Barandiya Kovil - Hindu temple of Sri Lanka's ancient capital Sitavaka

The Barandiya Kovil, also known as Berendi Kovil, Barandi Koovila or nicknamed Brandy Kovil, is the only stone monument that remains from Sri Lanka’s 16th century Sitavaka kingdom. It’s disputed whether the Hindu temple is from the Sitavaka period or earlier and if it was ever completed. 
Bandariya Kovil of Sitavaka near Avissawella
The Bandariya Kovil near Avissawela is rarely visited, though the nearby A7 main road is used by large numbers of travellers, as it is the only link between the southwestern beach resorts and the river valley of Kitulgala, which is famous as Sri Lanka’s number one destination for white water radting and adventure holidays. Only foundation walls remain of the 16th century temple that was perhaps never finalized. Anyway, the sanctuary was finally devastated by Portuguese invaders. Nevertheless, the Bandariya Kovil, also known as Barandi Kovila or Berendi Koil, is worth a short break, as these are the only architectural remnants of the kingdom of Sitavaka (Seethawaka), which played a major role in the island’s history in the 16th century. Furthermore, this was the only Sinhalese royal temple that was Hindu and not Buddhist.  

Location of Barandiya Kovil near Seethawaka

Of the ancient monuments built of stone, the Barandiya Kovil is the one which is situated closest to Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. Though situated very close to Avissawella alias Seethawaka or Sitawaka, the archaeological site belongs to a suburb known as Talduwa. It’s situated on the right side of a southern tributary of the large Kelani river, just opposite the city. Actually, the other river side is already part of Sabaragamuwa Province, whereas Avissawella is the easternmost town of the Western Provinve. Taking the main road A7 to Kitulgala, branching off from the Colombo-Ratnapura road A7 just in the town centre, the said tributary river will be crossed after about after 800 meters. Only 200m behind the bridge, there is a branch road to the richt, leading to the parking lot at the small park of Barandiya Kovil. Actually, the archaeological site is signposted at the A7 main road. But unfortunately the board can only be seen when approaching from Kitulgala. It could easily be missed when arriving from Avissawella. The small deadlock road to Barandiya Kovil is only 150 m long.

Architecture of Barandiya Kovil

picturesquely situated Barandiya Kovil near Seethawaka
The ruins of the Barandiya temple are picturesquely located on a hillock, with beautiful palm trees surrounding the well-kept green, overlooking the first foothills of the highlands. Also in this respect, the archaeological site is worth a break, when you pass Avissawela. The small park is fenced. Usually, the door will be locked up soon after the arrival of travellers interested in visiting the site. An overseer seems to be around and noticing when visitors show up.

Though not imposing any more, the Barandiya Kovil is actually the most significant monument of the Sitavaka period and therefore one of the most important non-colonial archaeological sites from Sri Lanka’s early modern period. The term ‘Kovil’, which is otherwise used for Tamil temples, indicates that this was a Hindu sanctuary. It is believed the Barandiya temple he was dedicated to Bhairava, which is the most terrifying manifestation of Shiva.
One might therefore assume, that is is from the period of King Rajasingha of Sitawaka, when the Buddhist clergy was persecuted and and Buddhist monasteries were destructed, as this king converted to Shaivism. However, the Barandiya Kovil is building commenced by his father Mayadunne, who harboured no hostility towards Buddhism. Rather, Hindu cults had played an increasingly important role within the Buddhist state cult since the 13th century. Despite of this, it was quite uncommon that a Sinhalese temple was dedicated to Lord Shiva, as this specific Hindu deity, unlike Vishnu or Indra, was otherwise not held in high veneration in in Sri Lankan Buddhism.

During the Portuguese raids on the capital Sitavaka, this temple was vandalized repeatedly. Afterwards, it was restored under King Rajasingha, the said Sinhalese king preferring Hinduism over Buddhism. But overall, the construction may never have been completed.
stone carvings at Barandiya Hindu temple in Sri Lanka
As said, the remains of the ancient structure are not spectacular, only the foundations are preserved. The decoration is sparse. However, some elements of the original sculptural art can still be seen. First and foremost, the reliefs depict fertility symbols which are typical of Sinhala art, such as tendrils. This kind of ornament is also known from Buddhist temples.

One of these most common relief motifs of Sinhalese art also include small grimaces, from whose mouth grow two tendrils that form an arched shape. This so-called Makarana-Torana, however, is usually much larger than these decoration elements, as it mostly known as framing entrance doors of Buddhist and Hindu buildings in Sri Lanka and also in India.
stone reliefs at the ancient Hindu temple of the Sitavaka period
The most important symbol of fertility in classical Sinhalese art, inspired by the religious symbolism of Indian art, is the Purnagatha, also known as Kumbakasala. From this so-called vessel of abundance the wishful Kalpalata grows into the sky, carrying with it the earthly wishes.

