Image of The Buddha, Sri Lanka

Reflecting serenity and peace , the images of the Buddha are found all over Sri Lanka. Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in  250 BCE   and became the national religion of the Sinhalese from that date.

This image is from Gal Vihara otherwise known as  Uttararama , a rock-cut temple in the ancient city of Polannaruwa in SriLanka which was built in 12th CE under the patronage of the king Parakramabahu  I.  A small statue only 4 feet 7 inches (1.40 m) in height, it is located inside the artificial cave named the Vidyhadhara Guha. The base of the lotus shaped seat of the Buddha image is decorated with designs of lions. A throne and a parasol are carved behind the Dyana mudra Buddha, A prabhamandala, or halo, is carved behind the head of the statue, which rests between two four-armed deities. The walls of the cave were once decorated with frescoes, traces of which remain in the two corners at the back of the cave.

The monumental images in Gal Vihara  have been carved out of a single, large granite rock face and are  among the best examples of the rock carving and sculpting arts of the ancient Sri Lanka.

Buddhism was brought from India  in the 3rd BCE, where it had been established by Siddhartha Gautama three centuries earlier. The powerful Indian monarch, Asoka, patronised  the religio-philosophical system  that Buddhism  presented. Asoka’s empire, which extended over most of India, supported one of the most vigorous missionary enterprises in history.

The Buddhist tradition of chronicling events has aided the verification of historical figures. One of most important of these figures was King Devanampiya Tissa (250-c. 207 B.C.). According to the Mahavamsa, Asoka’s son and emissary to Sri Lanka, Mahinda, introduced the monarch to Buddhism. Devanampiya Tissa became a powerful patron of Buddhism and established the monastery of Mahavihara, which became the historic centre of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka.