Hanguranketa - Kandyan residence and colonial period temple of books
Hanguranketa, situated 30 km southeast of Kandy, served as safe haven of the Sacred Tooth, when Kandy came under attack by colonial forces. The Pothgul Maliga Rajamaha Viharaya, built in 1830, is today's main attraction. It contains a library with a huge collection of palm-leaf manuscripts.
(photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
Hanguranketa was once a kind of secondary residence of the Kandyan kings. To put is more precisely: It was their major hideaway during periods of turmoil, particularly when Portuguese or Dutch forces attacked Kandy, and also a preferred residency of some kings. Regrettably, almost nothing can be seen from the former royal palace in Hanguranketa any more, as it was systematically destroyed by the British. Nevertheless, Hanguranketa is worth visiting, as the Buddhist temple called Pothgul Vihara (‚Scriptures Monastery‘), which was constructed during the British colonial period, is somewhat special due to its unique layout, the main sanctuary is a verandah building. The upper storey of the large gatehouse contains a museum and the namegiving library. Apart from the Pothgul Vihara, Hanguranketa harbours two Hindu shrines worth seeing, one for Kataragama and one for Pattini, two of the four principal deities of the Kandy kingdom.
Location of Hanguranketa
Hanguranketa is located 30 kilometers southeast of Kandy. Leaving Kandy eastbound via the A26, instead of crossing the bridge over the Mahaweli, just stay on the right side of the river, driving first to the south and then to the east. This road leads to Mahiyangana, too, but running through the river valley instead of taking the shortcut through the mountains via Hunnasgiriya. The first part of the valley is occupied by the Victoria Reservoir, the deeply cut creeks of which require long windings of the road. The natural setting is dominated by original bush-like mountain forest, whereas tea plantations are rarely seen in this part of the hill country between Kandy and Hanguranketa. Instead, the preferred crop of this region is tobacco. After about 25 kilometers the road to Mahiyanaga branches off to the right. The next part of the road, though winfing, is actually an old avenue, which was already planted by the Kandyan kings.
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History of Hanguranketa
Among Sri Lankas cities in the highlands, Hanguranketa can look back on a relatively long history. An inscription of Queen Lilavati, dating around 1200, was found here. Lilavati was the wife of Polonnaruwa’s most famous king, Parakramabahu I, who after his demise, at times reigned herself during the turbulent last decades of the Polonnaruwa period.
The founder of the town of Hanguranketa was King Senerath (1604-35), the second king of the Sinhalese highland kingdom that managed to shake off Portuguese overlordship. Senerath, a cousin of the king, came to the throne by marriage of the once baptized Donna Catherina, who had been the consort of his predecessor Vimaladharmasuriya, whose own sons were underaged at that point in time. Vimaladharmusuriya had been actual founder of the Kandyan kingdom (although it had existed as a highland principality already since about a century). Senerath secured the royal power for his own offspring by depriving the children of Vimaladharmasuriyas of their legal rights, though he formerly reigned . As they also died soon after the appointmend of Senerath’s own son as the heir apparent, there are rumours that they were in fact killed on behalf of Senerath.
Senerath’s successor, Rajasingha II (1635-87), was his own son with Donna Catherina. Rajasingha II is Sri Lanka’s by far most significant king of the 17th century not only due his long reign, but also because he managed to succeeded in driving out the Portuguese from the lowlands by winning the Dutch as his allies. However, when he became aware that the Dutch established only their own colonial rule instead of meeting their promises to hand back the harbours to the king, he became a strong adversary of Dutch rule, too. Rajasingha II sought refuge in Hanguranketa several times, when Kandy was raided by raids of the Europeans or by internal Kandyan revolts supported by them. It was Rajasingha II who established the veritable second residence in Hanguranketa, including a Sacred Tooth Temple and adjacent Hindu Devales. Rajasingha also ordered the construction of a reservoir, which irrigates the paddy fields of Hanguranketas to date. By the way, his famous British prisoner Robert Knox, whose adventurous travel report about his time in Kandy became one of the most important sources about that Sinhala mountain kingdom, spent a considerable portion of his years in Sri Lanka in Hanguranketa instead of Kandy, being treated as a guest by Rajasingha II at times. Robert Knox reports, for example, contain a detailed description of the palace in Hanguranketa.
