Nalanda Gedige - Lanka's best-preserved ancient stone temple
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The small but exceptionally well-preserved Nalanda Gedige temple from around 700 to 1000 AD is of particular cultural and historical appeal for many reasons. Firstly, it is the oldest building in Sri Lanka, which was built entirely from natural stone, i.e. without brick fillings. Secondly, it forms a combination of Buddhist and Hindu and Sinhalese and Tamil elements stylistically, although hardly any other Buddhist building in Sri Lanka shows such a clear similarity to classic South Indian temple architecture. Thirdly, the Nalanda Gedige is a testimony to non-orthodox varieties of Buddhism in the very center of the historical heartland of the ancient Sinhalese civilzation now known as „Cultural Triangle“. Bodhisattva statues were found, which are typical of Mahayana Buddhism, and above all, the only erotic representation at an ancient sanctuary in Sri Lanka can be seen at the temple walls of Nalanda Gedige, which suggests tantric influences. Finally, the Nalanda Gedige has recently become a kind of "Abu Simbel" of Sri Lanka, because because its original location was flooded by a reservoir project, it was relocated, brick by brick, to a new, higher platform.
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Names "Nalanda" and "Gedige"
The archaological site of Nalanda in Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle is not to be confused with the far larger archaeological site of Nalanda in India's Bihar state. The toponym „Nalanda“ is stressed on the first syllable, the "a" is pronounced long. „Gedige“ is emphasized on the first and last syllables as well. The Sinhalese word „Gedige“ is a translation of the Pali term “Ginjhakavasatha”, both of which simply mean “brick house”.
for more information about the Gedige type of ancient Sri Lankan temple architecture click here...
Gedige is one of the less common names for a Buddhist statue house (image house), known as Pathimagara in Pali or Pilimage in Sinhalese, more precisely: a Gedige is a type of image house that is entirely built of stone or brick, whereas the Gandhakuti type of image houses also made use of timber.
The Sinhalese word "Gedige" could be derived from Sanskrit "ghatika", which means a religious training center. As with "Pirivena", the original meaning of "school" may have expanded to a term for monasteries in general. But the meaning "school" in a narrow sense could also be meant, namely to refer to the fact that the Sinhalese Gediges had a similar function on the island as the famous namesake Nalanda in northern India, which was primarily a center of Mahayanistic scholarship.
However, it is more likely that “Gedige” from the Pali word “Ginjakavasatha”. This Pali term appears in a 13th century commentary called Rupasiddhanne as a name for a form of house in which the entire structure is brick, that is, has no wooden elements. As mentioned above, this is the way the term „Gedige“ is used in archaeological writings today. Although originally denoting brick buildings primarily, using this term „Gedige“ for the Nalanda Temple of course makes sense, as also a pure stone building is without wooden elements. The fact that the Gedige type of buildings is primarily used as statue house (image house) is clear from Buddhaghosa's commentaries, which mention a brick house for the Buddha. It must be remembered that most of the monastery buildings, particularly accommodations of monks, were made of more perishable materials and only the sacred buildings for ceremonial purposes were made of brick or stone in large parts.
The Sinhalese word "Gedige" could be derived from Sanskrit "ghatika", which means a religious training center. As with "Pirivena", the original meaning of "school" may have expanded to a term for monasteries in general. But the meaning "school" in a narrow sense could also be meant, namely to refer to the fact that the Sinhalese Gediges had a similar function on the island as the famous namesake Nalanda in northern India, which was primarily a center of Mahayanistic scholarship.
However, it is more likely that “Gedige” from the Pali word “Ginjakavasatha”. This Pali term appears in a 13th century commentary called Rupasiddhanne as a name for a form of house in which the entire structure is brick, that is, has no wooden elements. As mentioned above, this is the way the term „Gedige“ is used in archaeological writings today. Although originally denoting brick buildings primarily, using this term „Gedige“ for the Nalanda Temple of course makes sense, as also a pure stone building is without wooden elements. The fact that the Gedige type of buildings is primarily used as statue house (image house) is clear from Buddhaghosa's commentaries, which mention a brick house for the Buddha. It must be remembered that most of the monastery buildings, particularly accommodations of monks, were made of more perishable materials and only the sacred buildings for ceremonial purposes were made of brick or stone in large parts.
for some information about the namesake, the ancient Nalanda University in North India click here...
The place name „Nalanda“ is famous, but not in connection with Sri Lanka. Since its founding in the Gupta period in 427, the Nalanda Monastery, located near Patna in Bihar, has been the most important higher Buddhist educational institution in the Ganges region for centuries, It was a center of the Mahayana teachings in particular, with influence as far away as Indonesia and China. India’s Nalanda also became a major center of Buddhist art under the Pala dynasty until it was destroyed by Muslim invaders in the early 13th century.
Indonesian sources report a southern Indian place of the same name with which the Shrivijaya Empire of Sumatra maintained contacts, although it is not clear exactly where thas Indian Nalanda was located.
Indonesian sources report a southern Indian place of the same name with which the Shrivijaya Empire of Sumatra maintained contacts, although it is not clear exactly where thas Indian Nalanda was located.
Location of Nalanda Gedige
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The Nalanda Gedige is located near the main A9 road between Kandy and the north of the island, almost halfway between Matale and Dambulla, more precisely: 26 km (16 miles) south of Dambulla and 25 km north of Matale. The road distance to Kandy is 50 km (31 miles). Distance from Colombo is around 160 km (100 miles).
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The archaeological site with the temple and a small stupa can be reached via a cul-de-sac to the east that is only 1.3 km long (less than a mile). The temple of Nalanda is now picturesquely located on an artificially raised island in the Bowatenne reservoir. The island can be reached via a causeway from a visitors car park.
Nalanda Gedige is located in the very centre of the island of Sri Lanka, 95 km from the west coast and 105 of the east coast, as the crow flies. Due to the curved line of the east coast, Nalanda is actually in the centroid of the landmass. In other words, it would be the centre of its gravitation, if the island is cut out from a map. It is said that knowledge of this position could be a reason why the site of Nalanda has been a place of worship for eons.
Nalanda Gedige is located in the very centre of the island of Sri Lanka, 95 km from the west coast and 105 of the east coast, as the crow flies. Due to the curved line of the east coast, Nalanda is actually in the centroid of the landmass. In other words, it would be the centre of its gravitation, if the island is cut out from a map. It is said that knowledge of this position could be a reason why the site of Nalanda has been a place of worship for eons.
