Vatadages aka Thupagaras - stupas enshrined in circular temples
Girihandu Seya - Vatadage of Tiriyaya alias Thiriyai in Trincomalee District
Just like a so-called "image-house" (which is the translation of the Sinhala term "Pilimage") is a temple containing a Buddha sculpture as a cult idol, a "stupa-house" is a temple, too, but with a stupa instead of a sculpture being the central object of worship. This kind of shrine is called "Dage", which translates to "relic-house", because a stupa always holds a relic. The architectural form of a sacred building containg a stupa as the object of worship is almost unique to Sri Lanka. The most common term for such temples with stupa inside is "Vatadage", which can be translated as "circular relic house". It refers to the round groundplan of almost all ancient Sri Lankan stupa houses. However, there is a noteworthy exception, namely the stupa house in Haththikuchchi in Rajangane (around 8th century AD), which has a rectangular layout despite the round shape of the enshrined stupa.
That the circular layout is not characteristic feature of a Sri Lankan stupa house is the reason why other terms than "Vatadage" are used in the ancient Pali chronicles, terms that do not refer to the shape but to the fun, namely "Thupagara", which literally translates to "stupa-house". A similar term is "Chetiyagara", which means "Chetiya-house", "Chetiya" being commonly used synonymous with "stupa" (Sanskrit) or "thupa" (Pali) in Sri Lanka.
In some cases, the Dages (Sinhala) alias Thupagaras (Pali) alias stupa-houses (English) are younger buildings than the stupas they enshrine. The Mahavamsa chronicle ascribes the construction of the thereby oldest known Vatadage to King Vasabha, who reigned in the first century AD. However, this Vatadage enshrines a stupa that is much older, namely the Thuparama from the 3rd century BC. Actually, this is the first historical stupa of Sri Lanka at all. So in this examplary case, the stupa house is definitely an add-on to the enshrined stupa. The same might apply to the nearby Lankarama in Anuradhapura and the Amasthala Dagaba of Mihintale. The first version of a stupa house might have been a wooden construction, which was replaced by stone columns carrying tiled roofs only in later centuries.
A point of debate is whether the roof of the stupa house also covered the central stupa or only the surrounding isle, with an opening in the center of the roof for the much taller stupa. The latter seems more likely regarding the heights of the central stupa and the surrounding columns and (sometimes) walls. However, a steep roof only made of wood might have protected the stupa, too. But the main purpose of the roof was to protect the worshippers of the stupa from sun and rain while they were exercising ritual circumambulations of the central stupa. So it might well be that the wooden and tiled roof constructions carried be the concentric rows of pillars only covered the circumambulatory.
The most iconic stupa house of Sri Lanka is the Vatadage of Polonnaruwa. However, there are at least two equally well-preserved specimens from the preceding Anuradhapura, namely the Vatadages of Medirigiriya to the north of Polonnaruwa and Tiriyaya to the north of Trincomalee. The latter is also known as Girihandu Seya. All three best examples of Sri Lankan stupa-houses are renowned for their elaborate scultptural decorations, the Vatadage of Polonnaruwa being the ancient edifice of Sri Lanka which is richest in high-quality carvings. Particularly the guardstones of Thiriyaya are masterpieces, too.
That the circular layout is not characteristic feature of a Sri Lankan stupa house is the reason why other terms than "Vatadage" are used in the ancient Pali chronicles, terms that do not refer to the shape but to the fun, namely "Thupagara", which literally translates to "stupa-house". A similar term is "Chetiyagara", which means "Chetiya-house", "Chetiya" being commonly used synonymous with "stupa" (Sanskrit) or "thupa" (Pali) in Sri Lanka.
In some cases, the Dages (Sinhala) alias Thupagaras (Pali) alias stupa-houses (English) are younger buildings than the stupas they enshrine. The Mahavamsa chronicle ascribes the construction of the thereby oldest known Vatadage to King Vasabha, who reigned in the first century AD. However, this Vatadage enshrines a stupa that is much older, namely the Thuparama from the 3rd century BC. Actually, this is the first historical stupa of Sri Lanka at all. So in this examplary case, the stupa house is definitely an add-on to the enshrined stupa. The same might apply to the nearby Lankarama in Anuradhapura and the Amasthala Dagaba of Mihintale. The first version of a stupa house might have been a wooden construction, which was replaced by stone columns carrying tiled roofs only in later centuries.
A point of debate is whether the roof of the stupa house also covered the central stupa or only the surrounding isle, with an opening in the center of the roof for the much taller stupa. The latter seems more likely regarding the heights of the central stupa and the surrounding columns and (sometimes) walls. However, a steep roof only made of wood might have protected the stupa, too. But the main purpose of the roof was to protect the worshippers of the stupa from sun and rain while they were exercising ritual circumambulations of the central stupa. So it might well be that the wooden and tiled roof constructions carried be the concentric rows of pillars only covered the circumambulatory.
The most iconic stupa house of Sri Lanka is the Vatadage of Polonnaruwa. However, there are at least two equally well-preserved specimens from the preceding Anuradhapura, namely the Vatadages of Medirigiriya to the north of Polonnaruwa and Tiriyaya to the north of Trincomalee. The latter is also known as Girihandu Seya. All three best examples of Sri Lankan stupa-houses are renowned for their elaborate scultptural decorations, the Vatadage of Polonnaruwa being the ancient edifice of Sri Lanka which is richest in high-quality carvings. Particularly the guardstones of Thiriyaya are masterpieces, too.
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