Lankathilaka: The jewel of the Gampola kingdom – By MAHIL WIJESINGHE

Along the winding roads past a bustling township off Pilimathalawa lie admired and inspired the cultural and architectural marvels. Belonging to the Gampola Kingdom, this beautiful structure rises over the serene panorama of lush vegetation.

The marvellous heritage creation is connected by a common past; the history of a kingdom that lasted for 70 years under four kings. The Temple of Lankathilaka of 14th-century Sri Lanka is a testament to the political and cultural integration that the rulers of the Gampola Kingdom infused into this fascinating structure. The Temple of Lankathilaka remains an enduring sentinel that is admired and venerated even today.

We had an opportunity to make a detour to this amazing temple on our return from Kandy, where we witnessed the daily life of elephants who took part in the annual Esala Perahera at Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

The activity in shops selling trinkets, statues and crafts along an uneven mountain path enlivened an otherwise laid-back morning. Further up, the beauty of a white structure gleaming in the morning sunlight was revealed.

Striking appearance

The magnificent Lankathilaka Temple looked perfect, perched on a Panhalgala rock. The surrounding landscape of mountains and misty horizons magnified the striking appearance of this 14th-century structure.

As we walked around, awe-struck by its beauty, a young Samanera bhikkhu was delightfully engaged in a board game with a caretaker of the temple. Bearing the keys to the temple, he pointed to the biggest stone inscription on the island, chiselled in Sinhala and Tamil.

The Lankathilaka Temple is a fine example of the cohabitation of Buddhist and Hindu worship; the Buddhist image house faces the east while the shrine dedicated to Hindu deities faces west. The female deities are also accommodated in the shrine. A new feature is the worship of deity Kumara Bandara. There is also an ancient Bo tree and a devale dedicated to a deity at Alutnuwara. The small but beautiful dagaba constructed in the recent past is also a beautiful addition.

The outstanding feature of this architectural delight is the two-tiered Kandyan-period roof. The coffer plate inscriptions of Lankathilaka Temple claim that the original structure had consisted of four storeys, now reduced to two. Even today, the pilasters, cornices, lintels and niches with refined sculptures placed uniformly around the outer walls of the building display a sense of order. The main entrance is decorated with a dragon arch, with smaller versions at the subsidiary entrances on the sides.

The larger-than-life door at the image house is a canvass of delicate designs. The walls inside resemble a tapestry of exquisite paintings; decorative motifs of creepers, blooms and birds, and the depiction of the former lives of the 24 Buddhas.

Lankathilaka Temple has the only painting of the famous ‘Hansa Poottuwa’ that features four swans instead of the customary two. The image house, as the centrepiece, has a large figure of the Buddha, whose eyes are studded with precious stones.

And like all other stories of yore, it is said that the light that trickled through the once open roof had fallen upon the jewels, which in turn illuminated the entrance to the shrine. This temple is presently owned by bhikkhus of the Kobbekaduwa Sirinivasa pupillary succession.