History of Nalanda Gedige
Sri Lanka's chronicles do not mention Nalanda until the 12th century. Then it was not designated as a monastery, but as a military camp in connection with Parakramabahu's campaigns, which he led against King Gajabahu in Polonnaruwa, when he himself was still king of the southwest. At times, Nalanda served as his headquarters for his military advances against Gajabahu, but also against his cousin Manabharana in southern Rohana. Shortly before his coronation, Parakramabahu had a fortress built in Nalanda (as the British later also did due to the strategic importance). Sometimes the construction of the temple is only dated to the Polonnaruwa period or shortly before that: to the time of occupation by the South Indian Cholas. At first glance, this is also indicated by the unmistakable Hindu basic features of the architecture of the Nalanda Gedige, which can be found similarly in the Hindu temples of the 11th to 13th centuries in Polonaruwa, as well as the exclusive use of rubble stone. But on closer inspection, the Hindu Devales of Polonnaruwa are stylistically clearly Chola buildings, e.g. with a dome called a stupika at the top, while the Nalanda Gedige has one of the older roof shapes of the classic Pallava architecture of the 7th century. Due to the obvious Pallava influence most archaeologists date Nalanda Gedige to the late Anuradhapura period.
In addition to the stylistic models from the South Indian Pallava period, the only inscription stone that was found in the excavation area speaks in favor of dating the Nalanda Gedige to the late Anuradhapura period. Its font can be dated paleographically to the 9th or 10th century. Although only part of the inscription can be deciphered and the ancient name of the monastery is no longer legible, the content is also a typical dedicatory inscription of the late Anuradhapura period, in that it establishes a code of rules for monastic life: No criminals are allowed to be accepted into the monastery; consensus among the monks must be ensured; immoral workers should be fired. The inscription covers a square area 28 cm wide and is flanked by the typical symbols of such dedications, namely crescent, fan, dog and crow. The inscription stone is now placed on a brick base near where it was found.
In addition to the stylistic models from the South Indian Pallava period, the only inscription stone that was found in the excavation area speaks in favor of dating the Nalanda Gedige to the late Anuradhapura period. Its font can be dated paleographically to the 9th or 10th century. Although only part of the inscription can be deciphered and the ancient name of the monastery is no longer legible, the content is also a typical dedicatory inscription of the late Anuradhapura period, in that it establishes a code of rules for monastic life: No criminals are allowed to be accepted into the monastery; consensus among the monks must be ensured; immoral workers should be fired. The inscription covers a square area 28 cm wide and is flanked by the typical symbols of such dedications, namely crescent, fan, dog and crow. The inscription stone is now placed on a brick base near where it was found.
for more historical background information click here...
There are two further indications that Nalanda dates back to around the 9th century: the neighboring monastery complexes of Menikdena and Elahera date from this period. And it was during this time that the island experienced the strongest tantric influences, which in the northern half of the island are nowhere more evident than at Nalanda Gedige.
A legend also suggests that there is more than just a stylistic connection with the South Indian Pallavas: Tamil Pallava soldiers in the service of King Manavamma (676-711) were used in the construction. Manavamma marks the beginning of a period in which the southern Indian empires of the Pallavas and later on the Pandyas and Cholas had a strong influence on Sri Lanka. Due to the lack of prospects of asserting his claims to the throne on the island, Manavamma himself served for a long time in southeast India at the court of the Pallavas and supported the kings Narasinghavarman I and Narasinghavarman II as a military leader against their central Indian Chalukya rivals. Both kings (not in immediate succession) might have equipped him with mercenary armies for invasions of Sri Lanka, the second time successfully. Maybe in 676 (or up to two decades later) Manavamma became king in Anuradhapura with the strong support of the Pallavas. The Tamil Pallavas remained allies of the Sinhalese for a long time because they saw themselves threatened by the much closer Tamil empire of the Pandyas at the southern tip of India and could therefore use an ally in the back of the Pandyas. We will see that the style of Nalanda is stylistically very close to both Pallava and Pandya buildings, so that it should be dated to the centuries after Manavanna.
It is unclear whether the small complex of Nalanda that can be visited today, with a temple and a smaller stupa on a common walled terrace, already made up the entire stone ceremonial center of the Nalanda monastery. The first excavator, H.C.P. Bell at the end of the 19th century, assumed this because he could no longer find any other stone structures in the area. In 1893, Bell undertook a first restoration of the Gedige, which would later prove to be improper. However, succeeding archaeologists, especially Senarat Paranavitana, pointed out that the conversion of the Nalanda area into rice fields may have removed some remnants of stone complexes, and at least they found individual ancient stones in these rice fields, so that it is now assumed that that Nalanda would have been a monastic complex of average size.
A legend also suggests that there is more than just a stylistic connection with the South Indian Pallavas: Tamil Pallava soldiers in the service of King Manavamma (676-711) were used in the construction. Manavamma marks the beginning of a period in which the southern Indian empires of the Pallavas and later on the Pandyas and Cholas had a strong influence on Sri Lanka. Due to the lack of prospects of asserting his claims to the throne on the island, Manavamma himself served for a long time in southeast India at the court of the Pallavas and supported the kings Narasinghavarman I and Narasinghavarman II as a military leader against their central Indian Chalukya rivals. Both kings (not in immediate succession) might have equipped him with mercenary armies for invasions of Sri Lanka, the second time successfully. Maybe in 676 (or up to two decades later) Manavamma became king in Anuradhapura with the strong support of the Pallavas. The Tamil Pallavas remained allies of the Sinhalese for a long time because they saw themselves threatened by the much closer Tamil empire of the Pandyas at the southern tip of India and could therefore use an ally in the back of the Pandyas. We will see that the style of Nalanda is stylistically very close to both Pallava and Pandya buildings, so that it should be dated to the centuries after Manavanna.
It is unclear whether the small complex of Nalanda that can be visited today, with a temple and a smaller stupa on a common walled terrace, already made up the entire stone ceremonial center of the Nalanda monastery. The first excavator, H.C.P. Bell at the end of the 19th century, assumed this because he could no longer find any other stone structures in the area. In 1893, Bell undertook a first restoration of the Gedige, which would later prove to be improper. However, succeeding archaeologists, especially Senarat Paranavitana, pointed out that the conversion of the Nalanda area into rice fields may have removed some remnants of stone complexes, and at least they found individual ancient stones in these rice fields, so that it is now assumed that that Nalanda would have been a monastic complex of average size.
The Nalanda Gedige achieved a certain level of fame in the 1970s. In 1970, the Mahaweli Scheme and other new water storage and irrigation projects began on a large scale, laying a new network of dams and canals across the center and east of the island to open up new agricultural land. The projects also included the expansion of the Bowatenne tank in Nalanda, which began in 1975. As a result, the original location of the temple was flooded. In 1977, the archaeologists decided to carry out a rescue operation based on the model of Nagarjunikonda in South India and, with the help of engineers and volunteers, dismantled the Nalanda Gedige into its individual stones, which were then stored for several years. The foundation was also excavated and examined; it may have come from a previous building. In 1980, the reconstruction of the Nalanda Gedige began on a specially created island in the reservoir near the original location. The work was difficult because stones that were found next to the buildings had to be re-incorporated, but above all because it turned out that the first restoration by Bell was defective, so corrections now had to be made. The result of the extraordinary care is that the Nalanda Gedige was rebuilt more completely than it had previously been found and reconstructed by Bell. Except for the roof of the Mandapa Hall, the building is fully intact today. Filling with concrete was only necessary at a few places for whom the original stones could not be rediscovered, especially in the roof area of the temple tower. Because of this rescue operation, Nalanda likes to bear the title "Abu Simbel of Sri Lanka", although one of more modest dimensions. What was important here was not the amount of technical effort, but only the scientific and technical precision. Over 10,000 original stones found their place in the three-dimensional puzzle. Only 500 stones could not be assigned; they are now located in front of the buildinf and on the access causeway to the island.
