Image title: Royal Palace of Polonnaruwa (ground plan)

English text:

Royal Palace:—This is the seven storied Palace named Vijayotpaya or Vijavanta Prasada buit by King Parakramabahu the Great (1153-1186 A. D) in Polonnaruva. The name is that of the Palace of God Sakra and its adoption here indicates that there may have been a need at the time to secure the concept that the King and god were equal. The basic ground plan of the palace is similar to that of the 12 th century "Vijayabahu" palace at Anuradhapura and the palaces at Panduvasnuvara and Yapahuwa. Remains of three stories of the supposed seven stories can still be identified. Crevises and sockets on the thick brick walls were to take in large wooden beams. There is evidence that this palace may have been destroyed by fire. Mahavamsa mentions that this had thousand chambers. Around the palace, ruins of many buildings are seen which may have been used as places for rituals and entertainment, and as rooms for palace aides and storage.

Ground plan:
a. Lobby;
b. Audience Hall;
c. Staircase;
d. Septic Tank;
e. Courtyard;
f. Building No 01.

Sinhalese text (not proofread):

රජ මාළිඟය
මිනා පරාක්‍රමබාහු රජු (ක්‍රි.ව. 1153-1186) විසින් පොළොන්නරුවේ ඉදිකළ විජයොත්පාය හෙවත් වෛජයන්ත ප්‍රාසාදය නම් වූ සත් මහල් මාළිගය මෙයයි. ශක්‍ර දේවෙන්ද්‍රයාගේ වාසභවනය හැඳින් වෙන එම නම් තව අලංකාර මාළිගය සඳහා යෙදීමෙන් පෙනෙන්නේ රජු යන දෙවියන් සමාන යැයි යන සංකල්පය ප්‍රචලිත කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාවය එකල පැවති බවය. මෙම මාළිගය එහි මුලික බළ සැලැස්ම අනුව 12 වන ශත වර්ෂයේ අනුරාධපුර විජයබා මාළිගයටත්, පඬුවස් නුවර සහ යාපහුවේ මාළිගාවන්ටත් සමාන වේ. මෙහි තිබුන බව කියන මහල් හතෙන් තුනක අවශේෂ තවමත් හදුනාගත හැකිය. විශාල දැව බාල්ක සඳහා යෙදුණ තවී හා කුහර තවමත් ඝන ගඩොල් බිත්ති අතර දැකිය හැකිය. මෙම මාළිඟය ගින්නෙන් දැවී විනාශ වූ බවට සාධක තවමත් ඉතිරිව ඇත. මෙම මාළිගය කාමර දහසකින් යුක්ත වූ බව මහා වංශයේ සඳහන්ය. මාළිගය වටා තවමත් නොයෙකුත් ගොඩ නැගිලි රැයක අවශේෂ දුටුව හැකිය. ඒවා විවිධ පුද පූජාවන්, විනෝද කාර්යයන්, දැඩි දස්සන්, ගබඩා ගෙවල් වැනි නොයෙකුත් අවශ්‍යතාවයන් සඳහා යොදා ගන්නට ඇත.

බිම් සැලසුම
ආලින්දය
සහ ශාලාව
විය ගැටපෙල
වැසිකිළි වල
වමව
අංක 1 ගොඩ නැගිල්ල

Transcription (not proofread):

raja māḷiṅgaya
minā parākramabāhu raju (kri.va. 1153-1186) visin poḷonnaruvē idikaḷa vijayotpāya hevat vaĩjayanta prāsādaya nam vū sat mahal māḷigaya meyayi. śakra dēvendrayāgē vāsabhavanaya hændin vena ema nam tava alaṅkāra māḷigaya sandahā yedīmen penennē raju yana deviyan samāna yæyi yana saṅkalpaya prachalita kirīmē avaśyatāvaya ekala pævati bavaya. mema māḷigaya ehi mulika baḷa sælæsma anuva 12 vana śata varṣayē anurādhapura vijayabā māḷigayaṭat, paṇḍuvas nuvara saha yāpahuvē māḷigāvanṭat samāna vē. mehi tibuna bava kiyana mahal haten tunaka avaśēṣa tavamat hadunāgata hækiya. viśāla dæva bālka sandahā yeduṇa tavī hā kuhara tavamat ghana gaḍol bitti atara dækiya hækiya. mema māḷiṅgaya ginnen dævī vināśa vū bavaṭa sādhaka tavamat itiriva æta. mema māḷigaya kāmara dahasakin yukta vū bava mahā vaṅśayē sandahanya. māḷigaya vaṭā tavamat noyekut goḍa nægili ræyaka avaśēṣa duṭuva hækiya. ēvā vividha puda pūjāvan, vinōda kāryayan, dæḍi dassan, gabaḍā geval væni noyekut avaśyatāvayan sandahā yodā gannaṭa æta.

bim sælasuma
ālindaya
saha śālāva
viya gæṭapela
væsikiḷi vala
vamava
aṅka 1 goḍa nægilla

