Image title: Polonnaruwa Vatadage

English text:

Polonnaruwa Vatadage—This is one of the architectural marvels in Polonnaruva. This may have been originally used as the Temple of the Tooth as there is mention of a round relic house built by King Parakramabahu the Great (1153-1186 A.D.). But according to the galpota (stone book) inscription, King Nissankamalla (1187-1196 A.D.) has built a vatadage within the quadrangle naming it Ratnagiri Vatadage, which suggests that at least some renovation or reconstruction work has been done here during King Nissankamalla's reign. Just as other vatadages in the island, this too appears as a round building enclosing a stupa at its center. It has taken the present form' probably as a result of the renovations or reconstruction works done in the region of King Nissankamalla or during the Damba…

Top-left image: Conjectural Sectional Elevation

Ground plan:
a. Entrance Porch
b. Stupa
c. Samadhi Buddha Image

Sinhalese text (not proofread):

වටදාගෙ
පොළොන්නරුවේ දක්නට ලැබෙන විශේෂ්ටතම නිර්මාණයක් ලෙස වටදාගේ හැඳින්විය හැකිය. වටදාගේ යන්නෙයි අර්ථය වටකුරු ධාතු ගෘහය යන්නය. මහා පරාක්‍රමබාහු රජු (ක්‍රි.ව. 1153 - 1186) විසින් පොලොන්නරුවේ ශෛලමය වටකුරු දළදා ගෙයක් කළ බව සඳහන් වන බැවින්, දළදා මළුව තුළ පිහිටි මෙම වටදාගේ ඇතැම් විට ප්‍රථමයෙන් දළදා මන්දිරය ලෙස භාවිතා වන්නට ඇත. එහෙත් ගල්පොත ලිපියට අනුව නිශ්ශංකමල්ල රජු (ක්‍රි.ව. 1187 - 1196) විසින් දළදා මළුව තුළ වටදාගෙයක් කළ බවත්, එය රත්නගිරි වටදාගේ නමින් නම් කළ බවත් සඳහන් වීමෙන් පෙනෙන්නේ අවම වශයෙන් නිශ්ශංකමල්ල රාජ සමයේදී ද, නවතම් කිමක් හෝ ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණයක් මෙහි සිදු වී ඇති බවය. දිවයිනේ පිහිටි අනෙකුත් වටදාගෙවල් මෙන්ම මෙම වටදාගෙයද දිස්වන්නේ ස්තූපයක් වටා ඉදිවු වටකුරු මන්දිරයක් ලෙධය. වර්තමාන ස්වරූපය මෙයට ලැබී ඇත්තේ නිශ්ශංකමල්ල සමයේදී හෝ දඹදෙණි යුගයේදී සිදු වූ නව කම් නො ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ වල දී විය හැකිය. මෙහි පියස්ස ගල් ටැම් මත දැව පරාල යොදා උළු සෙවිල්ලා තිබෙන්නට ඇත. මෙහි ඉහළ මාලකයේ උතුරු දිශාවට මුහුණලා ඇති සඳකඩ පහණ සහ නැගෙනහිර දිශාවට මුහුණලා ඇති මුරගල් යුගලය පොළොන්නරුවේ දක්නට ලැබෙන එම වර්ගයේ විශිෂ්ටතම නිදර්ශන ලෙස හැඳින්විය හැක.