The stone blocks used for the construction of the Barandiya Kovil are impressively large, the layout of the temple structure is plain and well proportioned. The outer walls were largely unadorned, as it is typical of classical Sinhalese architecture, in contrast to the abundance of adornments of Indian temples. Jowever, the architectural design is emphasized by niches and pilaster.

Seethawaka Kingdom

The origin of an independent principality later known as the kingdom of Sitavaka (Seethawaka) is the was that King Vijayabahu of Kotte was overthrown by his three sons in 1521. The eldest son ascended the throne in Kotte as Bhuvenaikabahu VII, rewarding his two brothers, who had supported him in the rebellion, by granting them their own principalities. The youngest of those three brothers, Mayadunne, received Sitavaka in the interior of the country, just in between the coastal area and the mountains. Sitawaka’s core region is the present-day province of Sabaragamuwa. But in the course of the 16, it developed into the major powerhouse of Sinhalese independence, controlling the largest part of the island and becoming the main threat to the Portuguese stronghold Colombo.   

Soon, a conflict arose between the two royal brothers in Kotte and Sitavaka, regarding the issue of cinnamon trading and politics towards the Europeans. Bhuvenaikabahu VII entered into a trade partnership and even into a military alliance with the Portuguese, who supplanted their peaceful predecessors and competitors in Indian maritime trade, the Muslim Arabs and Persians, by the use of military force. Mayadunne, the king of Sitavala, continued to favour and support the Muslim traders against the Portuguese. Mayadunne was repeatedly threatening to conquer Kotte and besieged it. His forces could only be pushed back with Portuguese help. The confrontation with the colonial power escalated and became a more direct one, when his succession to the throne in Kotte was thwarted by the Portuguese, who preferred to have their own puppet ruler installed.

King Rajasingha of Seethawaka

Rajasingha, Mayadunne’s son orignall named Tikiri Bandara, ascended the throne officially only after his father’s death in 1581. However, Rajasingha had already been the army commander prior to that and was a kind of co-regent in the last decade of his Mayadunne’s reign. As a military leader, he earned the honorific title ‘Rajasingha’ (also transcribed ‘Rajasinghe’ or ‘Rajasinha’), which literally translates to ‘king lion’. This was due to the battle of Mulleriyawa, which was the most desastrous defeat Portuguese soldiers suffered on land in Asia. It was Rajasingha’s military leadership that secured hegemony of Sitavaka over most territories of Sri Lanka, it was is control of the entire interior of the island ecxept from the very north and east and the fort of Colombo. Rajasingha even built his own fleet to break the naval supremacy of the Portuguese, in order to prevent supplies to Colombo from the sea. But this attempt finally filled due to naval support from Goa.

Though Rajasingha can be considered to have been a kind of Sinhalese resistance fighter against the Portuguese, he was not popular among his subordinated at that point in time. He was downright hated due to the tax collections required to finance  his wars. Prefereng Shaivism over the traditional Buddhist religion of the island was another reason for his lack of popularity those days and why he is held in low esteem by today’s Sinhalese people. In Buddhist historiography, Rajasingha of Sitavaka is depicted as a villain. He is even suspected of having committed patricide. His animosity towards Buddhism is explained by stories of Buddhist monks criticising his offenses. Actually, Rajasingha seems to be one of the very rare examples of Sinahlese monarchs deliberately repressing Buddhism. The trigger may indeed have been a controversy with the clergy, though less for religious than political reasons, namely power struggles. Rajasingha also quarreled with his most important minister. After these internal conflicts, his conversion from Buddhism to Shaivism took place in an ostentatious manner. This is uncommon indeed. There were several other monarchs with a Hindu background in the history of Sri Lanka. However, those other rulers did not attemt to suppress Buddhism, quite the contrary, they did not treat it as a rivalling religion. Rather, they continued to protect and sipport the Buddhist Order as a major element of the country's traditional structure of governance. Rajasingha is a striking counter-example in this respect.

The king died not a violent, but a tragic death. When departing from Kandy after fighting a war against the hill kingdom seeking independence, Rajasingha accidentally stepped into a bamboo splinter with his foot and died from blood poisoning. After the demise of Rajasingha, Sitavaka no longer played a prominent role among the native and foreign powers on the island. Instead, Kandy became the new stronghold of Sinhaelese independence against colonial rule soon afterwards.