Architecture and Sculptural Art of Nalana Gedige
Visitors enter this dam through an access gate that may have once belonged to another building that no longer survives. Under shady Kohombo trees (Azadirachta indica), the causeway then leads along numerous excavation finds, which are mainly stone columns and sculpted blocks. The islet, on which the Nalanda Gedige and a smaller stupa next to it stand, forms a square terrace surrounded by a wall. This corresponds to the constellation at the original site, where the walled terrace with temple and stupa was also about one and a half meters higher than the surrounding area. Such a raised platform for the central ceremonial buildings of a monastery is typical of the late Anuradhapura period. The entrances of both buildings, temple and stupa, face east. Accordingly, the east side of the terrace originally had access, probably with steps. Today, however, the causeway gives access from the back. The said terrace wall has drains and still shows traces of gargoyles in some places.
The stupa stands on its own walled square terrace 1.2 m high and 24 m wide. The small ans slightly flattened stupa probably dates from the same period as the Gedige, although Bell thought it was younger. The stupa had been broken into by marauding treasure hunters and was seriously damaged. Local residents restored it in a makeshift manner in the mid-19th century. Only foundations had remained of the characteristic brick dome of a stupa when Nalanda was later excavated. Today's stupa dome is made of new bricks.
The stupa stands on its own walled square terrace 1.2 m high and 24 m wide. The small ans slightly flattened stupa probably dates from the same period as the Gedige, although Bell thought it was younger. The stupa had been broken into by marauding treasure hunters and was seriously damaged. Local residents restored it in a makeshift manner in the mid-19th century. Only foundations had remained of the characteristic brick dome of a stupa when Nalanda was later excavated. Today's stupa dome is made of new bricks.
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The Nalanda Gedige was built from the crystalline limestone of the surrounding area. You enter the temple via an outside staircase, which probably originally had its own small roof. The entrance area covers a floor area of 4.10m by 2.70m (13.5 feet by 9 feet). Three wide steps lead up to it. In front of them lies an unadorned moonstone. You can still see the unrolled tongues of these sea monsters on the Makara balustrades (Kowarakgalas). The ensemble of this staircase itself is a simple variant of the classic Anuradhapura temple staircases. However, the Nalanda Gedige differs slightly from the typical image house (pilimage) of Sri Lanka in one respect: The gate building almost appears to be a small building of its own in front of the hall, instead of being integrated into its front wall. And this is a feature of Hindu temple architecture in India, in which the main halls often received smaller vestibules, (sometimes even several of them, in a progressive arrangement).
What is particularly typical for Hindu temples is the combination of Sikhara tower and a wider Mandapa hall in front of it. The Mandapa hall served for the rituals of drummers and attendees,, whereas only priests had access to the main shrine below the higher temple tower (Sikhara). The Buddhist art of Sri Lanka's image houses (temples for statues) had long since adopted this double-structure, so that the ensemble of the large vestibule and the rear statue room had already become authentically Buddhist temple architecture when the Nalanda Gedige was created. In particular, the design of the Mandapa Hall itself is more reminiscent of other buildings in Sri Lanka than of the Indian models.
And yet, due to at least three features, the Nalanda Gedige appears much more similar to the said Hindu paragons of India than to the contemporary Buddhist image houses of Sri Lanka. Firstly, the mandapa and the main shrine do not form a coherent overall composition, but are almost two separate buildings one behind the other. Secondly, this impression is reinforced by the fact that both rooms had their own roof. That of the mandapa has not survived, but it must have been wide, while the roof over the statue room forms a tower-like Sikhara, as in Indian temple art. Thirdly, this Sikhara itself is the structure that bears the largest resemblance to the Indian temple roofs. Furthermore, the possibility of circumabulating this Sikhara on a shared platform of Mandapa and Sikhara also corresponds Indian temple architecture.
What is particularly typical for Hindu temples is the combination of Sikhara tower and a wider Mandapa hall in front of it. The Mandapa hall served for the rituals of drummers and attendees,, whereas only priests had access to the main shrine below the higher temple tower (Sikhara). The Buddhist art of Sri Lanka's image houses (temples for statues) had long since adopted this double-structure, so that the ensemble of the large vestibule and the rear statue room had already become authentically Buddhist temple architecture when the Nalanda Gedige was created. In particular, the design of the Mandapa Hall itself is more reminiscent of other buildings in Sri Lanka than of the Indian models.
And yet, due to at least three features, the Nalanda Gedige appears much more similar to the said Hindu paragons of India than to the contemporary Buddhist image houses of Sri Lanka. Firstly, the mandapa and the main shrine do not form a coherent overall composition, but are almost two separate buildings one behind the other. Secondly, this impression is reinforced by the fact that both rooms had their own roof. That of the mandapa has not survived, but it must have been wide, while the roof over the statue room forms a tower-like Sikhara, as in Indian temple art. Thirdly, this Sikhara itself is the structure that bears the largest resemblance to the Indian temple roofs. Furthermore, the possibility of circumabulating this Sikhara on a shared platform of Mandapa and Sikhara also corresponds Indian temple architecture.
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The Mandapa Hall covers a floor area of approximately 9m by 6m (30 feet by 20 feet). The walls of the mandapa are more than a meter thick. Today they still reach a height of 1.50 m (5 feet).
The entrance to the mandapa is a well-preserved stone gate behind the aforementioned staircase. Its posts have distinctive fluting. The threshold shows three seated figures of dwarves with hands on their knees, separated from each other by distinctive pilasters.
The architrave depicts a Gajalakhshmi, the goddess of prosperity sprinkled with water by elephants, an ancient symbol of the birth of the Buddha. All of these motifs are familiar from Anuradhapura art and can be considered typically Buddhist. Nevertheless, there are small Hindu details, for example the shape of the door and window jambs is more Tamil in style. Another detail from Hindu art later became quite popular in Polonnaruwa Buddhist art. The bathed Lakshmi is framed by so-called pasadas. Pasada - or Prasada in Sanskrit - actually means palace, but the term has become one of the many names for temples. Reliefs of Pasadas are a typical decoration of the Pallava temples of South India and their successors. In a sense, they represent the entire building in a reduced size on its walls, and some of these relief pasadas have mini pasadas on their walls as relief decoration, so that the self-reference of the temple decoration to the temple as a whole is repeated. It is interesting to see this Hindu motif appear in an otherwise entirely Buddhist decorative concept.