උපකල්පිත ඉදිරි පෙනුම / හරස් කැපුව

බිම් සැලසුම
ද්වාර මණ්ඩපය
ස්තූපය
සමාධි බුදු පිළිමය

Transcription (not proofread):

vaṭadāge
poḷonnaruvē daknaṭa læbena viśēṣṭatama nirmāṇayak lesa vaṭadāgē hændinviya hækiya. vaṭadāgē yanneyi arthaya vaṭakuru dhātu gruhaya yannaya. mahā parākramabāhu raju (kri.va. 1153 - 1186) visin polonnaruvē śa‍ĩlamaya vaṭakuru daḷadā geyak kaḷa bava sandahan vana bævin, daḷadā maḷuva tuḷa pihiṭi mema vaṭadāgē ætæm viṭa prathamayen daḷadā mandiraya lesa bhāvitā vannaṭa æta. ehet galpota lipiyaṭa anuva niśśaṅkamalla raju (kri.va. 1187 - 1196) visin daḷadā maḷuva tuḷa vaṭadāgeyak kaḷa bavat, eya ratnagiri vaṭadāgē namin nam kaḷa bavat sandahan vīmen penennē avama vaśayen niśśaṅkamalla rāja samayēdī da, navatam kimak hō pratisaṅskaraṇayak mehi sidu vī æti bavaya. divayinē pihiṭi anekut vaṭadāgeval menma mema vaṭadāgeyada disvannē stūpayak vaṭā idivu vaṭakuru mandirayak ledhaya. vartamāna svarūpaya meyaṭa læbī ættē niśśaṅkamalla samayēdī hō daḅadeṇi yugayēdī sidu vū nava kam no pratisaṅskaraṇa vala dī viya hækiya. mehi piyassa gal ṭæm mata dæva parāla yodā uḷu sevillā tibennaṭa æta. mehi ihaḷa mālakayē uturu diśāvaṭa muhuṇalā æti sandakaḍa pahaṇa saha nægenahira diśāvaṭa muhuṇalā æti muragal yugalaya poḷonnaruvē daknaṭa læbena ema vargayē viśiṣṭatama nidarśana lesa hændinviya hæka.

upakalpita idiri penuma / haras kæpuva

bim sælasuma
dvāra maṇḍapaya
stūpaya
samādhi budu piḷimaya

Transcription (not proofread):

vatadage
polonnaruve daknata labena visheshtatama nirmanayak lesa vatadage handinviya hakiya. vatadage yanneyi arthaya vatakuru dhatu gruhaya yannaya. maha parakramabahu raju (kri.va. 1153 - 1186) visin polonnaruve sha‍ĩlamaya vatakuru dalada geyak kala bava sandahan vana bavin, dalada maluva tula pihiti mema vatadage atam vita prathamayen dalada mandiraya lesa bhavita vannata ata. ehet galpota lipiyata anuva nishshankamalla raju (kri.va. 1187 - 1196) visin dalada maluva tula vatadageyak kala bavat, eya ratnagiri vatadage namin nam kala bavat sandahan vimen penenne avama vashayen nishshankamalla raja samayedi da, navatam kimak ho pratisanskaranayak mehi sidu vi ati bavaya. divayine pihiti anekut vatadageval menma mema vatadageyada disvanne stupayak vata idivu vatakuru mandirayak ledhaya. vartamana svarupaya meyata labi atte nishshankamalla samayedi ho daḅadeni yugayedi sidu vu nava kam no pratisanskarana vala di viya hakiya. mehi piyassa gal tam mata dava parala yoda ulu sevilla tibennata ata. mehi ihala malakaye uturu dishavata muhunala ati sandakada pahana saha nagenahira dishavata muhunala ati muragal yugalaya polonnaruve daknata labena ema vargaye vishishtatama nidarshana lesa handinviya haka.

upakalpita idiri penuma / haras kapuva

bim salasuma
dvara mandapaya
stupaya
samadhi budu pilimaya

Translation of Sinhalese text (automated translation):

Watadage can be called as one of the most special creations found in Polonnaruwa. Vatage means round relic house. As King Maha Parakramabahu (1153 - 1186 AD) is said to have built a stone round dalada house in Polonnaruwa, this vatada within the dalada court may have first been used as the dalada mandir. However, according to the stone inscription, King Nisshankamalla (1187 - 1196 AD) made a watadage in Dalada's courtyard and named it after Ratnagiri Vatada, which shows that at least during the reign of Nisshankamalla, some recent renovations took place here. Like other roundhouses on the island, this roundhouse looks like a round house built around a stupa. It may have got its present form during the Nisshankamalla period or during the new construction reforms that took place during the Dambadeni era. Here, the piyassa may have been covered with tiles using wooden rafters on stone tams. The pair of moonstones facing the north direction on the upper floor and the watchtowers facing the east direction can be called the best examples of this type found in Polonnaruwa.

