Samadhi Buddha statue - A spiritual iconography of The Anuradhapura era

Samadhi Buddha statue is considered one of the best crafts made during the Anuradhapura era.It is a sitting Buddha statue(see the post on Aukana statue which is a standing statue). There are 8 sacred places a Buddhist never forgets to visit at Anuradhapura.This samadhi statue is one of that sacred places(there will be a post on these 8 sacred places in the future).By a single glance at it,the statue has the capability to throw away ones agitation and to winds down the mind.(A fact that you will appreciate,if you ever visit the place).

Samadhi statue is made up of Dolomite and is considered more than 7feet tall standing.It is also believed that the eyes of the statue were impressed with precious stones as they are hollow.The characteristic feature of this great ancient craft is that it gives three different emotions when you look at the face of the statue from front,left side and from right side.


When someone looks at the face from the right side it shows a slight sadness and from the left side a slight smile indicating happiness,while from the front it gives neutral feelings.Buddhism is a philosophy that teaches us to accept sadness and joy as normal occurrings in our lives and it teaches us not to be overrod by those feelings.So some argue this Samadhi statue expresses that deep lesson to us.


As the samadhi Buddha statue was found,there was a damage to the nose which has been now reconstructed.But still,the reconstruction has given some artificial appearance to the face which indicates,how brilliant and precise the ancient stone craftsmanship was during that ancient Anuradhapura era which was many centuries back,by appreciating the fact that it is difficult even to be replaced it by modern high technologies.

watch a short video of Samadhi Buddha statue....

Kandyan dance - A world class traditional masterpiece

As been mentioned in the post on Temple of the sacred tooth relic,kandy was the last kingdom of Sri lanka.It is believed the origin of Kandyan dancing is from the "kohomba kandariya"which was made to relieve the king Paduwasdev from an illness called "divi dosha" and it has been able to brake the spell on the king.

There are 4 main streams of dances found in Sri lanka.They are Kandyan dance,Low country dance,Sabaragamuwa dance and Baratha natyam.Of these,Kandyan dance consists of different kinds of dances representing Vannam,Ves dance,Udekki dance,Pantheru dance etc.

There are 18 main dances in Kandyan style named as "Vannam" that display the styles of birds and animals well known in the country.A main dance is called a 'Vannama"and some of the vannams are
Mayura vannama - Peacock dance(see the article on peacock on this blog)watch mayura vannama
Uraga vannama - Snake dance
Ukusa vannama - dance of the eagle
thuranga vannama - dance of the horse etc.
all these dances are displaying the movements and emotions of the animals in a great pleasurable way and always very fascinating to watch.

Ves dance is the unique and essential upcountry symbolization of traditional sinhalese dance.It is only performed by the males.The ves costume,mostly the headgear is considered sacred and believed to be belong to the divine spirits.One of the best parts of this Ves dance that includes vigoruous rhythmic movements with brilliant foot works is kohomba kankariya.It is a ritual dance made for "kohomba god"of the kohomba tree,as an appeal for his blessings.watch a Ves dance

Another type of Kandyan dance is Udekki dance which is believed to be a very esteemed one.Udekki is a type of a hand drum that is believed to be given by the god and is said it's also had been played in the heaven.It should be mentioned that it is very difficult to play.The characteristic feature of Udekki dance is that the dancer plays the udekki by him self by tightning the strings of udekki to obtain various pitches while he dances
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Naiyandi dance is another type of dance believed to be evolved by kohomba kankariya,The dancer is adorned by various decorations like beadwork on chest,silver chains and brass shoulder plates.

Pantheru dance has had its name by the drum pantheru,which is different from other types of drums by not having the skin.This dance is dedicated to the goddess Pattini and it has a very long history which runs to the ages of Lord Buddha.The costume is somewhat similar to the udekki(when males are dancing)costume but most of the times,the jacket is not beaded like in Udekki dance(substituted by a cloth at the waist).watch a Pantheru dance
You can have the great opportunity to watch almost all the types of Kandyan dances at the Esala perahera which is an annual colourful event.(there is a post on temple of sacred tooth relic).

watch a video of a crative Kandyan dance

Evincing Sri lankan traditions - Sri lankan wooden Masks"Vesmuhunu"

As an island that has a cultural history of more than 2500 years,Sri lanka has been able to develop a wide variety of spectacular art crafts of its own.Since very ancient times,wooden masks have always had a great position among all the Sri lankan traditional crafts.

