Among the most iconic rock-cut sculptures of Sri Lanka, the so-called Leper King statue is the smallest one. However, it is richly decorated. The statue is surrounded by local legends. A foreign prince had been ailing from a skin disease, the name of which is "Kustha" (also transcribed "Kushta"). When he came to this place of the Agrabodhi Vihara, he was cured miraculously and therefore carved this beautiful image into the rock. However, though dressed in royal ornate, this statue most probably depicts a Mahayanist saviour, namly the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. This can be seen from the small reliefs in the hair crown, which depict the seated Buddha Amithaba just accooding to Mahayana Buddhist iconography. It's nevertheless uncommon, that Amithaba can not only be seen once in the crown. Instead of Avalokiteshvara,  the Mahayanist Bodhisattva Samanthabhadra is often assumed to be represented by this statue, as Samthabhadra has healing powers in particular. But the iconography of the statue does not resemble that of Samanthabhadra.

The Leper King statue alias Kustharaja or Kushtaraja statue is situated very close to Sri Lanka's very popular southern beach resort Weligama. Weligama and the nearby Mirissa have developed into surfing spots recently. The breaks are easy here and therefore perfect for beginners who take their first surfing classes. Apart from surfing, Mirissa is most famous for whalewatching.

Gal Viharaya literally translates to „rock monastery“. The name refers to Sri Lanka’s most famous group of rock-cut Buddha statues, which is part of the archaeological park of Polonnaruwa. Originally the rock images were part of image houses, for veneration inside shrine rooms. But the walls of those buildings almost disappeared. Now the rock scultures seem to be part more of a free-standing rock than of a temple. The original name of Gal Viharaya was Utthararama, which simply means Northern Monastery, as the location is at the northern end of Polonnaruwa’s main axis of edifices.

The Gal Viharaya group of rock-cut statues consists of a large seated sculpture in meditation posture, one more seated Buddha of smaller size inside an artificial cave room, a standing figure with an unsual Mudra gesture and a superb reclining figure depicting the death of the Buddha which is atttaining supreme Nirvana (Parinibbana). The decorations of the large seated Buddha show signs of Mahayana influence, whereas the Parinibbana-Buddha at the opposite end of the group highlights the Theravada character of the sanctuary.

The standing sculpture in between them is often said to depict the disciple Ananda, but it’s more likely, this is a Buddha statue, too, as it was venerated in a separate shrine room and therefore not part of the image house of the reclining Buddha. This arrangement would make little sense, if the standing sculpture was inteded to depict Ananda venerating the recling Buddha. The Svastika Mudra of the standing sculpture is a gesture of veneration. A Buddha usually is the most venerable being not venerating others. However, the Buddha can pay respect to symbols of Nirvana, for example he can be shown in a humble gesture in front of a Bo-tree. The Svastika gesture of veneration – often taken as indication that this is an Ananda image and not a Buddha image – may be rare, but it is not completely unknown of Buddha statues.


We have a comprehensive article on the Gal Vihara group of rock scilptures in Polonnaruwa here...

Dova rock temple, situated at the Badulu Oya between Bandarawela and Ella, is the only place in the highlands where a large rock-cut Buddha statue can be found. It is unfinished and weathered, but well recognizable. Dova is an ancient rock temple in the first place. The painted caves are somewhat gaudy, but include many traditional motivs of Kandy paintings and dozens of Buddha statues. The Dova rock temple is said to be fiunded in King Valagambha's era. The Dova temple also owns a Bo-Tree terrace and two ancient stupas, one of which is situated inside the rock temple as mentioned earlier. More about Dova rock temple here...

There is a rather unknown small heritage attraction near the holiday beaches of Weligama at Sri Lanka's south coast. a rock-cut sculpture called Leper King. Although only 3 meters in height, this is an excellent rock-cut sculpture from the late Anuradhapura period. Local tradition gas it, that this is the statue of a king who had recovered from leprosy by drinking coconut milk for three months. More likely, it depicts a Mahayana Buddhist saviour, most probably Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Read more about the Leper King statue near Weligama here...

Asked for the most rewarding destinations in Sri Lanka, our shortlist would definitely include Pidurangala. Pidurangala rock is the smaller brother of the world-famous Sigiriya lion rock. Of course, Sigiriya is even more amazing than Pidurangala. However, almost every traveller knows Sigiriya, thus it is a little bit crowded and therefore has a mass tourism touch. In contrast, Pidurangala is almost undisturbed and therefore gives you the impression of being an explorer.

There is a lot to see in Pidurangala. In the plains you can find ruins of a typical monastic complex from the late Anuradhapura period. Furthermore, at the bottom of the rock is a modern monastery with some ancient cave temples in the typical Kandy style. Climbing the hill, you will see a series of natural rock shelters. They were significant finding places of remnants of a prehistoric culture. Pidurangala’s main attractions are higher above the ground. The jungle path leads to one rock shelter occupied by a huge brick sculpture of a recumbent Buddha from the Sigiriya period. Morning hours are the best time to visit it when the sunlight reaches the lonesome sculpture. From here you can climb the very top of Pidurangala rock, which is an even more phantastic vantage point than Sigiriya, although not of the same altitude. But try it to find out: We do not exaggerate. Pidurangala has the best panoramic view in the entire Cultural Triangle area.

