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Kataraya
Katâraya ( si, කටාරය) are a unique feature of monastic caves (guhā- vihāra) and cave temples in Sri Lanka. It refers to a drip line or ledge carved around the mouth of a cave shelter to preserve the interiors and meditating monks from rainwater. This ledge protected the interior of the cave from rain water runoff flowing down the external face of the rock. The donor's name or religious inscriptions were often carved on the face of this ledge. These inscriptions have then been used to date when the temples were established. The earliest cave temples have been dated to the Anuradhapura period, around the 2nd century CE. Immediately below the kataraya, a timber framed, terra-cotta tiled, lean-to roof supported on carved wooden pillars or stone columns (kuluna) with wooden brackets (pekada) forming a protected walkway or verandah (pilla) would be erected. R. L. Brohier in his 1973 work, ''Discovering Ceylon'' described it as being a "primeval gutter Gutter may refer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vihāra
Vihāra generally refers to a Buddhist monastery for Buddhist renunciates, mostly in the Indian subcontinent. The concept is ancient and in early Sanskrit and Pali texts, it meant any arrangement of space or facilities for dwellings . The term evolved into an architectural concept wherein it refers to living quarters for monks with an open shared space or courtyard, particularly in Buddhism. The term is also found in Ajivika, Hindu and Jain monastic literature, usually referring to temporary refuge for wandering monks or nuns during the annual Indian monsoons. In modern Jainism, the monks continue to wander from town to town except during the rainy season ( Chaturmas), and the term "vihara" refers to their wanderings. Vihara or vihara hall has a more specific meaning in the architecture of India, especially ancient Indian rock-cut architecture. Here it means a central hall, with small cells connected to it, sometimes with beds carved from the stone. Some have a shrine cell set bac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drip Line
Drip line may refer to: * Nuclear drip line, the lines beyond which protons or neutrons leak out of nuclei * Tree drip line, the area defined by the outermost circumference of a tree canopy where water drips from and onto the ground, useful for tree crown measurement * Drip irrigation line, where the tubes and hoses are laid See also * Drip (other) * Line (other) * Dropline (other) {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirement of William P. Sisler in 2017, the university appointed as Director George Andreou. The press maintains offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts near Harvard Square, and in London, England. The press co-founded the distributor TriLiteral LLC with MIT Press and Yale University Press. TriLiteral was sold to LSC Communications in 2018. Notable authors published by HUP include Eudora Welty, Walter Benjamin, E. O. Wilson, John Rawls, Emily Dickinson, Stephen Jay Gould, Helen Vendler, Carol Gilligan, Amartya Sen, David Blight, Martha Nussbaum, and Thomas Piketty. The Display Room in Harvard Square, dedicated to selling HUP publications, closed on June 17, 2009. Related publishers, imprints, and series HUP owns the Belknap Press imprint, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anuradhapura Period
The Anuradhapura period was a period in the history of Sri Lanka of the Anuradhapura Kingdom from 377 BCE to 1017 CE. The period begins when Pandukabhaya, King of Upatissa Nuwara moved the administration to Anuradhapura, becoming the kingdom's first monarch. Anuradhapura is heralded as an ancient cosmopolitan citadel with diverse populations. Overview Periodization of Sri Lanka history: Political history Early Anuradhapura period (377 BCE-463 CE) Pandukabhaya (437–367 BCE) King of Upatissa Nuwara and the first monarch of the Anuradhapura Kingdom and 6th over all of the island of Sri Lanka since the arrival of the Vijaya, he reigned from 437 BC to 367 BCE. According to many historians and philosophers, he is the first truly Sri Lankan king since the Vijayan invasion, and also the king who ended the conflict between the Sinha clan and local community, reorganizing the populace. Elara (205–161 BCE), a Tamil King with Chola origins, who ruled "Pihiti Rata", i.e., Sri Lanka n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pekada
Pekada ( si, පේකඩ), or pekadaya, are the decorative wooden pillar heads/brackets at the top of a stone or wooden column (or a pilaster), known as ''kapa'', supporting a beam or ''dandu''. It is a unique feature of Kandyan architecture. The pekada is a cubic intermediate structural element in joinery and the interface between a beam and a column, which transfers the load from the roof to the ground. It is a separately carved capital or bracket which intervenes between a pillar and a beam which it is to carry. The pekada is made of two pieces, fitting together, and when these are crossed together, the four faced bracket is completed; the top of the pillar itself is mortised into the bracket through the centre of the parts crossed. This form of arrangement allows a certain amount of flexibility whilst maintaining the structural stability of the beam and pillar. Pekada provides a method of transferring lateral as well as vertical loads of beams (especially when they cross a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verandah
A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''verandah'' is correct and very common, some authorities prefer the version without an "h" (the ''Concise Oxford English Dictionary'' gives the "h" version as a variant and '' The Guardian Style Guide'' says "veranda not verandah"). Australia's ''Macquarie Dictionary'' prefers ''verandah''. Architecture styles notable for verandas Australia The veranda has featured quite prominently in Australian vernacular architecture and first became widespread in colonial buildings during the 1850s. The Victorian Filigree architecture style is used by residential (particularly terraced houses in Australia and New Zealand) and commercial buildings (particularly hotels) across Australia and features decorative screens of wrought iron, cast iron "lace" or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rain Gutter
A rain gutter, eavestrough, eaves-shoot or surface water collection channel is a component of a water discharge system for a building. It is necessary to prevent water dripping or flowing off roofs in an uncontrolled manner for several reasons: to prevent it damaging the walls, drenching persons standing below or entering the building, and to direct the water to a suitable disposal site where it will not damage the foundations of the building. In the case of a flat roof, removal of water is essential to prevent water ingress and to prevent a build-up of excessive weight. Water from a pitched roof flows down into a valley gutter, a parapet gutter or an eaves gutter. An ''eaves gutter'' is also known as an ''eavestrough'' (especially in Canada), ''rhone'' (Scotland), ''eaves-shoot'' (Ireland) ''eaves channel,'' ''dripster'', ''guttering'', ''rainspouting'' or simply as a ''gutter''. The word ''gutter'' derives from Latin ''gutta'' (noun), meaning "a droplet". Guttering in its ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Monasteries
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; "taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ; and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Architecture
Buddhist religious architecture developed in the Indian subcontinent. Three types of structures are associated with the religious architecture of early Buddhism: monasteries ( viharas), places to venerate relics (stupas), and shrines or prayer halls (chaityas, also called ''chaitya grihas''), which later came to be called temples in some places. The initial function of a stupa was the veneration and safe-guarding of the relics of Gautama Buddha. The earliest archaeologically known example of a stupa is the relic stupa located in Vaishali, Bihar in India. In accordance with changes in religious practice, stupas were gradually incorporated into chaitya-grihas (prayer halls). These are exemplified by the complexes of the Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves (Maharashtra). The Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar is another well-known example. The pagoda is an evolution of the Indian stupas. Early development in India A characteristic new development at Buddhist religious si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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