Senarath Paranavithana Archives

The Avukana Buddha – a masterpiece of Buddhist art-by ACB Pethiyagoda Source:Island Some of the outstanding contributions to the Sri Lanka heritage are its Buddhist temple art and architecture, statuary, dagabas, dance forms and water and soil conservation ecosystems. Of Buddha statues, the one at Avukana is certainly a masterpiece; hewn out of solid granite it stands 11.3 meters high and 12.8 meters inclusive of the lotus flower pedestal. There are only four other comparable standing Buddha statues in Sri Lanka; Rasvehera in Anuradhapura, Maligawila and Buduruwagala in Moneragala and Dova in Badulla. Of these the ones at Rasvehera and Avukana are in the open and to the layman’s eye, there are hardly any signs of damage due to exposure to the elements. The stone carver or carvers names are not known or for that matter in which king’s rule the Avukana Statue was carved. Some think it was during ...

Decision time: Pothuvil Vihara Maha Devi Archaeological Park – By Dr D. Chandraratna Source: Island In this time of uncertainty the preservation of the Vihara Maha Devi archaeological site has called for a weighty and important landmark decision from our leaders. Volatile times that we experience now may be called the worst of times and paradoxically the best of times. The time has arrived for political leaders with verve to sideline the oddballs who graced (perhaps disgraced) our hallowed chambers. In the new political landscape the central defining characteristic is rationality, where science and discipline has taken centre stage. Politics has become a vocation, a calling, suitable only to those with vision, sagacity and character. The obsessional neurotic character of our nation, which fluctuated between confidence and anxiety at the best of times, has been yearning for this moment to arrive. Unfortunately that arrived not with independence or any time since. It ...