Narendrasingha (1707-39) too chose Hanguranketa as his royal palace on certain occasion. The first king of the subsequent Nayakkar dynasty of Southindian origin, Sri Vijaya Rajasingha (1739-47), had formerly been the first custodian of the royal treasure of King Narendrasingha, which was kept in Hanguranketa. After his disputed accession to the throne, Sri Vijaya Rajasingha was even called "King of Hanguranketa", as he preferred to stay there most of the time of his brief reign.
His brother-in-law and successor, Kirthi Sri Rajasingha (1747-82), became most famous Kandyan king of the 18th century, earning a reputaion as great reformer of the Buddhist order. Just like previous kings, Kirthi Sri Rajasingha had to flee to Hanguranketa during a turbulent period of his reign. In 1760, the lowlands faced an uprising against the tax burdens and the expropriation of peasants who had violated the cultivation monopolies of the Dutch. As the revolt was supported by the Kandyan kingdom, Dutch troops advanced against Kandy. Right from the beginning, their campaign turned out to be difficult, as the Sinhalese forces utilized a guerrilla tactic in the mountenous areas. It was during this period that a British delegation visited Kandy for the first time. The king hoped to win them as allies against the Dutch, but he did not succeed in these efforts, as the British shied away from provoking the Dutch in that period. In 1765, the Dutch Governor van Eck then succeeded in capturing Kandy by personally leading two armies. As so often, however, the foreigners failed to keep Kandy under their control for a longer period of time, as the Sinhalese fighters managed to interrupt the lines of supply. Van Eck died only a few days after his return to Colombo. It was during the the Dutch looting of the capital Kandy that King Kirti Sri Rajasingha sought refuge in Hanguranketa, taking with him the national palladium, the sacred tooth relic. He was chased by a Dutch unit, but they had to return empty-haned, as the permanent guerrilla attacks weakened them.
In 1803, with the help of Malaysian mercenaries, British troops advanced to Kandy for the first time. Again the then king, Sri Vikrama Rajasingha (1798-1815), fled to Hanguranketa, along with his PM Pilimathalawa and all other noble families, leaving Kandy almost depopulated to the British. The invaders installed a new puppet king, Muttasami. But due to the lack of local support for Muttasami, the British garrison left behind tuned out to be too small in size to keep control. All foreign soldiers but one were killed by the Sinhalese. King Sri Vikrama Rajasingha is said to have become increasingly tyrannical after 1803, perhaps due to a mental illness. But this is disputed. All previous Kandyan kings had been cruel, too. The last king only was less succesfull in overcoming all rebellions that were supported by foreign powers. However, almost all the noblemen who once had accompanied him during the period of his refuge in Hanguranketa later on fell victim to King Sri Vikrama Rajasingha’s acts of violence. This is why his first minister, Pilimatalawa then conspired with the British and almost succeeded in ousting the king. But he was decapitated before usurping power in Kandy. It was under his successor Ehepola that the British finally occupied Kandy permanently, with the support of the Sinhalese highland nobility who wanted to get rid of the king.
But even after the British takeover of the entire island, Hanguranketa once again became the hideaway of the Tooth Relic in a period Sinhalese resistance, namely during the so-called Uva rebellion, which was a last attempt to reestablish a Kandyan kingdom. The relic, of high significance as the Sinhalese palladium, was successfully brought from the British-controlled Kandy to Hanguranketa for safekeeping in 1818. The Sinhalese insurgents were led by the monk Wariyapola Sri Sumangala. The news of having the Tooth Relic in the rebels‘s ownership motivated further uprisings in other districts. But merely by accident, the national relic soon afterwards fell back into the hands of the colonial troops, who – almost unknowingly in the beginning – thereby gained the prestige of being the legitimate rulers of the island. The Uva rebellion was crushed down by the British in a way that can be called a genocide in Uva Province. Hanguranketa also suffered severely. The glory of the royal past of Hanguranketa came to a sudden end. The royal palace was wiped out from the surface of the earth. In today's Hanguranketa, the former splendor of a royal residence is barely recognizable. The only remnants of former royal palace are some ground walls and stumps of columns scattered in rice terraces called Vadhana Paya, they are located below the restored reservoir.
Hanguranketa’s main attraction, the Buddhist temple known as Pothgul Vihara, dates back to a rebuilding programme initiated by Jeronis of De Soysa, even though he had converted to Christianity. He was a scion of one of Sri Lanka's richest families of the British colonial era. De Soysa appointed a monk named Doratiyawe Attadassi Thero as the new abbot of the monastery. The even more famous son, Sir Charles Henry de Soysa, a typical nineteenth-century philanthropist, grew up in Hanguranketa, since his father was the owner of the plantations in this area.