Tamil text (not proofread):

வட்டதாகை
பொலன்னறுவையிலுள்ள சிறந்த கட்டிடக் கலைச் சின்னமாக இதைக் கூறலாம் வட்டதாகை என்பது புனித தந்தத்தையுடைய வட்டமான இல்லமாகும். பொலன்னறுவையில் பராக்கிரமபாகு கற்களால் வட்டமான புனித தந்த இல்லத்தைக் கட்டினான் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது. புனித தந்த முற்றத்திலுள்ள வட்டதாகை அக்காலத்தில் சில வேளைகளில் தலதா மாளிகையாகப் பாவிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கலாம். இருப்பினும் கல்பொத்த கல்வெட்டின்படி நிசங்கமல்ல அரசனால் (கி.பி. 1187-1196) தலதா முற்றத்தில் வட்டதாகை உருவாக்கப்பட்டது. அது ரத்னகிரி வட்டதாகை என்று பெயரிடப்பட்டதாகக் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது. இவற்றின் மூலம் தெரிவது என்னவெனில் நிசங்கமல்ல அரசனின் காலத்தில் புதுப்பித்தலும்,புதிதாக நிர்மாணித்தலும் இடம்பெற்றிருக்கலாம். இலங்கையில் ஏனைய இடங்களில் அமைக்கப்பட்ட வட்டதாகைகள் போன்று இதுவும் தூபியைச்சற்றியுள்ள வட்டமான மாளிகையைப் போன்று தெரிகின்றது. நிசங்கமல்லனின் காலத்தில் அல்லது தம்பதேனியா யுகத்தில் செய்யப்பட்ட புன்ரமைப்பில். இவ்வடிவமைப்பு கிடைத்திருக்கலாம். இதன் கூரை கற்றூண்களில் மரப்பறாளைகள் பொருத்தப்பட்டு ஓடுகளால் வேயப்பட்டிருக்கலாம். இதன் மேல் மாடியில் வடக்குப்பக்கமாக சந்திரவட்டக்கல் வடிவமும் கிழக்குப்பக்கத்தில் அமைந்துள்ள காவற்கற்களும் பொலன்னறுவையில் காணப்படும் சிறப்பம்சங்களுக்கு உதாரணங்களாகக் கூறலாம்.

ஊக வெட்டுத் தோற்றம்

மைதான படம்
நுழைவாயில்
தூபி
சமாதி புத்தர் சிலை

Transcription (not proofread):

