CHAPTER XV

A NECKLET OF ARCHITECTURE

ON emerging from the citadel boundary the splendid group of buildings which lies in the very heart of the city is seen ahead, standing up on a raised platform, but before reaching any of them attention is arrested by a comparatively humble little temple, in Hindu style, of one storey only.

This is so satisfactory to the eye in its proportions and general outlines that it seems natural to sit down and study it carefully. Popularly known as the Dalada Maligawa, the Tooth Temple, this little gem of architecture is officially called Siva Devalé, No. 1, being undoubtedly Hindu in its origin, though it may possibly for a while have given shelter to the much-revered Tooth. Devalé means a temple in which devils or demons are worshipped.

At Polonnaruwa the constantly growing ascendancy of the Hindu religion over the purer Buddhist belief is noticeable everywhere. As the swarms of invaders from South India grew greater, and as each receding tide left behind individuals who settled down and brought their own beliefs and habits to influence the dwellers in the land, Buddhism lost some of its distinctive peculiarities and

the gods of the Hindus were more and more worshipped in its temples.

"The architecture of this handsome ruin is markedly Dravidian (Southern Indian); not a finer example exists in Ceylon.

"How did a shrine so manifestly self-declared a temple of uncompromising Hindu design and worship-that moreover of its most antagonistic cult Saivism-ever acquire the appellation of Dalada Maligawa?

"Can the devalé . . . have been for a season allowed to receive and shelter the sacred tooth pending its permanent lodgment in a Buddhist shrine worthy of its sanctity? If so-the hypothesis is just possible, but assuredly not morethe tradition may have clung to the structure and been handed on down to the present day unquestioned. And at that we may leave it." (1907 Report.)

There is a strong barbed-wire fence around the area in which the temple stands; this is to keep out the wild beasts of the forest, who have done as much damage to some of these beautiful shrines as ever the rank growth of vegetation has. The precaution is not unnecessary even now, though the increased number of visitors is driving the wild things ever further and further afield.

When Major Forbes visited Polonnaruwa in 1828, he discovered that

"bears in numbers find shelter amongst these ruins, and this sanctuary [Siva Devalé] had only been vacated by some of them on hearing the noise of our approach. The guides, although armed with

axes, as they advanced to the entrance often looked uneasily around, and requested that our guns might be kept in readiness. Before entering the building, the guide, standing on one side of the doorway, put forward his head and gave a loud call; after a sufficient pause to admit of any brother bruin, who might be within, to answer the summons, or appear in person, we were permitted to enter."

The style of the temple can better be gathered from the illustration (p. 192) than from any description. The innermost shrine is roofed, and the carved capitals of the pillars in the outer one are worth noting. On the exterior south wall is a tiny panel showing a learned guru, or teacher, distinguished by his high cap, seated in conference with a pupil.

At this temple in 1907 some bronze images of great beauty were unearthed; the finest is of Siva as the "Cosmic dancer" dancing in a ray of fire. This is about three feet high and of most beautiful workmanship; it can be seen, with the rest, in the Colombo museum. It is the opinion of an expert, Mr. Ananda Coomaraswamy, D.Sc., that these bronzes may have been cast in Ceylon, but belong to the South Indian school.1

Reluctantly leaving behind this singularly attractive little temple we pass on to a group of buildings so original, differing so much from one another, and showing so much imagination in design, that it is safe to say there is nothing like them elsewhere in the world.

The wall which upholds and bounds the plat1 Description of the Bronzes of Ceylon.

form on which they stand has been repaired; we mount it by a flight of steps, near a deep well. High above rises the magnificent temple Thuparama, of the twelfth century, completely Hindu in design. This, before it was taken in hand by the Survey authorities, was in a lamentable state, and it was doubtful whether it could be saved; but difficulties have been overcome, and it now stands proudly, with vaulted roof, tower, and walls complete. For Hindu architecture it is singularly simple, and lacks the superfluity of ornament which so often spoils such work. In this the Buddhist influence may be traced. The exterior is decorated by pilasters forming panels in which are raised in relief models of Hindu temple entrances; these, with plain mouldings and a string course and lion frieze, are almost all the ornament. The walls are of immense thickness, and on going inside the comparative smallness of the interior is instantly noticed. The outer chamber is roofless; from it an interior stairway ascends to the parapet and the roof of the inner shrine. In this shrine are several images of Buddha. There is very little to note, and perhaps the greatest interest lies in the superb view from the summit, whence can be seen the rest of the buildings in this strange group, including that unique monument the Wata-dagé.

This name means "Circular Relic-house," and it is quite probable that this was the real Dalada Maligawa built by Parakrama the Great :

"A round temple of the tooth-relic, built wholly of stone and adorned with beautiful pillars, stair