Transcription (not proofread):

raja malingaya
mina parakramabahu raju (kri.va. 1153-1186) visin polonnaruve idikala vijayotpaya hevat vaĩjayanta prasadaya nam vu sat mahal maligaya meyayi. shakra devendrayage vasabhavanaya handin vena ema nam tava alankara maligaya sandaha yedimen penenne raju yana deviyan samana yayi yana sankalpaya prachalita kirime avashyatavaya ekala pavati bavaya. mema maligaya ehi mulika bala salasma anuva 12 vana shata varshaye anuradhapura vijayaba maligayatat, panduvas nuvara saha yapahuve maligavantat samana ve. mehi tibuna bava kiyana mahal haten tunaka avashesha tavamat hadunagata hakiya. vishala dava balka sandaha yeduna tavi ha kuhara tavamat ghana gadol bitti atara dakiya hakiya. mema malingaya ginnen davi vinasha vu bavata sadhaka tavamat itiriva ata. mema maligaya kamara dahasakin yukta vu bava maha vanshaye sandahanya. maligaya vata tavamat noyekut goda nagili rayaka avashesha dutuva hakiya. eva vividha puda pujavan, vinoda karyayan, dadi dassan, gabada geval vani noyekut avashyatavayan sandaha yoda gannata ata.

bim salasuma
alindaya
saha shalava
viya gatapela
vasikilli vala
vamava
anka 1 goda nagilla

Translation of Sinhalese text (automated translation):

This is the seven-storied palace called Vijayotpaya or Vaijayantha Prasadaya built by King Mina Parakramabahu (1153-1186 AD) in Polonnaruwa. Applying those names to the more beautiful palace, which is known as the residence of Shakra Devendra, shows that there was a need to popularize the concept that the king is the same as God at that time. The palace is similar in its basic plan to the 12th century Anuradhapura Vijayaba Palace and the palaces of Padduvas and Yapahu. Remains of three of the seven floors said to have existed here can still be identified. Slots and holes for large wooden beams can still be seen between the solid brick walls. There are still evidences that this palace was destroyed by fire. It is mentioned in the Mahavamsa that this palace had a thousand rooms. Remains of many buildings can still be seen around the palace. They may have been used for various purposes such as sacrificial offerings, entertainment functions, intensive rituals, storehouses, etc.

Tamil text (not proofread):

அரச மாளிகை
மகா பராக்கிரமபாகு அரசனால் பொலன்னறுவையில் கட்டப்பட்ட விஜயொத்பாயா என்ற வைஜயந்தா பிரசாதய என்னும் ஏழமாடிக் கட்டிடத்தைக் கொண்ட மாளிகை இதுவாகும். சக்கர தேவன் வாழும் இல்லத்துக்குரிய குரிய பெயரை அரசன் இக்கட்டிடத்துக்கு வைத்திருப்பது எதைக் காட்டுகிற தென்றால் அன்று அரசனையும் தெய்வத்தையும் சமமாக எண்ணியதைப் பரப்பும் தேவையாலேயே என்பது புரிகின்றது. இந்த மாளிகையின் அமைப்பானது அனுராதபுரத்திலுள்ள விஜயபா மாளிகைக்கும் பண்டுவஸ் நுவர, யாப்பகூவாவில் உள்ள மாளிகைகளுக்கும் சமமாக உள்ளதைக் காணலாம். இந்த ஏழு மாடிக் கட்டிடத்தின் மூன்று மாடிகளின் கட்டிடச் சிதைவுகளை இன்றும் அடையாளம் காணலாம். மேல்மாடிகள் சில வேளைகளில் மரத்தால் உருவாக்கப் பட்டிருக்கலாம். பெரிய மரப் பறாளைக்காகச் செய்யப்பட்ட சிறிய குழிகளை இன்றும் செங்கற் சுவர்களில் காணலாம். இம்மாளிகை நெருப்பில் எரிந்து அழியப்பட்டுள்ளதற்கான சான்றுகளை இன்றும காணலாம் இம்மாளிகை ஆயிரம் அறைகளைக கொண்டதாக இருந்தது என மகாவம்சம் கூறுகிறது. இம்மாளிகையைச் சுற்றிலும் கட்டிடங்களின் சிதைவுகள் பலவற்றைக் காணலாம். வெவ்வேறு பூசைகளுக்காகவும். வேலை செய்பவர்களுக்காகவும், பண்டகசாலைக்காகவும், எனப் பல தேவைகளுக்காகப் பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மைதான படம்
மண்டபம்
சபை கூடம்
படிக்கட்டு
மலகூடக் குழி
வட்டமலுவ
கட்டிடம் இலக்கம் - 01