Inside, the Mandapa Hall is divided by two rows of eight massive pillars each, and the walls are decorated with 16 pilasters. Although mandapas originally come from Hindu art, by the time the Nalanda Gedige was built they had long been adopted into the Buddhist art of Sri Lanka's image houses. The mandapa of the Nalanda Gedige nevertheless resembles these Buddhist pilimages of the Anuradhapura period little more than the south Indian mandapa halls.
The pillars have a square base 62cm (24 inches) wide and a square shaft 37cm (15 inches) wide. From a third of the height they are octagonal, and at the top they are square again. This alternation of square-octagonal-square can already be found in the beginnings of Pallava architecture around 600 AD in southern India. The pillars in total are 2.13 m (7 feet) tall. Below the capital they have a square band decorated with highly abstract lotus flowers. These decorations, called "chaitya-kavata", are slightly different on each pillar.
The Mandapa hall and the cult room in the Sikhara are connected by a short corridor with steps. Next to this small staircase two torsos of Buddhas and the feet of a third figure were found. While the mandapa hall occupies the full width of the Nalanda Gedige, the gate tower above the sanctum is narrower. But it stands on the same platform called Maluva, which continues to measure the full width of the mandapa. As mentiones, this layout provides an circumabulatory around the Sikhara tower on the same terrace, as is also typical for Hindu temples. This terrace is bordered on the outside by a low wall, called a prakara. In Indian Hindu temples, such a wall surrounds the sanctuary a little more spaciously, there it also runs around the mandapa vestibule at some distance, thus creating a courtyard in the middle of which is the group of buildings of the temple. In Nalanda, the mentioned outer wall of the entire terrace (on which, in addition to the Gedige, there is also the stupa) corresponds more closely to this South Indian prakara. The actual temple wall of the Gedige is then located on the same terrace as the Mandapa Hall and the Sikhara Tower.
The entrance to the Sikhara interior is a beautifully decorated gate measuring more than 2 m in height (7 feet). The lintel shows alternating reliefs of seated Buddhas and Pasadas.
The Sikhara covers an area of approximately 10 m by 9 m (33 feet by 30 feet), but is measures only 3.30 m by 2.25 m (11 feet by 7.5 feet) inside. This means that the Sikhara walls are also several meters thick. The walls are unadorned on the inside, as is usual with the cult niches of the holy of holies in Hindu temples. In Hindu architecture, such interior shrines are called "Garbhagriha", literally „womb“ or „uterus“. What is also characteristic of these garbhagrihas is their lack of windows. The internal support beams for the roof are exactly of the same design as those of Pallava architecture.
The temple tower of Nalanda Gedige reaches a height of 9 m )30 feet). It’s the only building from the Anuradhapura period whose roof structure has been preserved. The superstructure alone is 5 m high (16 feet). Pilasters with capitals loosen up the wall surfaces. The main structuring element are three cornices, which visually simulate three floors. These cornice bands are richly decorated with so-called kudus.
Kudus are niches or false windows, usually in a horseshoe-shaped frame. Like the Pasadas, they are typical decorative forms of South Indian Hindu temples at least since the Pallava period. The kudu niches are decorated with grimacing heads. These ghostly faces can also be found in the kudus of some Pallava buildings and, even more elaborately, in the Pandya Temple of Kalugumalai south of Madurai, which was built around 800 AD. The motif of the grimaces in the false windows (kudu) has been exported even further: one can find a Sikhara very similar to that of Nalanda, only with a lot more attics and ghostly faces, on the Dieng Plateau in Java. The Bhima-Chandi there also dates from around 800 AD.
Since the Pallavas, a typical element of Hindu temple towers has been the tiered construction of several attic floors on top of each other, which gradually become narrower at the top, so that the overall contour of the Sikhara tower shows the shape of a very steep, pointed step pyramid. The structure using horizontal cornice strips is the distinguishing feature of the Dravidian architecture of South India, in contrast to the North Indian temple towers, that are sculpted using convex vertical lines, such as in Khajuraho. The mentioned temples on the Javanese Djeng Plateau adopted the South Indian form, as did the Chandis of Tapsaksiring in Bali. Furthermore, the Khmer temple towers, which were also built around the 8th century, are based on the South Indian style of tiered structure, though integrating North Indian convex lines, too.
The entrance to the mandapa is a well-preserved stone gate behind the aforementioned staircase. Its posts have distinctive fluting. The threshold shows three seated figures of dwarves with hands on their knees, separated from each other by distinctive pilasters.
The architrave depicts a Gajalakhshmi, the goddess of prosperity sprinkled with water by elephants, an ancient symbol of the birth of the Buddha. All of these motifs are familiar from Anuradhapura art and can be considered typically Buddhist. Nevertheless, there are small Hindu details, for example the shape of the door and window jambs is more Tamil in style. Another detail from Hindu art later became quite popular in Polonnaruwa Buddhist art. The bathed Lakshmi is framed by so-called pasadas. Pasada - or Prasada in Sanskrit - actually means palace, but the term has become one of the many names for temples. Reliefs of Pasadas are a typical decoration of the Pallava temples of South India and their successors. In a sense, they represent the entire building in a reduced size on its walls, and some of these relief pasadas have mini pasadas on their walls as relief decoration, so that the self-reference of the temple decoration to the temple as a whole is repeated. It is interesting to see this Hindu motif appear in an otherwise entirely Buddhist decorative concept.
Inside, the Mandapa Hall is divided by two rows of eight massive pillars each, and the walls are decorated with 16 pilasters. Although mandapas originally come from Hindu art, by the time the Nalanda Gedige was built they had long been adopted into the Buddhist art of Sri Lanka's image houses. The mandapa of the Nalanda Gedige nevertheless resembles these Buddhist pilimages of the Anuradhapura period little more than the south Indian mandapa halls.
The pillars have a square base 62cm (24 inches) wide and a square shaft 37cm (15 inches) wide. From a third of the height they are octagonal, and at the top they are square again. This alternation of square-octagonal-square can already be found in the beginnings of Pallava architecture around 600 AD in southern India. The pillars in total are 2.13 m (7 feet) tall. Below the capital they have a square band decorated with highly abstract lotus flowers. These decorations, called "chaitya-kavata", are slightly different on each pillar.
The Mandapa hall and the cult room in the Sikhara are connected by a short corridor with steps. Next to this small staircase two torsos of Buddhas and the feet of a third figure were found. While the mandapa hall occupies the full width of the Nalanda Gedige, the gate tower above the sanctum is narrower. But it stands on the same platform called Maluva, which continues to measure the full width of the mandapa. As mentiones, this layout provides an circumabulatory around the Sikhara tower on the same terrace, as is also typical for Hindu temples. This terrace is bordered on the outside by a low wall, called a prakara. In Indian Hindu temples, such a wall surrounds the sanctuary a little more spaciously, there it also runs around the mandapa vestibule at some distance, thus creating a courtyard in the middle of which is the group of buildings of the temple. In Nalanda, the mentioned outer wall of the entire terrace (on which, in addition to the Gedige, there is also the stupa) corresponds more closely to this South Indian prakara. The actual temple wall of the Gedige is then located on the same terrace as the Mandapa Hall and the Sikhara Tower.
