EXPLORATION OF SIGIRIYA

CENTRE FOR THE

 EXPLORATION O F SIGIRIYA

dhatusena, a 5th-century AD king, had two sons: kasyapa, born of a wife
of unequal rank, and mogallana, born of the queen. kasyapa conducted
a coue d'etat and assumed the throne, while mogallana escaped to india.
kasyapa built a palace and initiaon centre atop the rock of sigiriya, and,
when mogallana returned, committed suicide on losing the ensuing battle
on the plains below....

imagine the startling spectacle.you are a simple farmer. you emerge from a thick, vocal jungle into the silence of a sun-scorched clearing.nearby throbs a lone towering rock, one side of which seems alive, as if red-orange stone-skin has been
stretched taut over the maw and forequarter muscles of a gargantuan crouching petrified lion. the mighty mammal's head perches magnificently on its front paws, its body embedded within the rest of the rock as hidden in a cave.

But that was 1,500 years ago, when Sigiriya was in its heyday, seen as its architects intended. Today only the paws of the lion remain,

leaving to the imagination just how imposing Sigiriya once was.
But there's plenty of other archaeological evidence,so it's little wonder that sigiriya became Sri lanka's seven UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

   
The entire site is a marvel                                              

SIGIRI APSARAS

of urban planning.
The avenue from the western entrance bisects theRoyal Gardens.First are 
the symmetrical  
water Gardens. 
a quartet of interconnected, L-shaped baths. Adjoinnig these are
 fountains that still
function during the 
rainy season. Further along are moated islands, the largest of which were the sites of dry-season pavilions,and the Octagonal pond. lncidentally,
 the paved walkways were designed to be carpeted by flowing water.

At the base  of the rock you enter the Boulder Garden. A path snakes through a lobyrinth of rocks, reminders of the brick-and-timber buildings for which they were foundations. These rocks give for which they were foundation. These rocks give way to more terraced gardens and then stone steps. On the trip back down, at the southern end of the terraces, the walkway leads by the Cobra
Hood Cave.

A short climb, followed by a metal spiral staircase,brings you to a gallery of frescoes. The paintings of 22 bejewelled women - the damsels of Sigiriya, nymph goddesses called apsaras,

From the zenith of the rock, the breathtaking views are everyone's first focus-north to the rock outcrop called Pidurangala just two kilometres away, east at the jungle carpeting the unexcavated lnner City precinct, south to the Sigiri Wewa (water tank) and west to the gardens just visited. Only then do the ruined remains-mostly foundations - of the Royal Palace come to the fore.                                                                         E.G go next post                                                                            
 




 
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