Lankarama is a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

built by King

Valagamba Valagamba (Sinhala: වළගම්බා), also known as Wattagamani Abhaya and Valagambahu, was a king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka. Five months after becoming king, he was overthrown by a rebellion and an invasion from South India, b ...

, in an ancient place at Galhebakada in the ancient kingdom of

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

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 ...

. Nothing is known about the ancient form of the stupa, and later this was renovated. The ruins show that there are rows of stone pillars and it is no doubt that there has been a house built encircling the stupa (

vatadage A vaṭadāge ( si, වටදාගෙ) is a type of Buddhist structure found in Sri Lanka. It also known as a ''dage'', ''thupagara'' and a ''cetiyagara''. Although it may have had some Indian influence, it is a structure that is more or less uniq ...

) to cover it. The round courtyard of the stupa seems to be above the ground. The diameter of the stupa is . The courtyard is circular in shape and the diameter is .

Eth pokuna

The eth pokuna (elephant pond) is an ancient man-made pond situated close to Lankaramaya. It is in length, in width and deep, with a holding capacity of of water. The water to this pond is supplied from the Periyamkulama Tank through a network of underground canals. These underground canals still work after several hundreds years. This tank was probably used by the monks in the Abhayagiri vihāra (Buddhist monastery), which at one time had over five thousand priests.

External links

* ''This page incorporates content from Dr. Rohan Hettiarachchi'

used with permission of website owner.'' Archaeological protected monuments in Anuradhapura District Buddhist temples in Anuradhapura District Stupas in Anuradhapura Vatadages {{SriLanka-struct-stub

Eth pokuna

See also

External links