The founder of the town of Hanguranketa was King Senerath (1604-35), the second king of the Sinhalese highland kingdom that managed to shake off Portuguese overlordship. Senerath, a cousin of the king, came to the throne by marriage of the once baptized Donna Catherina, who had been the consort of his predecessor Vimaladharmasuriya, whose own sons were underaged at that point in time. Vimaladharmusuriya had been actual founder of the Kandyan kingdom (although it had existed as a highland principality already since about a century). Senerath secured the royal power for his own offspring by depriving the children of Vimaladharmasuriyas of their legal rights, though he formerly reigned . As they also died soon after the appointmend of Senerath’s own son as the heir apparent, there are rumours that they were in fact killed on behalf of Senerath.
Senerath’s successor, Rajasingha II (1635-87), was his own son with Donna Catherina. Rajasingha II is Sri Lanka’s by far most significant king of the 17th century not only due his long reign, but also because he managed to succeeded in driving out the Portuguese from the lowlands by winning the Dutch as his allies. However, when he became aware that the Dutch established only their own colonial rule instead of meeting their promises to hand back the harbours to the king, he became a strong adversary of Dutch rule, too. Rajasingha II sought refuge in Hanguranketa several times, when Kandy was raided by raids of the Europeans or by internal Kandyan revolts supported by them. It was Rajasingha II who established the veritable second residence in Hanguranketa, including a Sacred Tooth Temple and adjacent Hindu Devales. Rajasingha also ordered the construction of a reservoir, which irrigates the paddy fields of Hanguranketas to date. By the way, his famous British prisoner Robert Knox, whose adventurous travel report about his time in Kandy became one of the most important sources about that Sinhala mountain kingdom, spent a considerable portion of his years in Sri Lanka in Hanguranketa instead of Kandy, being treated as a guest by Rajasingha II at times. Robert Knox reports, for example, contain a detailed description of the palace in Hanguranketa.
Narendrasingha (1707-39) too chose Hanguranketa as his royal palace on certain occasion. The first king of the subsequent Nayakkar dynasty of Southindian origin, Sri Vijaya Rajasingha (1739-47), had formerly been the first custodian of the royal treasure of King Narendrasingha, which was kept in Hanguranketa. After his disputed accession to the throne, Sri Vijaya Rajasingha was even called "King of Hanguranketa", as he preferred to stay there most of the time of his brief reign.
His brother-in-law and successor, Kirthi Sri Rajasingha (1747-82), became most famous Kandyan king of the 18th century, earning a reputaion as great reformer of the Buddhist order. Just like previous kings, Kirthi Sri Rajasingha had to flee to Hanguranketa during a turbulent period of his reign. In 1760, the lowlands faced an uprising against the tax burdens and the expropriation of peasants who had violated the cultivation monopolies of the Dutch. As the revolt was supported by the Kandyan kingdom, Dutch troops advanced against Kandy. Right from the beginning, their campaign turned out to be difficult, as the Sinhalese forces utilized a guerrilla tactic in the mountenous areas. It was during this period that a British delegation visited Kandy for the first time. The king hoped to win them as allies against the Dutch, but he did not succeed in these efforts, as the British shied away from provoking the Dutch in that period. In 1765, the Dutch Governor van Eck then succeeded in capturing Kandy by personally leading two armies. As so often, however, the foreigners failed to keep Kandy under their control for a longer period of time, as the Sinhalese fighters managed to interrupt the lines of supply. Van Eck died only a few days after his return to Colombo. It was during the the Dutch looting of the capital Kandy that King Kirti Sri Rajasingha sought refuge in Hanguranketa, taking with him the national palladium, the sacred tooth relic. He was chased by a Dutch unit, but they had to return empty-haned, as the permanent guerrilla attacks weakened them.