The entrance to the Sikhara interior is a beautifully decorated gate measuring more than 2 m in height (7 feet). The lintel shows alternating reliefs of seated Buddhas and Pasadas.
The Sikhara covers an area of approximately 10 m by 9 m (33 feet by 30 feet), but is measures only 3.30 m by 2.25 m (11 feet by 7.5 feet) inside. This means that the Sikhara walls are also several meters thick. The walls are unadorned on the inside, as is usual with the cult niches of the holy of holies in Hindu temples. In Hindu architecture, such interior shrines are called "Garbhagriha", literally „womb“ or „uterus“. What is also characteristic of these garbhagrihas is their lack of windows. The internal support beams for the roof are exactly of the same design as those of Pallava architecture.
The temple tower of Nalanda Gedige reaches a height of 9 m )30 feet). It’s the only building from the Anuradhapura period whose roof structure has been preserved. The superstructure alone is 5 m high (16 feet). Pilasters with capitals loosen up the wall surfaces. The main structuring element are three cornices, which visually simulate three floors. These cornice bands are richly decorated with so-called kudus.
Kudus are niches or false windows, usually in a horseshoe-shaped frame. Like the Pasadas, they are typical decorative forms of South Indian Hindu temples at least since the Pallava period. The kudu niches are decorated with grimacing heads. These ghostly faces can also be found in the kudus of some Pallava buildings and, even more elaborately, in the Pandya Temple of Kalugumalai south of Madurai, which was built around 800 AD. The motif of the grimaces in the false windows (kudu) has been exported even further: one can find a Sikhara very similar to that of Nalanda, only with a lot more attics and ghostly faces, on the Dieng Plateau in Java. The Bhima-Chandi there also dates from around 800 AD.
Since the Pallavas, a typical element of Hindu temple towers has been the tiered construction of several attic floors on top of each other, which gradually become narrower at the top, so that the overall contour of the Sikhara tower shows the shape of a very steep, pointed step pyramid. The structure using horizontal cornice strips is the distinguishing feature of the Dravidian architecture of South India, in contrast to the North Indian temple towers, that are sculpted using convex vertical lines, such as in Khajuraho. The mentioned temples on the Javanese Djeng Plateau adopted the South Indian form, as did the Chandis of Tapsaksiring in Bali. Furthermore, the Khmer temple towers, which were also built around the 8th century, are based on the South Indian style of tiered structure, though integrating North Indian convex lines, too.
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The upper end of the Sikhara temple tower is formed by a barrel roof with a base area of 5.50 m by 3.20 m (18 feet by 10.5 feet) and a crown height of 3.50 m (11.5 feet). Again, this roof edge clearly has its origins in the architecture of the Pallavas, who experimented with different types of roofs before the round stupika top and the barrel vault became their preferred roof constructions. This "elephant back" or "boat hull" shape of roof is called the Vesara type, sometimes also named Sala-Sikhara.
for more background information about the Vesara type of Pallava architecture click here...
It was for the first time modeled in stone at the Bhima-Ratha in Mahabalipuram, the major port city of the Pallavas. In Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu one can also see the oldest example of a pointed pyramid-like roof with a vesara ridge at the end, namely on the Ganesha Ratha, with which the Sikhara of the Nalanda Gedige bears the greatest resemblance. Both buildings in Mahabalipuram from the middle of the 7th century, called "Ratha", were not yet made of brick, but were monolithic, i.e. carved entirely from a single piece of rock. This is characteristic of the so-called Mahamalla style, whose predecessors were carved cave temples without any significant external architecture. It was only under Narasinghavarman II (approx. 680-720) that brick temples were constructed based on those monolithic models, one of the first being the famous beach temple of Mahabalipuram, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its pioneering role. Let's remember: The same Tamil king Narasinghavarman II might have installed Manavamma as Sinhalese ruler and thus establhed the new dynasty in Sri Lanka (second Lambakanna dynasty), which marked the beginning of a long alliance between Pallavas and Sinhalese. The beach temple of Mahabalipuram is not only almost the same size as the Nalanda Gedige, which is at least a hundred years younger, but it also had a mandapa hall in front of the Sikhara tower, of which only the foundation walls remain today. And the main temple for Shiva along with a sub-temple for Vishnu were surrounded by a common prakara wall.
Despite the indisputable pioneering and deciding role of the Pallavas in South Indian temple architecture, one should not overlook the fact that from then on, temples based on the same basic pattern were built in other Tamil empires, such as the already mentioned monolithic temple of the Pandyas in Kalugumalai around 800 AD, which was also a combination of Sikhara and Mandapa one behind the other. Pandya art is closer in time and space to the Nalanda Gedige, which was probably only created in the 9th century. The Pandyas could well have been mediators of South Indian building concepts, even though, politically, they were sworn enemies of the Sinhalese at that time. (During most other periods Pandyas and Sinhalese had good relations and were partners and almost allies.)
Despite the indisputable pioneering and deciding role of the Pallavas in South Indian temple architecture, one should not overlook the fact that from then on, temples based on the same basic pattern were built in other Tamil empires, such as the already mentioned monolithic temple of the Pandyas in Kalugumalai around 800 AD, which was also a combination of Sikhara and Mandapa one behind the other. Pandya art is closer in time and space to the Nalanda Gedige, which was probably only created in the 9th century. The Pandyas could well have been mediators of South Indian building concepts, even though, politically, they were sworn enemies of the Sinhalese at that time. (During most other periods Pandyas and Sinhalese had good relations and were partners and almost allies.)
The Vesara roof probably originally had reliefs of the directional deities on all four sides. Only a relief on the south side has been preserved or restored. It represents the god Kubera, he is probably placed incorrectly here, because Kubera actually protects the north direction. Kubera, god of wealth, is not a deity usually found in Hindu temples; he is never a motif in Pallava art, but he is one of the typical divine figures of Buddhism, especially in Sri Lankan art.
Here at Nalanda Gedige, Kubera sits casually on a lotus pedestal in the so-called Lalitasana posture, the literal translation of which is "beautiful seat." With one leg dangling and one pulled up, the god makes himself comfortable under an umbrella (chattra), framed by six pilaster capitals. The right hand, holding a palm frond, lies on his full belly, which is a symbol of prosperity.
The frame of this gable arch, in which Kubera sits, again shows the horseshoe shape. In a sense, it is a giant kudu window. The richly decorated frame ends at the top with the motif of the Kirthi Mukha grimace, which is also typical of Sinhalese temples. The eyes, nose and tusks of the Kirthi Mukha can still be clearly seen. There is also a triangular capstone above it.
