Kiralagala is a large archaeological site situated close to Horowpothana in North Central Province. the site can be reached from two routes. first route is, take A12 (Puttalam - Anuradhapura - Trincomalee highway), then turn to B282 (Medawachchiya - Horowpothana road) at Horowpothana junction. second route is to take B282 from Medawachchiya towards Horowpothana and a few kilometers before Horowpothana, the site is situated.
We reached the site from Medawachchiya side and faced a problem even before entering to it. The archaeological department guy who was on duty that day straight away refused to let us enter with our cameras, saying photographing the site is not allowed and special permission is required from Colombo. We were frustrated by this statement and had to argue and finally demand that we want to speak to someone responsible. Then he called a senior officer in Anuradhapura district office, and that officer was very nice to us and allowed us to go in and take photographs.
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| entering to the site |
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| lovely path |
Kiralagala (කිරලාගල) also known as Weherabendigala(වෙහෙරබැඳිගල). The site is spread in an area of 250 acres. The main attraction of Kiralagala archaeological site is the large pond. The pond is well preserved and similar to the famous "Kuttam Pokuna" in Anuradhapura. But this is much larger than the Kuttam Pokuna.
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| the pond |
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| steps |
The pond is about 50 meters in length and about 25 meters in width according to our rough measurement. But the depth could not be seen since it was full to the brim thanks to the heavy rains. But as I have seen in previous photos, it is very deep too.
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| the other side |
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| well preserved smooth rock construction |
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| can get into the pond from all four sides |
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| the pond is too large that it cannot be captured for a photo fully. this is the only angle I managed to get a full view. |
Kiralagala is an ancient "Padhaanaghara" (පධානඝර) complex. Padhaanaghara are the ancient equivalent of todya's "Aaranya" (Monasteries), used by monks meditating away from the public places. But just like today, the people like to help these monks, so they
ended up with these massive monasteries. But no stautes, no dagabas no
bo tree etc. They all have ponds, are near water, have a lot of 'double
platform' residences and meditating spaces. also have "Janthaghara" (ජන්ථාඝර) which are
bathing houses.
the most famous are Ritigala. Arankale, Western Monastires in Anuradhapura. but there are many more in the jungles, such as Kirlagala.
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| A Janthaghara (ජන්ථාඝර) |
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| inside Janthaghara (ජන්ථාඝර). |
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| one of many Padhaanagharas in the complex |
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| a "Pohoya Geya" (පොහොය ගෙය). there were many of these too. |
Among the ruins of Kiralagala Monastery complex Padhaanaghara, Janthaaghara, toilets, meditating areas, the pond and a hospital for the use of monks are identified.
Kiralagala has been named Weherabendigala(වෙහෙරබැඳිගල) in Anuradhapura era. According to the available evidences, the history of this site goes back to 2nd Century A.D. An inscription is found in the spill of "Paalumekichchawa" tank (පාළුමැකිච්චාව වැව) in this area. This inscription is said to be about 8 feet in length and 3 feet in width. It is done by King Gajaba (ගජබා රජු) who rules the country between 112 - 134 AD. The inscription is bout an offering by the king to a large monastery complex, probably would be Kiralagala.
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| සක්මන් මලුව...? |
There is evidence of a large irrigation complex starting from the Paalumakichchawa tank, where this stone inscription is placed. This complex consists of five tanks namely Pahaladiwul wewa (පහළදිවුල් වැව), gammagehe wewa (ගම්මගෙහේ වැව), silaliyadda wewa (සිලාලියද්ද වැව), ulpath wewa (උල්පත් වේවා), kudagama wewa (කුඩාගම වැව) and kulumimakada wewa (කුලුමීමාකඩ වැව). The last tank is situated closer to this site. I was able to locate these tanks except for two in the 1:50000 map.
By looking at the size of the site, we can assume that this has been a very large monastery complex in ancient times. So, it is also believable that this irrigation complex has direct connection with this place.
watch the short video I made from my visit.
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| a toilet stone? |
Kiralagala, is another treasure hidden from the public. even though it is a large archaeological site, nobody really knows about it. The worst part is that the archaeological department workers at the site did not know anything about its history. They even failed to mention which era this belongs to. That is a very sad situation.
Thank you for reading
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