In 1803, with the help of Malaysian mercenaries, British troops advanced to Kandy for the first time. Again the then king, Sri Vikrama Rajasingha (1798-1815), fled to Hanguranketa, along with his PM Pilimathalawa and all other noble families, leaving Kandy almost depopulated to the British. The invaders installed a new puppet king, Muttasami. But due to the lack of local support for Muttasami, the British garrison left behind tuned out to be too small in size to keep control. All foreign soldiers but one were killed by the Sinhalese. King Sri Vikrama Rajasingha is said to have become increasingly tyrannical after 1803, perhaps due to a mental illness. But this is disputed. All previous Kandyan kings had been cruel, too. The last king only was less succesfull in overcoming all rebellions that were supported by foreign powers. However, almost all the noblemen who once had accompanied him during the period of his refuge in Hanguranketa later on fell victim to King Sri Vikrama Rajasingha’s acts of violence. This is why his first minister, Pilimatalawa then conspired with the British and almost succeeded in ousting the king. But he was decapitated before usurping power in Kandy. It was under his successor Ehepola that the British finally occupied Kandy permanently, with the support of the Sinhalese highland nobility who wanted to get rid of the king.
But even after the British takeover of the entire island, Hanguranketa once again became the hideaway of the Tooth Relic in a period Sinhalese resistance, namely during the so-called Uva rebellion, which was a last attempt to reestablish a Kandyan kingdom. The relic, of high significance as the Sinhalese palladium, was successfully brought from the British-controlled Kandy to Hanguranketa for safekeeping in 1818. The Sinhalese insurgents were led by the monk Wariyapola Sri Sumangala. The news of having the Tooth Relic in the rebels‘s ownership motivated further uprisings in other districts. But merely by accident, the national relic soon afterwards fell back into the hands of the colonial troops, who – almost unknowingly in the beginning – thereby gained the prestige of being the legitimate rulers of the island. The Uva rebellion was crushed down by the British in a way that can be called a genocide in Uva Province. Hanguranketa also suffered severely. The glory of the royal past of Hanguranketa came to a sudden end. The royal palace was wiped out from the surface of the earth. In today's Hanguranketa, the former splendor of a royal residence is barely recognizable. The only remnants of former royal palace are some ground walls and stumps of columns scattered in rice terraces called Vadhana Paya, they are located below the restored reservoir.
Hanguranketa’s main attraction, the Buddhist temple known as Pothgul Vihara, dates back to a rebuilding programme initiated by Jeronis of De Soysa, even though he had converted to Christianity. He was a scion of one of Sri Lanka's richest families of the British colonial era. De Soysa appointed a monk named Doratiyawe Attadassi Thero as the new abbot of the monastery. The even more famous son, Sir Charles Henry de Soysa, a typical nineteenth-century philanthropist, grew up in Hanguranketa, since his father was the owner of the plantations in this area.
entrance to Pothgul Raja Maha Viharaya in the centre of Hanguranketa (photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
Pothgul Raja Maha Viharaya
Hanguranketa is a tranquil provincial town of the size of a village. It‘somewhat prettier than the average Sinhalese town. A green triangular square forming the very centre is surrounded by by the monastic complex and the main temple and Hindu shrines. The said Buddhist main temple, Pothgul Vihara, is entered through an exterior gate with a typical Makara archway. Just behind it is the most striking building, which in fact is a second gate, though being the highest building of the entire temple compound.
The two-story gatehouse - like much of today's temple - dates back to the British colonial era. The bent tiled roof imitates the typical Kandyan style. Having found an assistant providing the key, visitors can climb to the upper floor, where the temple museum houses numerous Buddha figures from various periods. The museum’s main attraction, however, is the monastic library. It’s one of the most impressive collections of manuscripts in Sri Lanka. One should not expect volumes arranged in shelves. This is not a lending library. Rather, the sacred texts are ritual objects, venerated just like the other exhibits of the museum. The library room has a gangway along the windows and cupboaord of enormous size, sheltering the true treasures, namely palm-leaf bundles known as Ola manuscripts. The texts are not only from all parts of the Buddhist canon Tipitaka, but also their classical commentaries, mainly composed by Buddhaghosa, as well as various sub-commentaries are kept here. The sheer mass of palm-leaf manuscripts is overwhelming. The temple also owes its name to these Ola books. Libraries of Buddhist monasteries can be compared to sacristies of churches, they contain several ceremonial requisites. Some of the precious items date back to the pre-colonial period, particularly to the era of monastic reform in the mid 18th century, when the Syam Order was founded and, in this course, several former monasteries throughout the country were revived.