Today, inside the Sikhara there is a classic Sinhalese Buddha statue with the Ashisha mudra hand position for worship - Nalanda Gedige is still a shrine. However, this is not the original location of the statue. A deeply sculpted stone tablet depicting a Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteschwara, was found here. Because of the niche-like relief area, the restorers initially mistook it for a guardian figure and therefore placed the stele at the entrance. The error has now been corrected. The Bodhisattva demonstrates the Sambhanga posture with a flower in his hand. His right hand hangs downwards in Varada Mudra, reaching down to a figure kneeling next to the Bodhisattva who is worshiping him. Another such adolescent kneels to the Bodhisattva's left. Above the main niche with the Bodhisattva there are three smaller, heavily weathered niches carved into it; in the middle niche there was a seated Buddha in the Dhyani posture; in the side niches there are two accompanying figures. The probable interpretation of the overall composition of the relief is that this Bodhisattva represents Avalokiteschwara in his form as lotus-bearing Padmapani, over which his heavenly origin rises, the Buddha Amithabha.
Anyway, the sculpture is clearly Mahayana Buddhist and thus indicates the non-orthodox character of the Nalanda Gedige. It is not clear whether the Nalanda Temple was open to Theravada, Mahayana, and Hinduism at the same time, or whether the different religious forms perhaps dominated the site at different times.
A seated Hinfu-figure depicting a four-armed Ganesha was found in Nalanda. However, this does not have to be an indication that the Gedige was used as a Hindu temple, rather the Ganesha could have originally been located in a non-preserved outbuilding, just as it is still common practice in many monasteries today to set up small shrines of Hindu deities for the lay followers on the edge of the monastery grounds .
Another interesting find is a Yantragala. This is a stone with many carved niches for storing relics, which is why it is called a lattice stone. A Yantragala was originally located horizontally on the floor of the reliquary chamber of a stupa. Yantragalas are found in large quantities throughout ancient monastic compounds. The reliquary stone of Nalanda is special in that the niches are spread over two levels, namely higher at the edge of the Yantragala, but lower in the middle.
Here at Nalanda Gedige, Kubera sits casually on a lotus pedestal in the so-called Lalitasana posture, the literal translation of which is "beautiful seat." With one leg dangling and one pulled up, the god makes himself comfortable under an umbrella (chattra), framed by six pilaster capitals. The right hand, holding a palm frond, lies on his full belly, which is a symbol of prosperity.
The frame of this gable arch, in which Kubera sits, again shows the horseshoe shape. In a sense, it is a giant kudu window. The richly decorated frame ends at the top with the motif of the Kirthi Mukha grimace, which is also typical of Sinhalese temples. The eyes, nose and tusks of the Kirthi Mukha can still be clearly seen. There is also a triangular capstone above it.
Today, inside the Sikhara there is a classic Sinhalese Buddha statue with the Ashisha mudra hand position for worship - Nalanda Gedige is still a shrine. However, this is not the original location of the statue. A deeply sculpted stone tablet depicting a Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteschwara, was found here. Because of the niche-like relief area, the restorers initially mistook it for a guardian figure and therefore placed the stele at the entrance. The error has now been corrected. The Bodhisattva demonstrates the Sambhanga posture with a flower in his hand. His right hand hangs downwards in Varada Mudra, reaching down to a figure kneeling next to the Bodhisattva who is worshiping him. Another such adolescent kneels to the Bodhisattva's left. Above the main niche with the Bodhisattva there are three smaller, heavily weathered niches carved into it; in the middle niche there was a seated Buddha in the Dhyani posture; in the side niches there are two accompanying figures. The probable interpretation of the overall composition of the relief is that this Bodhisattva represents Avalokiteschwara in his form as lotus-bearing Padmapani, over which his heavenly origin rises, the Buddha Amithabha.
Anyway, the sculpture is clearly Mahayana Buddhist and thus indicates the non-orthodox character of the Nalanda Gedige. It is not clear whether the Nalanda Temple was open to Theravada, Mahayana, and Hinduism at the same time, or whether the different religious forms perhaps dominated the site at different times.
A seated Hinfu-figure depicting a four-armed Ganesha was found in Nalanda. However, this does not have to be an indication that the Gedige was used as a Hindu temple, rather the Ganesha could have originally been located in a non-preserved outbuilding, just as it is still common practice in many monasteries today to set up small shrines of Hindu deities for the lay followers on the edge of the monastery grounds .
Another interesting find is a Yantragala. This is a stone with many carved niches for storing relics, which is why it is called a lattice stone. A Yantragala was originally located horizontally on the floor of the reliquary chamber of a stupa. Yantragalas are found in large quantities throughout ancient monastic compounds. The reliquary stone of Nalanda is special in that the niches are spread over two levels, namely higher at the edge of the Yantragala, but lower in the middle.
The most famous sculptural image of Nalanda is on the southern wall of the Gedige. It is the only ancient relief in Sri Lanka depicting an erotic scene. „Erotic“ is an understatement, because the sexuality is not playfully hinted at. It’s depicted extremely drastically. One figure is penetrated from behind by a second figure, who in turn is penetrated from behind by a third figure. Probably the first figure is a woman, and the other two are men. Then a heterosexual and a homosexual act would be depicted at the same time. This is indeed very surprising for the otherwise chaste Buddhist art of Sri Lanka. It is true that in Hindu temples in India, especially in Khajuraho (around 1000 AD) and also at the Sun Temple of Konarak in Orissa (13th century), much more hearty sexual motifs can be seen in far greater numbers. However, drastic erotic images are anything but the norm in Indian temple decoration. In South India, erotic depictions are limited to mere allusions. And Theravada Buddhist art is traditionally even more reserved on this topic. There is only one example of Buddhist buildings in India comparable to the Nalanda Gedige, namely on a pillar at the entrance gate of an image house, which, like the Nalanda Gedige, dates from the second half of the first millennium. Due to its unusual nature, the sexual motif at Nalanda Gedige is associated with the emergence of a special variant of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Tantrism.
Tantrism
Although Tantrism is sometimes referred to as the "third turning of the wheel of teaching", i.e. the third form of Buddhism alongside Theravada and Mahayana, this term is misleading in that Buddhist Tanttism did not introduce any innovations in the field of teaching compared to the older Mahayana Buddhism. On the contrary, the classical Mahayana teachings, especially Madhyamika, were carefully cultivated by followers of Tantrism as a theoretical basis. The innovations of Tantrism were rather in the area of religious practice. The Tantric methods of achieving Nirvana were completely alien to older forms of Buddhism, which even rejected rituals as an obstacle to salvation. But Tantrism attached great importance to the ritual and its meticulous execution, although its characteristic compared to older religious ritual forms is that the rituals integrated aspect of everyday life, even religiously offensive acts such as eating meat or, later, sometimes sexual intercourse. The idea behind it (at least in theory) was not pure hedonism, but on the contrary the appraisal: true serenity and distance from worldly affairs emerges where one does not have to escape from them, but can expose oneself to them without being corrupted by them.
Tantrism is a form of religious expression that was not limited to any particular religion. It probably originated in Shivaism and particularly in the cult of Kali in Bengal. But tantric texts also emerged in Vishnuism. And outside of Hinduism there were tantric manifestations not only in Buddhism, but even in the extremely ascetic religion of Jainism.