One well known purpose of these masks was to be used in various dramatic rituals in Sri lanka like"Bali","Kohomba kankaariya"(Sri lankan devil dance)etc.These masked can be broadly classified as mythological,demonic,animal spirit and human figures.Of these,animal and demonic ones are considered as the oldest and some believe they represent ungodly practices(related to very ancient times)while mythological masks are considered to be an iconography of the folk religions of the historic period of Sri lanka.On the other hand human masks believed to be evolved in recent times.Some of these masks are used for healing purposes as well.

As you can see these masks are very colourful and express different kinds of emotions.They play a key role in dramatic rituals where they give the spectator some joy and excitement while always conveying a deeper meaning for them to catch.

want to see a video? watch a video of Sri lankan mask dance

Aukana Buddha statue - An exellency of ancient Craftsmanship

Aukana is one of the largest Buddha statues in Sri lanka (12meters) and one of the best handcraft of ancient Sri lankan Artist.This was built by King Dhathusena(5th centuryAD) the father of King Kashyapa who made the Seegiriya fortress.After the destruction of similar but larger Barmiyan Buddha statues at Afghanistan,this statue has taken the position as the tallest standing Buddha statue in existence today made by a single rock.

King Dathusena has gifted another magnificent product to Sri lanka which was the huge man made water tank to get rain water stocked during dry season to use for cultivating purposes which still nurishes those areas of Anuradhapura district, and is called "Kalaa wewa".Aukana statue is located adjoining to this Kalaa wewaa reminding the greatness of its builder King Dathusena.The statue is in the symbolic gesture (or"Mudra")which describes blessing.

If you watch the Aukana Buddha statue closely,you will be amazed by its expressions which are pure calmness and the steadiness that shows out the supreme power and stability of enlightenment.To build out something this magnificent,from a rough coarse rock merely explains the excellency of the ancient Sri lankan craftsmanship.

The best time to watch East facing Aukana statue would be at the crack of dawn as it will be easier for you to appreciate its fine carved features.

learn more about Aukana Buddha statue.

Temple of the sacred tooth relic(Sri Daladaa Maaligaawa)

Kandy was the last kingdom of Sri lanka.In ancient Sri lanka there was a rule that who has the ownership of the sacred tooth owns the crown of the country.So it was the symbol of sovereignty of Sri lanka.It was king's responsibility to protect the sacred tooth.When ever there was a kingdom,(Anuradhapura,Polonnaruwa,Gampola etc)there was a separate palace built for the sacred tooth.As mentioned kandy was the last kingdom the palace build for the sacred tooth relic during that period was Sri daladaa Maaligawa which is the temple of the sacred tooth relic and there we still have our precious sacred tooth relic inside.

At the temple things you can watch and appreciate would be
1)the temple and its structure
2)the museum adjoining the temple
3)room housing the sacred tooth(during poojas)
4)might see some elephants as well if you are lucky
5)Kandy Esala perahara on July (if you are very lucky)

If you want to know about the Sacred tooth relic-it is said to have been snatched from the flames of lord Buddha's pyre in 543BC and brought to Sri lanka during the 4th century AD hidden in the hair of a princess for its safety.

To worship the sacred tooth Sri lankans traditionally do a perahara since ancient times.If you have hot seen a kandy Esala perahara you are unlucky.It is a one of very colourful events happening since 15th century.The Perahara consists of traditional sinhala music and kandyan dancing plus it has a large number of charming beautifully decorated glistening elephants as well.Esala perahara is an event which happens annually on July.Watch Esala perehara video

If you want to know more about temple of the sacred tooth relic you can visit
learn more....