The two-story gatehouse - like much of today's temple - dates back to the British colonial era. The bent tiled roof imitates the typical Kandyan style. Having found an assistant providing the key, visitors can climb to the upper floor, where the temple museum houses numerous Buddha figures from various periods. The museum’s main attraction, however, is the monastic library. It’s one of the most impressive collections of manuscripts in Sri Lanka. One should not expect volumes arranged in shelves. This is not a lending library. Rather, the sacred texts are ritual objects, venerated just like the other exhibits of the museum. The library room has a gangway along the windows and cupboaord of enormous size, sheltering the true treasures, namely palm-leaf bundles known as Ola manuscripts. The texts are not only from all parts of the Buddhist canon Tipitaka, but also their classical commentaries, mainly composed by Buddhaghosa, as well as various sub-commentaries are kept here. The sheer mass of palm-leaf manuscripts is overwhelming. The temple also owes its name to these Ola books. Libraries of Buddhist monasteries can be compared to sacristies of churches, they contain several ceremonial requisites. Some of the precious items date back to the pre-colonial period, particularly to the era of monastic reform in the mid 18th century, when the Syam Order was founded and, in this course, several former monasteries throughout the country were revived.
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The image house behind the gate house is the ceremonial main edifice of the Pothgul Vihara temple complex. The layout of the image house is quite extraordinary, as a central shrine room is surrounded by a ring of secondary rooms. The central shrine is accessible only from the northernmost chamber, not from the other adjacent rooms that are on either side and behind. The northern vestibule of the main sanctuary as well as all secondary rooms open to a long verandah on all fours sides of the building. To put it in other word: The characteritic feature of this temple is a verandah all round, which serves as the access isle to all rooms except, from the central shrine. The only door to the central shrine is within the northern vestibule. The door is accentuated by four mighty guardian figures flanking it, they are depicted as ferocious demons.
(photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
(photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
All the walls of the interiors are decorated with murals in the style of the so-called Kandyan paintings, though they do not date back to the period of the Kandy kingdom. They are from the subsequent British colonial period, just like all other features in this 19th century edifice. One of the typical genres of Kandyan style paintings are depictions of scenes from the canonical Jatakas, stories from the good deeds of the Buddha in his previous lifetimes. Not surprisingly, the Vessantara Jataka, being the most popular of these stories in Kandyan art, can be seen here, it’s easily recognizable, as several of ist scenes include depictions of children..
Another uncommon feature is that the main cult object in the central room, just placed in the very centre of the entire edifice, is not a statue but a stupa. Actually, the correct term denoting this edifice therefore would be ‚Chetiyagara‘, though the numerous statues and paintings within the rooms resemble more that of an image house, a ‚Pathimagara‘. A large seated Buddha is the major statue of veneration. On the eastern side is a reclining Buddha accompanied by representations of his disciples Moggallana and Kassapa.
Another uncommon feature is that the main cult object in the central room, just placed in the very centre of the entire edifice, is not a statue but a stupa. Actually, the correct term denoting this edifice therefore would be ‚Chetiyagara‘, though the numerous statues and paintings within the rooms resemble more that of an image house, a ‚Pathimagara‘. A large seated Buddha is the major statue of veneration. On the eastern side is a reclining Buddha accompanied by representations of his disciples Moggallana and Kassapa.
Vessantara Jataka painted in the Kandyan style (photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
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Buddha taming the maddened elephant Nalagiri (photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
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enlightened saints below a row of Buddhas (photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
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zodiacal animals painted at the ceiling (photo courtesy of Günter Schönlein)
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Palace scenes from the Jataka stories are depicted in open pavilions in the breezy style of tropical Asian architecture. However, the roof forms and pillar capitals of the wooden pavilions resemble those typical of Sri Lanka‘s Kandyan period gone by. Clothes and weapons of the persons too correspond to those of the late Kandy kingdom. Court ladies with veils wear a chador-like cloak, the folds of which are simple but elegant. Apart from the plastered walls, the wooden ceilings are painted, too. Their surfaces are divided into large oval medallion-shaped fields.
The abovementioned main shrine in the middle can only be reached through the vestibule on the north side. This northern vestibule houses four mighty demonic guardian figures.
New paintings illustrating Buddhist hell punishments can be seen the outer wall of the northern vestibule, just above eye level. The artistic value may be questionable. However, such depictions, be it sculptural or painted, have become a typical feature of modern temple decorations in Sri Lanka. The sadistic aspect of punishment is obvious, but in contrast to Christian believes, the Buddhist hell is not a place of eternal punishment. Buddhists believe only in temporal incarnations in hell. Beings reborn in hell will also die and have a chance of a much better rebirth afterwards. The idea of some fellow beings (or all of them in case of Christian beliefs) deserving unlimited and unrestricted torment as a form of divine justice is a despotic Near Eastern concept, which is still alien to Far Asian traditions.
