the run from the King was entitled to sanctuary in this forest, which was under the control of Buddhist monks. Folklore suggests that the site was a sanctuary for even the worst of criminals whose punishment was to plant ironwood trees. The result that we can see today is 1005 hectares of ironwood that are endemic to Sri Lanka. Make the national forest reserve the largest planted ironwood forest in Asia.