Caption

The Medawala Rajamaha Viharaya or Tempitiya Vihara, north of Kandy is a typical tempath vihara, a small wooden image house or shrine, placed on stilts or piles. The tempath vihara can be regarded as Kandy's most significant contribution to Buddhist architecture, but there are not many specimen of its kind left.

Some of the frescoes in the Rajamaha Viharaya depict the king and the royal family, but they also depict the everyday life of the commoners, such as a farmer tilling his field with the help of a white bull. One enigmatic painting shows a recumbent Buddha, sleeping safely tucked away behind a mosquito net.

Though the frescoes exhibit all the hallmarks of the 18th century, the original construction of the Raja Mahavihara is said to go back to much earlier times. Despite the artistic merit of the frescoes, the most remarkable single feature in the image house is the small ivory figure of a Buddha. The figure is surrounded by an intricately carved wooden shrine

Date

Mar 26, 2015

Credit line

Photo12/imageBROKER/Chaweewan Chuchuay

Reference

BRK25F32_164

Model release

No

Property release

No

License type

Rights managed

Available size

47,6Mb (2,8Mb) / 16,4in x 11,3in / 4925 x 3380 (300dpi)

Keywords

Buddhism Buddhism Buddha Buddhas building buildings structure construction constructions sacral building sacred building religious building religious buildings temple temples temple's history statue statues art arts faith belief religion religions Southeast Asia Southeastern Asia South east Asia Asia ivory ivory religious Asian Asiatic historic historical historically history image history images Buddhist Buddhistic figure figures piece pieces character Buddha statue Buddha statues Buddha sculpture Buddha sculptures Singhalese Sinhalese Singhalese Sri Lanka one person 1 person single person Sri Lankan travel photography Kandy Central Province Theravada Viharn ceylon ceylonese chaweewan chuchuay medawala medawala rajamaha viharaya old ceylon tempitiya vihara vihara