Dambulla Cave Temple (Golden Temple of Dambulla) Sri Lanka

Some mystical impact

Caves are defined as natural underground voids large enough for a man to enter; they had been the original abode of human beings; which gave man shelter, canvass and inspiration to express his literary and artistic talents. Being in a cave is an ample provocation to express oneself even modern people can’t resist writing and drawing on the wall of a cave! The massive pyramid shaped hill that encapsulates the cave must have some mystical impact on human mind.

In 1985 one diving trainer by name Henry Cosquer found a cave below 35 meters deep in the sea he got in to it to find an under-sea cave with walls full of drawings made by pre-historic tribes! This place is now named as Cosquer’s cave.

Jim White an illiterate cowboy from Mexico went to find the source of bats came out from a hole; what he found inside was Almighty’s works of art; this cave-system later got declared as a World Heritage Site in the name Carlsbad Caverns!

Pre-historic

Dambulla Caves one of the largest and undoubtedly the best preserved cave temple did not have to be discovered as they were always there as place of visit and worship. It was in 2^nd century BC King Valagam bahu modified the caves as shrines but there were signs of human inhabitations in these caves since 6^th century BC far before the advent of Buddhism; as human skeletons of more than 2700 years were discovered from nearby caves suggest.

Location

It is located three km away from the Danbulla Town in the north-central plains of Sri Lanka at a distance of 148 km from Colombo its capital. Here are located three UNESCO listed World Heritage Sites; hence this location is known as the ‘cultural triangle of Sri Lanka.

The first of thsse three sites the (Stupa of Polonnaruwa a dome shaped gigantic stupa with a structure on its top; this stupa can rub shoulders with the pyramids of Egypt).

Dambulla Cave a Buddhist shrine built in five natural caves with statues and frescoes.

Sirigya Temple (the fifth century fortress built on a massive rock resided by King Kasyapa) located about 19 km from Dambulla.

These three sites make the place the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka; that pulls not only tourists but Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world. It is here thousands of years back world’s first Buddhist kingdom was born. The town of Danbulla has for its credit a rose quartz mountain- the biggest in south Asia.

King Valagamba and a thanksgiving

These caves are natural ones and not carved out rock as in the case of Ajanta Cave. The history behind its making is as follows. King Valagam bahu (Valagamba) ruled Anuradhapura of Sri Lanka around 2^nd century BC. He had to take refuge in one of these caves when invaded by army from South India (a la Bin Laden and Tora Bora story!).

He spent there for 15 years (there were many instances of Indian emperors attacking Sri Lankan kingdoms in the past; this aggression must be one among them) leading a guerilla war. Later when the enemy retreated; he could come out to claim his throne. The shrine of these caves was built as a thanksgiving for giving him refuge for 15 long years.

The path to the cave-shrines

These caves occur in a 150 meter tall massive rock and can be accessed along the gentle slopes of the Dambulla rock. The hill towers on plains and visitors can get a panoramic view of the surrounding plains while negotiating the climb; both sides of the path has trees and a lot of monkey who pester the visitors for left over food. Tit bits for monkeys can be bought from the entrance. Visitors enjoy feeding them while walking.

Devaraja lena (lena means cave in Sinhalese) of the five caves this is the first; it is 52 meters wide from east to west and 23 meters long; it is seven meters tall at certain point. There are inscriptions in Brahmi on its entrance and a statue of Buddha that is 14 meters tall. It is believed to have been built by King Anuradhapura who lived during 1^st century BC.

Maharaja lena is the second and the largest cave among the five, it has 16 standing Buddha statue and 40 sitting inside; there are some Hindu idols also along with the statue of King Vattagamani which is often garlanded by devotees; there are wooden figurines on the left side.

Maha Alut Vihara (Great New Monastery) is the third shrine built by King Sri Kirti Rajasinha who was a revivalist of Buddhism. It has frescoes on wall and ceilings in typical Kandy style and 50 Buddha statues as well as one of the king.

The third and fourth caves are recently built (most probably between 18^th and late 19^th centuries) and similar to the first three in the style of construction and historically not as relevant as the first three.

Sri Lanka’s answer to Ajanta

The walls and ceilings of these caves are decorated with verses from Holy Scriptures; beautiful frescoes and carving the granite walls making innumerable statues of Buddha.

These five caves enclose 153 statues of Lord Buddha in varying postures (Buddha delivering sermons, the temptation of Buddha etc).

Waiting for Apsaras!

Apsaras as per Hindu mythologies are heavenly ladies of endless charm those at times make a tryst to earth in search of some mischief and seduce men of exceptional heroism. In fact every young man familiar with this myth yawn for such an opportunity and get indulged in heroism (often ending up in tragedy) to be visited by one Apsaras on one day or other!

The frescoes of Dambulla Caves do full justice to the Apsaras in one’s imagination with the right measurements. There are even Hindu idols of Ganesha Vishnu etc in these cave temples but the exquisite paintings of Apsaras still remain as the central piece of attraction (it naturally deserves that title). In their charm these female figurines of Dambulla are comparable only to those in temple’s walls of Kajuraho. These frescoes occupy altogether 2,100 sq meters.

More value for your money

A visit to Sri Lanka is worth only when this Golden Triangle is included in it; seeing three World Heritage Sites in one go is a steal! More over Sri Lanka is not an expensive location and all international flights are there to Colombo the Capital of Sri Lanka. Accommodations from luxury to budget, transportation and all sorts of amenities are available here for a song; the visitor can choose as per his wish; in any way Sri Lanka offers more value for your money.