Golden Temple – Dambulla is located in the central part of the country. This world heritage site is 148 km east of Colombo and is 72 km north of Kandy. The Golden Temple – Dambulla is the largest cave temple in Sri Lanka.
The temple is the best-preserved cave temple complex. The rock on which it is constructed is 160 meter over the surrounding area. The place also has more than 80 caves, but the major attractions are present in 5 caves. These include statues and paintings related to the life of Lord Buddha. There are 153 statues of Buddha as well as 3 statues of Kings of Sri Lanka and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. Out of these statues, 2 statues are of the Hindu deities Vishnu and Ganesh. The murals present in the temple covers an area of 2100 square meters. There are also depictions on the cave walls of Buddha's temptation by Mara (demon) as well as Buddha's first sermon.
Golden Temple – Dambulla in Sri Lanka is the most impressive cave temple in the country, which dates back to the 1st century BC. There are five caves present under an overhanging rock. The caves have been converted into shrine rooms. These impressive caves are built near the base of a 150-meter high rock at the time of Anuradhapura (1st century BC to 993 AD) and the Polonnaruwa (1073 to 1250).
The first cave is called Devaraja Lena or "The Cave of the Divine King". There is a 14-meter statue of the Buddha, carved out of the rock. Towards the feet of the Buddha is his favorite pupil, Ananda and near the head is the Hindu god Vishnu, who is believed to have created the caves.
The second and the largest cave have 16 standing and 40-seated statues of Buddha. The cave is known as "Cave of the Great Kings". There are also the statues of gods Saman and Vishnu and also that of King Vattagamani, the king who honored the monastery in the 1st century and King Nissanka Malla, who gilded 50 statues. Besides the Buddha statue are the wooden figures of the Bodhisattvaas Masitreua and Avalokiteshvara or the Natha. Also present in the cave is a Dagoba and a spring dripping water from the crack of the ceiling. The ceiling paintings depict incidents from the life of the Buddha.
The third cave is the "Maha Alut Vihara" or the "Great New Monastery". It has typical Kandy style ceiling and wall paintings made during the rule of famous Buddhist revivalist King Kirti Sri Rajasinhs (1747-1782). There are 50 statues depicting the Buddha as well as a former King.
The Fourth and the Fifth caves are relatively smaller and dates back to a later period.
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