The abovementioned main shrine in the middle can only be reached through the vestibule on the north side. This northern vestibule houses four mighty demonic guardian figures.
New paintings illustrating Buddhist hell punishments can be seen the outer wall of the northern vestibule, just above eye level. The artistic value may be questionable. However, such depictions, be it sculptural or painted, have become a typical feature of modern temple decorations in Sri Lanka. The sadistic aspect of punishment is obvious, but in contrast to Christian believes, the Buddhist hell is not a place of eternal punishment. Buddhists believe only in temporal incarnations in hell. Beings reborn in hell will also die and have a chance of a much better rebirth afterwards. The idea of some fellow beings (or all of them in case of Christian beliefs) deserving unlimited and unrestricted torment as a form of divine justice is a despotic Near Eastern concept, which is still alien to Far Asian traditions.
Sri Lankan Pedhikara textile paintings in Hanguranketa
The Pothgul Vihara is a temple and the sacred part of a monastery, but it does not contain the living quarter of the monks. Their abodes are in a separate complex on the other side of the street; This area known as Arattana Rajamahaviharaya is not open to the public, except for visitors with special permissions. Some ancient guard stones can be found in the premises. However, the main attraction are some really extraordinary treasures of Hanguranketa, namely textile paintings. This traditional form of Sinhalese art form is called Pethikada. Alongside the specimens of Dambawa Vihara in Matale district, Hanguranketa's Pethikadas are among the finest specimens of this textile art. It is known from ancient sources that this is a tradition in Sri Lanka that dates back to the early days of this Anuradhapura period, this means, more than two thousand yeasr.
Two magnificent Pethikadas are housed in the Maha Vishnu Devale, which was donated by Narendrasingha (1707-39). These cloth paintings originally were votive offerings of King Rajasingha II, reminiscent of his victories over the Portuguese. One of the two textiles os said to shows a Muslim soldier riding a camel, alongside the typical Indian war elephants of such army units.
The Deva Angam cloth painting in the same Vishnu Temple is said to date back even to the 16th century. It shows two fighters with daggers, accompanied by three hounds fighting with a leopard. Another animal combat scene reveals an elephant attacking a Bengal tiger, the tiger being protected by armed men. Probably, they try to save the beast in order to make use of it in games similar to those in ancient Rome.
There is also noteworthy stelw in the Maha Vishnu Devale. This Pancha-nari-ghata stele bears a relief on which, as the name implies, five female figures are depicted. The comparatively small main shrine also features typical Kandyan wood carvings. The main part of the temple complex is the narrow shrine with unadorned white pillars, with an circumambulatory. Seen from outside, the hall for devotees and the shrine of the idol can be distinguished by different heights of the respective roofs.
Like the Temple of the Tooth of Kandy, there is also a Pattini shrine near the Buddhist temple, but for heritage travellers it does not offer anything out of the ordinary.
Two magnificent Pethikadas are housed in the Maha Vishnu Devale, which was donated by Narendrasingha (1707-39). These cloth paintings originally were votive offerings of King Rajasingha II, reminiscent of his victories over the Portuguese. One of the two textiles os said to shows a Muslim soldier riding a camel, alongside the typical Indian war elephants of such army units.
The Deva Angam cloth painting in the same Vishnu Temple is said to date back even to the 16th century. It shows two fighters with daggers, accompanied by three hounds fighting with a leopard. Another animal combat scene reveals an elephant attacking a Bengal tiger, the tiger being protected by armed men. Probably, they try to save the beast in order to make use of it in games similar to those in ancient Rome.
There is also noteworthy stelw in the Maha Vishnu Devale. This Pancha-nari-ghata stele bears a relief on which, as the name implies, five female figures are depicted. The comparatively small main shrine also features typical Kandyan wood carvings. The main part of the temple complex is the narrow shrine with unadorned white pillars, with an circumambulatory. Seen from outside, the hall for devotees and the shrine of the idol can be distinguished by different heights of the respective roofs.
Like the Temple of the Tooth of Kandy, there is also a Pattini shrine near the Buddhist temple, but for heritage travellers it does not offer anything out of the ordinary.