It should also be noted that the sexual component was not part of Tantric rituals from the beginning and was not integrated into many schools. In most instances, sexuality was only integrated symbolically. Sometimes a distinction is made between a right-handed and a left-handed Tantra. On the right is the man's side, on the left is the woman's side. In many cults, especially in northeast India, the feminine was considered the force of a god working in the world, whose male aspect was purely transcendent. The worship of the powerful Shakti soon replaced the worship of the male god in the ritual. And the worship of female power in Shaktism often included sexual forms, which then also inpired Tantric practices.
Tantrism itself knew three basic ritual forms to bring about magical effects in the world or during release from the world, namely words, images and gestures. Syllables that evoke divine powers are known from the first half of the first millennium. These are the so-called Dharanis. But a comprehensive body of magical formulas, the so-called Mantras, only developed with actual Tantrism from the seventh century AD onwards. The symbolic images through which the Tantric meditator sought to merge with various aspects of the world, with deities or with paths of knowledge enlightenment, are the famous Mandalas. The term simply means "circles", as Mandalas are usually designed with point symmetry and along radial lines. Finally, the method of evoking certain emotions through physical postures was adopted from classical Yoga and refined by Tantrism. This includes the Mudras, the hand postures, which, according to Indian ideas, are not just conventional symbols for certain mental states or effects, but rather bring them about themselves.
The exact rituals were extremely diverse. It can be assumed that each guru ("teacher") developed and spread his own ritual techniques. In Tantrism, even more than in other Indian teachings of salvation, the personal bond between the student and the teacher is of utmost importance. Tantric training is not a matter of occasinal studies, it encompasses an entire human life; a community college course is not sufficient. The word "Tantra" for "fabric" or "weaving frame" is probably derived from the teacher-student chain within which the traditions were handed down. Those teachings were esoteric in the true sense of the word: intended only for initiates. For unprepared outsiders, the same rituals would be unsuitable or even dangerous. One of the main tasks of a teacher is to assess the level of maturity of his student, in order to know which ritual forms can be introduced next.
After the sharp disputes over Mahayana Buddhism in the first half of the millennium, the chronicles of Sri Lanka hardly mention any intra-Buddhist party squabbles in the following centuries. This changed in the 8th and 9th centuries, exactly at the time of the heyday of Tantrism in India and the construction of the Nalanda Gedige. Sri Lanka's short chronicle Nikayasangraha from the late Middle Ages, which is primarily interested in religious history, mentions two varieties of Tantrism that penetrated the island. One of these "heresies" was organized as a monastic fraternity called Nilapata Darshana, which translates as "blue-colored teaching". The brotherhood was named after the dark color of their robes. The same chronicle reports the attachment of King Sena I (833-853) to a school called Vajiriyavadin. The suffix "-vadins" simply refers to followers of a teaching, so believers in Theravada are called Theravadins. The name “Vajiriya-” is telling. Because this is almost certainly a phonetic implementation of „Vajra“, the self-name of a Tantric school. Actually, Vajrayana is one of the main versions of Tantric Buddhism, so dominant that sometimes “Vajrayana” and “Tantrayana” are used almost synonymously to describe the late Tantric form of Buddhism. The school is named after its main symbol and most important ritual object, the diamond scepter Vajra.
The chonicle’s reference to King Sena is important in our context because he is a king of the very period in which the Nalanda Gedige was created. King Sena I is otherwise known as the first victim of a massive invasion by the Pandya emoire from mainland India and as one of the first kings who chose Polonnaruwa, in some safer distance from the landing places of Indian invaders.
The presence of Tantrism in Sri Lanka is also well documented archaeologically, not only ecidenced by the Nalanda Gedige. At many places of today’s Cultural Triangle, the then so-called "King's Land" (Rajarata), 9th-century inscriptions with North Indian Nagari letters, both in stone and on copper and terracotta, were found, which recite magical Dharani syllables or small incantations. The National Museum in Colombo also has an impressive collection of bronzes depicting the typically Tantric Buddhist goddess Tara.
The fact that Tantrism gained a foothold in Sri Lanka shortly after its flourishing in Bengal can also be seen even better from Indian and Chinese sources than from the island chronicles. The earliest well-known teachers of Tantrism included Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra at the beginning of the 8th century. Both were living and studying in Sri Lanka for a long time. Vajrabodhi was one of the first three missionaries to introduce Tantrayana to China. He actually came from Central Asia, but had studied Mahayana Buddhism in northern India at the aforementioned University of Nalanda. From there he traveled along a western route to southern India, where he became a follower Tantrism, before crossing to Sri Lanka. From here, he took the sea route to China, with a stopover on the then mainly Buddhist island of Sumatra. After his long hourney, he spent the rest of his life in China. The family of his student Amoghavajra was also of Central Asian and North Indian origin, but Amohgavajra himself was born in Sri Lanka in 705. In Java he met Vajrabodhi and went to China with him. After the death of his teacher, he returned to Sri Lanka and India according to his master’s last wishes to acquire manuscripts there. With them Amoghavajra returned to China, where he spent the rest of his life. Sri Lanka's king is said to have personally hosted Amoghavajra, providing accommodation for the scholar in his palace and giving him a letter to the Emperor of China. In his homeland of Sri Lanka, Amoghavajra is also said to have received the two higher levels of Tantric ordination. H is said to have found 500 texts in Sri Lanka, with detailed information about Mudras and Mandalas. Sri Lanka has always been embedded in the international network of Buddhist missions, so the almost formal stays of the famous Tantric teachers on the island should not really come as a surprise.
It is noteworthy that Sri Lanka even appears in those reports as a source of Tantric texts. Even this assumption of production or at least collection of Tantric manuscripts in ancient Sri Lanka, which at first glance seems surprising, is anything but unusual in the Buddhist world. Just as some classic Mahayana sutras explicitly mention Sri Lanka and, in the case of the Lankavatara Sutra, even choose it as the place of action, Sri Lanka also appears in the Tantric texts, not just as a fantastic fairyland, but much more real by reports anour Tantric teacher from the island. In the canon of Tibetan Buddhism, numerous Tantric works are explicitly attributed to such Sri Lankan gurus, for example Prithibandhu's commentary on the Sadharmapundarika Sutra and Jayabandha's Chakrasamvara Tantra. Even two gurus in the lineage of Tara Tantra who are highly regarded in Tibet were Sinhalese by birth, namely Dhanamitra and Sakyarakshita, who lived in the 8th and 9th centuries respectively. As already mentioned, many finds excavated in the Cultural Triangle, some of the highest artistic value, represent the typical Tantric goddess Tara, proving that the tradition of worshiping Tara was widespread in Sri Lanka.
As extraordinary as the Nalanda Gedige may be in terms of art history, it represents a not at all marginal part of the island's cultural history and its international connections. Today, of course, Nalanda is the only major architectural example of the Tantric tradition in the region of today's Cultural Triangle.
Tantrism is a form of religious expression that was not limited to any particular religion. It probably originated in Shivaism and particularly in the cult of Kali in Bengal. But tantric texts also emerged in Vishnuism. And outside of Hinduism there were tantric manifestations not only in Buddhism, but even in the extremely ascetic religion of Jainism.