vaṭṭatākai
polaṉṉaṟuvaiyiluḷḷa ciṟanta kaṭṭiṭak kalaic ciṉṉamāka itaik kūṟalām vaṭṭatākai eṉpatu puṉita tantattaiyuṭaiya vaṭṭamāṉa illamākum. polaṉṉaṟuvaiyil parākkiramapāku kaṟkaḷāl vaṭṭamāṉa puṉita tanta illattaik kaṭṭiṉāṉ eṉṟu kūṟappaṭukiṟatu. puṉita tanta muṟṟattiluḷḷa vaṭṭatākai akkālattil cila vēḷaikaḷil talatā māḷikaiyākap pāvikkappaṭṭirukkalām. iruppiṉum kalpotta kalveṭṭiṉpaṭi nicaṅkamalla aracaṉāl (ki.pi. 1187-1196) talatā muṟṟattil vaṭṭatākai uruvākkappaṭṭatu. atu ratṉakiri vaṭṭatākai eṉṟu peyariṭappaṭṭatākak kūṟappaṭṭuḷḷatu. ivaṟṟiṉ mūlam terivatu eṉṉaveṉil nicaṅkamalla aracaṉiṉ kālattil putuppittalum,putitāka nirmāṇittalum iṭampeṟṟirukkalām. ilaṅkaiyil ēṉaiya iṭaṅkaḷil amaikkappaṭṭa vaṭṭatākaikaḷ pōṉṟu ituvum tūpiyaiccaṟṟiyuḷḷa vaṭṭamāṉa māḷikaiyaip pōṉṟu terikiṉṟatu. nicaṅkamallaṉiṉ kālattil allatu tampatēṉiyā yukattil ceyyappaṭṭa puṉramaippil. ivvaṭivamaippu kiṭaittirukkalām. itaṉ kūrai kaṟṟūṇkaḷil marappaṟāḷaikaḷ poruttappaṭṭu ōṭukaḷāl vēyappaṭṭirukkalām. itaṉ mēl māṭiyil vaṭakkuppakkamāka cantiravaṭṭakkal vaṭivamum kiḻakkuppakkattil amaintuḷḷa kāvaṟkaṟkaḷum polaṉṉaṟuvaiyil kāṇappaṭum ciṟappamcaṅkaḷukku utāraṇaṅkaḷākak kūṟalām.

ūka veṭṭut tōṟṟam

maitāṉa paṭam
nuḻaivāyil
tūpi
camāti puttar cilai

Transcription (not proofread):

vattathagai
polannaruvaiyilulla sirantha kattidag kalais sinnamaga ithaig kuralam vattathagai enpathu punitha thanthathaiyudaiya vattamana illamagum. polannaruvaiyil parakkiramapagu karkalal vattamana punitha thantha illathaig kattinan enru kurappadugirathu. punitha thantha murrathilulla vattathagai akkalathil sila velaigalil thalatha maligaiyagap pavikkappattirukkalam. iruppinum kalpotha kalvettinpadi nisangamalla arasanal (ki.pi. 1187-1196) thalatha murrathil vattathagai uruvakkappattathu. athu rathnagiri vattathagai enru peyaridappattathagak kurappattullathu. ivarrin mulam therivathu ennavenil nisangamalla arasanin kalathil puthuppithalum,puthithaga nirmanithalum idamberrirukkalam. ilangaiyil enaiya idangalil amaikkappatta vattathagaigal ponru ithuvum thupiyaicharriyulla vattamana maligaiyaip ponru theriginrathu. nisangamallanin kalathil allathu thambatheniya yugathil seyyappatta punramaippil. ivvadivamaippu kidaithirukkalam. ithan kurai karrunkalil marapparalaigal poruthappattu odugalal veyappattirukkalam. ithan mel madiyil vadakkuppakkamaga santhiravattakkal vadivamum kizhakkuppakkathil amainthulla kavarkarkalum polannaruvaiyil kanappadum sirappamsangalukku utharanangalagak kuralam.

uga vettuth thorram

maithana padam
nuzhaivayil
thupi
samathi puthar silai

Translation of Tamil text (automated translation):

It can be said to be the best architectural symbol in Polonnaruwa. It is said that Parakramapagu built a circular sacred ivory house in Polonnaruwa. The Vattagaga in the holy ivory courtyard may have been consecrated as Talatha House at some point during that period. However, according to the Kalpotha inscription, Vattagaga was built in the Talatha courtyard by King Nisangamalla (1187-1196 AD). It is said to have been named Ratnagiri Vattaga. What can be seen from these is that renovations and new constructions may have taken place during the reign of the king. It looks like a round house surrounded by an obelisk, like the round mats erected in other places in Sri Lanka. In the reconstruction done during Nisangamallan or Dambadeniya Yuga. This design may have been found. Its roof may have been tiled with wooden beams attached to the beams. On the upper storey, the crescent shape on the north side and the guard stones on the east side are examples of the features found in Polonnaruwa.

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.