Kalutara Chaitya: A Monumental Testament to Buddhist Art and Engineering Marvels – By Prashanth Sentilkumar
Source : Prashanth Sentilkumar Linkedin
Kalutara Chaitya- The Kalutara Chaitya is a Stupa which is found located close to the Kalutara Bridge.
It is one of the very few hollow Buddhist stupas in the world and has an interior which contains 74 murals, each depicting a different aspect of Lord Buddha’s life. Four small chaityas (stupas) are found , scenes from Jataka tales are painted.
The construction was done by the State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka where for the first time in Sri lanka ‘s history a computer was used for calculations .
Interms of measurements The large 30.5 m (100 ft) diameter and 91.5 m (300 ft) circumference concrete dome has a thin shell with a thickness of 140 mm (5.5 in). It was the first thin hemispherical shell built in the country.
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The foundation stone was laid in 1964, and the pinnacle of the Chaitya was topped in January 1974. The pinnacle was unveiled and relics were deposited in to the inner chamber on the 28 of February 1980.