It should also be noted that the sexual component was not part of Tantric rituals from the beginning and was not integrated into many schools. In most instances, sexuality was only integrated symbolically. Sometimes a distinction is made between a right-handed and a left-handed Tantra. On the right is the man's side, on the left is the woman's side. In many cults, especially in northeast India, the feminine was considered the force of a god working in the world, whose male aspect was purely transcendent. The worship of the powerful Shakti soon replaced the worship of the male god in the ritual. And the worship of female power in Shaktism often included sexual forms, which then also inpired Tantric practices.
Tantrism itself knew three basic ritual forms to bring about magical effects in the world or during release from the world, namely words, images and gestures. Syllables that evoke divine powers are known from the first half of the first millennium. These are the so-called Dharanis. But a comprehensive body of magical formulas, the so-called Mantras, only developed with actual Tantrism from the seventh century AD onwards. The symbolic images through which the Tantric meditator sought to merge with various aspects of the world, with deities or with paths of knowledge enlightenment, are the famous Mandalas. The term simply means "circles", as Mandalas are usually designed with point symmetry and along radial lines. Finally, the method of evoking certain emotions through physical postures was adopted from classical Yoga and refined by Tantrism. This includes the Mudras, the hand postures, which, according to Indian ideas, are not just conventional symbols for certain mental states or effects, but rather bring them about themselves.
The exact rituals were extremely diverse. It can be assumed that each guru ("teacher") developed and spread his own ritual techniques. In Tantrism, even more than in other Indian teachings of salvation, the personal bond between the student and the teacher is of utmost importance. Tantric training is not a matter of occasinal studies, it encompasses an entire human life; a community college course is not sufficient. The word "Tantra" for "fabric" or "weaving frame" is probably derived from the teacher-student chain within which the traditions were handed down. Those teachings were esoteric in the true sense of the word: intended only for initiates. For unprepared outsiders, the same rituals would be unsuitable or even dangerous. One of the main tasks of a teacher is to assess the level of maturity of his student, in order to know which ritual forms can be introduced next.
After the sharp disputes over Mahayana Buddhism in the first half of the millennium, the chronicles of Sri Lanka hardly mention any intra-Buddhist party squabbles in the following centuries. This changed in the 8th and 9th centuries, exactly at the time of the heyday of Tantrism in India and the construction of the Nalanda Gedige. Sri Lanka's short chronicle Nikayasangraha from the late Middle Ages, which is primarily interested in religious history, mentions two varieties of Tantrism that penetrated the island. One of these "heresies" was organized as a monastic fraternity called Nilapata Darshana, which translates as "blue-colored teaching". The brotherhood was named after the dark color of their robes. The same chronicle reports the attachment of King Sena I (833-853) to a school called Vajiriyavadin. The suffix "-vadins" simply refers to followers of a teaching, so believers in Theravada are called Theravadins. The name “Vajiriya-” is telling. Because this is almost certainly a phonetic implementation of „Vajra“, the self-name of a Tantric school. Actually, Vajrayana is one of the main versions of Tantric Buddhism, so dominant that sometimes “Vajrayana” and “Tantrayana” are used almost synonymously to describe the late Tantric form of Buddhism. The school is named after its main symbol and most important ritual object, the diamond scepter Vajra.
The chonicle’s reference to King Sena is important in our context because he is a king of the very period in which the Nalanda Gedige was created. King Sena I is otherwise known as the first victim of a massive invasion by the Pandya emoire from mainland India and as one of the first kings who chose Polonnaruwa, in some safer distance from the landing places of Indian invaders.
The presence of Tantrism in Sri Lanka is also well documented archaeologically, not only ecidenced by the Nalanda Gedige. At many places of today’s Cultural Triangle, the then so-called "King's Land" (Rajarata), 9th-century inscriptions with North Indian Nagari letters, both in stone and on copper and terracotta, were found, which recite magical Dharani syllables or small incantations. The National Museum in Colombo also has an impressive collection of bronzes depicting the typically Tantric Buddhist goddess Tara.
The fact that Tantrism gained a foothold in Sri Lanka shortly after its flourishing in Bengal can also be seen even better from Indian and Chinese sources than from the island chronicles. The earliest well-known teachers of Tantrism included Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra at the beginning of the 8th century. Both were living and studying in Sri Lanka for a long time. Vajrabodhi was one of the first three missionaries to introduce Tantrayana to China. He actually came from Central Asia, but had studied Mahayana Buddhism in northern India at the aforementioned University of Nalanda. From there he traveled along a western route to southern India, where he became a follower Tantrism, before crossing to Sri Lanka. From here, he took the sea route to China, with a stopover on the then mainly Buddhist island of Sumatra. After his long hourney, he spent the rest of his life in China. The family of his student Amoghavajra was also of Central Asian and North Indian origin, but Amohgavajra himself was born in Sri Lanka in 705. In Java he met Vajrabodhi and went to China with him. After the death of his teacher, he returned to Sri Lanka and India according to his master’s last wishes to acquire manuscripts there. With them Amoghavajra returned to China, where he spent the rest of his life. Sri Lanka's king is said to have personally hosted Amoghavajra, providing accommodation for the scholar in his palace and giving him a letter to the Emperor of China. In his homeland of Sri Lanka, Amoghavajra is also said to have received the two higher levels of Tantric ordination. H is said to have found 500 texts in Sri Lanka, with detailed information about Mudras and Mandalas. Sri Lanka has always been embedded in the international network of Buddhist missions, so the almost formal stays of the famous Tantric teachers on the island should not really come as a surprise.
It is noteworthy that Sri Lanka even appears in those reports as a source of Tantric texts. Even this assumption of production or at least collection of Tantric manuscripts in ancient Sri Lanka, which at first glance seems surprising, is anything but unusual in the Buddhist world. Just as some classic Mahayana sutras explicitly mention Sri Lanka and, in the case of the Lankavatara Sutra, even choose it as the place of action, Sri Lanka also appears in the Tantric texts, not just as a fantastic fairyland, but much more real by reports anour Tantric teacher from the island. In the canon of Tibetan Buddhism, numerous Tantric works are explicitly attributed to such Sri Lankan gurus, for example Prithibandhu's commentary on the Sadharmapundarika Sutra and Jayabandha's Chakrasamvara Tantra. Even two gurus in the lineage of Tara Tantra who are highly regarded in Tibet were Sinhalese by birth, namely Dhanamitra and Sakyarakshita, who lived in the 8th and 9th centuries respectively. As already mentioned, many finds excavated in the Cultural Triangle, some of the highest artistic value, represent the typical Tantric goddess Tara, proving that the tradition of worshiping Tara was widespread in Sri Lanka.
As extraordinary as the Nalanda Gedige may be in terms of art history, it represents a not at all marginal part of the island's cultural history and its international connections. Today, of course, Nalanda is the only major architectural example of the Tantric tradition in the region of today's Cultural Triangle.
