Image title: Vishnu Image

English text:

Vishnu Image — Vishnu is a central character in the Hindu pantheon. He was venerated in Sri lanka since the middle part of the historical period. He lies on Ananta, a symbolic serpent of 'time', with consort Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Vishnu's 'dasa avatara' which are the ten manifestation reflect his omnipresence and omniscience nature. This eighth Century bronze image of the Gold Vishnu was recovered when it was sunk in the near Galle.

Note: In Sanskrit this would be denoted as Viṣṇupratimā (विष्णुप्रतिमा, vishnu-pratima)

Sinhala text (not proofread):

විෂ්ණු ප්‍රතිමාව — හින්දු දේව මණ්ඩලයේ ප්‍රධාන දෙවියකු වු විෂ්ණු ඓතිහාසික යුගයේ මැද භාගයේ සිට ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයින් අතර වන්දනාවට ලක්විය. විෂ්ණු කාලය නැමති සංකල්පය සංකේතාත්මකව හඟවන අනන්ත නම් නා රජු මත සශ්‍රීකත්වයට අධිපති ශ්‍රී ලක්ෂ්මි නම් වු සිය ශක්තිය සමඟ පෙනී සිටි. විවිධ මුහුණුවරින් ඉදිරිපත් වන විෂ්ණුගේ දස අවතාරය මෙම දෙවියාගේ සර්ව භෞමිකත්වය සහ සර්වකාලීන්තවය පිළිබිඹු කරයි. අටවන සියවසට අයත් විෂ්ණු දෙවියන්ගේ මෙම ලෝකඩ ප්‍රතිමාව සොයාගන්නා ලද්දේ ගාල්ලේ මුහුදු තීරයේ ගිලී තිබියදීය.

Transcription:

viṣṇu pratimāva — hindu dēva maṇḍalayē pradhāna deviyaku vu viṣṇu aitihāsika yugayē mæda bhāgayē siṭa śrī lāṅkikayin atara vandanāvaṭa lakviya. viṣṇu kālaya næmati saṅkalpaya saṅkētātmakava haṅgavana ananta nam nā raju mata saśrīkatvayaṭa adhipati śrī lakṣmi nam vu siya śaktiya samaṅga penī siṭi. vividha muhuṇuvarin idiripat vana viṣṇugē dasa avatāraya mema deviyāgē sarva bhaumikatvaya saha sarvakālīntavaya piḷibiḅu karayi. aṭavana siyavasaṭa ayat viṣṇu deviyangē mema lōkaḍa pratimāva soyāgannā laddē gāllē muhudu tīrayē gilī tibiyadīya.

Transcription:

vishnu pratimava — hindu deva mandalaye pradhana deviyaku vu vishnu aitihasika yugaye mada bhagaye sita shri lankikayin atara vandanavata lakviya. vishnu kalaya namati sankalpaya sanketatmakava hangavana ananta nam na raju mata sashrikatvayata adhipati shri lakshmi nam vu siya shaktiya samanga peni siti. vividha muhunuvarin idiripat vana vishnuge dasa avataraya mema deviyage sarva bhaumikatvaya saha sarvakalintavaya pilibibu karayi. atavana siyavasata ayat vishnu deviyange mema lokada pratimava soyaganna ladde galle muhudu tiraye gili tibiyadiya.

Automated translation (not verified):

Vishnu Statue — Vishnu, one of the main deities of the Hindu pantheon, has been worshiped among Sri Lankans since the middle of the historical period. Sri Lakshmi, the lord of fertility, appeared with her energy on King Ananta, symbolizing the concept of Vishnu time. The ten incarnations of Vishnu in various guises reflect the omnipresence and omnipresence of this deity. This eighth century bronze statue of Lord Vishnu was found submerged in the Galle seashore.

Gallery information:

These photos were taken at the Maritime Museum in Galle (Sri Lanka) which include objects recovered from the 2nd century B.C. Godawaya shipwreck. The Maritime Museum is housed in Galle's historic Dutch warehouse (built in 1671) and opened its doors on May 9, 1992. The Maritime Archaeology Museum is serving as a centre of education for various groups of visitors and researchers of Southern region of Sri Lanka.