Transcription (not proofread):

araca māḷikai
makā parākkiramapāku aracaṉāl polaṉṉaṟuvaiyil kaṭṭappaṭṭa vijayotpāyā eṉṟa vaijayantā piracātaya eṉṉum ēḻamāṭik kaṭṭiṭattaik koṇṭa māḷikai ituvākum. cakkara tēvaṉ vāḻum illattukkuriya kuriya peyarai aracaṉ ikkaṭṭiṭattukku vaittiruppatu etaik kāṭṭukiṟa teṉṟāl aṉṟu aracaṉaiyum teyvattaiyum camamāka eṇṇiyataip parappum tēvaiyālēyē eṉpatu purikiṉṟatu. inta māḷikaiyiṉ amaippāṉatu aṉurātapurattiluḷḷa vijayapā māḷikaikkum paṇṭuvas nuvara, yāppakūvāvil uḷḷa māḷikaikaḷukkum camamāka uḷḷataik kāṇalām. inta ēḻu māṭik kaṭṭiṭattiṉ mūṉṟu māṭikaḷiṉ kaṭṭiṭac citaivukaḷai iṉṟum aṭaiyāḷam kāṇalām. mēlmāṭikaḷ cila vēḷaikaḷil marattāl uruvākkap paṭṭirukkalām. periya marap paṟāḷaikkākac ceyyappaṭṭa ciṟiya kuḻikaḷai iṉṟum ceṅkaṟ cuvarkaḷil kāṇalām. immāḷikai neruppil erintu aḻiyappaṭṭuḷḷataṟkāṉa cāṉṟukaḷai iṉṟuma kāṇalām immāḷikai āyiram aṟaikaḷaika koṇṭatāka iruntatu eṉa makāvamcam kūṟukiṟatu. immāḷikaiyaic cuṟṟilum kaṭṭiṭaṅkaḷiṉ citaivukaḷ palavaṟṟaik kāṇalām. vevvēṟu pūcaikaḷukkākavum. vēlai ceypavarkaḷukkākavum, paṇṭakacālaikkākavum, eṉap pala tēvaikaḷukkākap payaṉpaṭuttappaṭṭuḷḷatu.

maitāṉa paṭam
maṇṭapam
capai kūṭam
paṭikkaṭṭu
malakūṭak kuḻi
vaṭṭamaluva
kaṭṭiṭam ilakkam - 01

Transcription (not proofread):

araca malikai
maga parakkiramapagu arasanal polannaruvaiyil kattappatta vijayothpaya enra vaijayantha pirasathaya ennum ezhamadig kattidathaig konda maligai ithuvagum. sakkara thevan vazhum illathukkuriya kuriya peyarai arasan ikkattidathukku vaithiruppathu ethaig kattugira thenral anru arasanaiyum theyvathaiyum samamaga enniyathaip parappum thevaiyaleye enpathu puriginrathu. intha maligaiyin amaippanathu anurathapurathilulla vijayapa maligaikkum panduvas nuvara, yappaguvavil ulla maligaigalukkum samamaga ullathaig kanalam. intha ezhu madig kattidathin munru madigalin kattidas sithaivugalai inrum adaiyalam kanalam. melmadigal sila velaigalil marathal uruvakkap pattirukkalam. periya marap paralaikkagas seyyappatta siriya kuzhigalai inrum sengar suvarkalil kanalam. immaligai neruppil erinthu azhiyappattullatharkana sanrugalai inruma kanalam immaligai ayiram araigalaiga kondathaga irunthathu ena magavamsam kurugirathu. immaligaiyais surrilum kattidangalin sithaivugal palavarraig kanalam. vevveru pusaigalukkagavum. velai seypavarkalukkagavum, pandagasalaikkagavum, enap pala thevaigalukkagap payanpaduthappattullathu.

maitana patam
mantapam
capai kutam
patikkattu
malakutak kuli
vattamaluva
kattitam ilakkam - 01

Translation of Tamil text (automated translation):

This is a seven-storied mansion called Vijayantha Prasadaya, Vijayodpaya, built in Polonnaruwa by King Maha Parakramapagu. It can be understood that the King's keeping this building with the proper name of the residence of Chakra Deva shows that it was due to the need to spread the idea that the king and the deity were considered equal at that time. It can be seen that the structure of this palace is similar to the Vijayabha Palace at Anuradhapura and the palaces at Banduvas Nuwara and Yappakuwa. The ruins of three floors of this seven-storey building can still be identified today. The attics were sometimes made of wood. Small holes made for large wooden corals can still be seen in the brick walls today. Evidences of this mansion being destroyed by fire can still be seen today. According to the Mahavamsa, this mansion had a thousand rooms. Many ruins of buildings can be seen around this mansion. Also for different pujas. It has been used for many purposes like working people, warehouse etc.

Gallery information:

These photographs were taken at the Polonnaruwa archaeological site which preserve some of the monuments and religious structures of the ancient kingdom of Polonnaruwa (also Pulathisipura or Vijayarajapura) of Sri Lanka dating to the 10th century CE. Some of the important kings who reigned in this kingdom are King Vijayabahu I and his grandson, king Prakramabahu the Great. The city and it's architecture were influenced by various religious such as Hinduism in its early history, Shaivism and later Buddhism.