Since it has been reerected in the 1990s, the marvellous Maligawila Buddha statue is the largest free-standing figure of the Buddha from Sri Lanka’s antiquity. The limestone statue, which is most likely from the 7th century, has been found lying on the ground and broken in pieces as late as in the early 1950s. Several attempts to reerect it failed, but now it can be seen in ist ancient glory again. Concerning artistic quality, the Maligawila Buddha statue is one of the three best ancient giant Buddhas in standing posture, the other ones being the Aukana Buddha and the Gal Vihara statue from Polonnaruwa. Did you know, that one of the most comprehensive articles on Maligawila can be found nowhere else than on our website. Find it here...

Within the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka, the Avukana Buddha (also spelt Aukana Buddha) is the largest ancient statue in standing position. The statue is about 12 m tall. Most probably, it was carved out of a granite rock face during the late Anuradhapura period (8th to 10th century), although it is often attributed to King Dhatusena (5th century), who actually constructed the nearby Kalawewa reservoir. The Avukana statue is famous for the elaborately carved robe, which is tightly worn showing the shape of the body. The gesture of the right hand with the palm directing forward is quite rare, it is called Asisa Mudra. The Avukana Buddha seems to be three-dimensional, despite the fact that it the back is connected with the rock surface by a narrow strip. The statue is praised as one of the best examples of a standing Buddhas from the ancient period.

Learn more about the Avukana Buddha here...

Buduruvagala at the southern foot of the central highlands, situated about 7 km southeast of Wellawaya, is a group of seven rock-hewn Buddhist statues. Actually, it’s the largest such complex with the tallest rock-cut Buddha sculpture in Sri Lanka (16 m), though Gal Vihara in Pollonaruwa is more artistic and more impressive. The Mahayana inspired statues of Buduruvagala date back to the 9th or 10th century. Despite Sri Lanka’s Buddhist records and self-perception that it has been a Theravada Buddhist country since the introduction of the religion, Mahayana was present on the island during most of ist history, particulary during the second half of the first millennium. The art oft the south of the island from that period is predominantly Mahayanistic.

The tallest statue, which is in the very centre, depicts a Buddha, presumably the Buddha Dipankara, who is the first Buddha known by name. The other six statues are arranged in two groups of three symmetrically. The high crowns signify they are Bodhisattvas.

The central of the three figures to the Dipakara Buddha's right is saviour Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of compassion. He wears a high crown. This is the figure with the best preserved coloured stucco in Buduruvagala.

To the left of this white painted figure is the only female figure of the group, depicting Tara, the embodiment of Avalokiteshvara’s compassion. This is Sri Lankas only ancient rock-cut statue which represents a female.

The third figure to Avolokiteshvara’s right cannot be identified with certainty. It could represent Bhrikuti in such a group of three, but it’s not indicated as female. Another assumption is that this smaller figure represents Prince Sumedha, a traveller searching for wisdom who is the main character of a Mahayanistic sutra.

The crowned figure at the centre of the other group is Bodhisattva Maitreya, who is also venerated as the future Buddha in Theravada Buddhism. His Pali name is Metteya.

Several of the statues hold up their right hands with two fingers bent down to the palm, this beckoning gesture known as Katamukha Mudra is very common in Buddhist art of southern Sri Lanka.

To his left stands Vajrapani, easily identifiable, as he holds a vajra, a thunderbold scepter in the form of an hourglass. This tatnric symbol is very uncommon in Sri Lanka’s art and otherwise never depicted at rock-cut statues on the island.

The other figure, which has the most delicately carved face of all seven statues, is presumably the Bodhisattva Manjushri.

Some of the statues still bear traces of stucco and colour, indicating that the robes were originally stuccoed and painted.   

Beside the tall statue in the centre, there is a carved hole in the shape of a flame. The inside wall of this carved shape is said to be wet and to smell like mustard oil. The occurence of the smell is considered to be a miracle, as there is no  explainable source of oil at the rock.

The modern name ‚Buduruvagala‘ is derived from the words for Buddha (Budu), image (ruva) and stone (gala). The original name of the temple is unknown.

Our website is proud to present the most comprehensive online article on Buduruvagala. Check here...

In the decades after independecen, several new giant Buddha statues have been built in Sri Lanka, surpassing the ancient ones in size but not in quality. One of the earliest and still the largest of this modern sculptures is not far from the south coast and easy to reach. The 50m tall seated Buddha figure of the Wewurukannala Viharaya is is situated 1 km inland from Dikwella, towards Beliatta. The temple was founded in the Landyan period. The accessway to the new huge Buddha statue is called the tunnel of hell, a gaudy hall of graphic life-sized models of hell’s demons punishing sinners. A temple museum is atteached to the multi-storey house of the seated Buddha staute, too. A large clock was built by a local craftsman in 1926.

More about Wewurukannala...

Although Sasseruwa, also known as Raswehera or Rasvehera, is mentioned in many pocketguides, it’s still a less-frequented heritage site, due to its remote location far away from main roads.  Sasseruwa is a remarkable site worth visiting for several reason. It’s both a  cultural and natural attraction. The ancient monastery is part of a modern wildlife sanctuary. Elephants can often be observed in the protected area of Rasvehera. The archaeological site is a typical complex of cave temples with statues and paintings from the Kandyan period and one extraordinary attraction, one of Sri Lanka’s largest rock-carved Buddha statues. It is often called the twin brother of the nearby Aukana Buddha. Actually, the Sasseruwa Buddha somewhat different in style and not of such high artistic quality as the Aukana Buddha. But for travellers, it’s also the surrounding that matters. In contrast to the Aukana Buddha, which is surrounded by modern buildings, the Sasseruwa Buddha stands at a rock surface high above ground level and far away from any disturbing noises. Sasseruwa is one of the most rewarding destinations in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle indeed.

More about the Sasseruwa Buddha and Raswehera monastery...