Sun setting over Kandalama Lake, Sri Lanka

Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of

Matale District Matale District ( si, මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, ta, மாத்தளை மாவட்டம்) is a district in Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administra ...

, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre after

Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...

in the

. It is situated north-east of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, north of

and north of

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

. Due to its location at a major junction, it is the centre of major vegetable distribution in the country. Major attractions of the area include the largest and best preserved cave temple complex of Sri Lanka, sigiriya rock fortress located in the division and the

Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium ( si, රංගිරි දඹුලු ජාත්‍යන්තර ක්‍රීඩාංගනය, ta, தம்புள்ள சர்வதேச கிரிக்கெட் விள ...

, famous for being built in just 167 days. The area also boasts the largest

rose quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

mountain range in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, and the

Iron wood Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...

forest, or

Na Uyana Aranya Nā Uyana Aranya Senāsanaya ( Sinhala: නා උයන ආරණ්‍ය සේනාසනය, meaning 'Ironwood Grove Forest Monastery') is a Buddhist forest monastery in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, associated with the Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samst ...

. Ibbankatuwa prehistoric burial site near

Dambulla cave temple Dambulla cave temple ( si, දඹුල්ල රජ මහා විහාරය, Dam̆būlla Raja Maha Vihāraya; ta, தம்புள்ளை பொற்கோவில், Tampuḷḷai Poṟkōvil) also known as the Golden Temple of Dam ...

complexes is the latest archaeological site of significant historical importance found in Dambulla, which is located within of the cave temples providing evidence of the presence of indigenous civilisations long before the arrival of Indian influence on the Island nation.

History

The area is thought to be inhabited from as early as the 7th to 3rd century BC. Statues and paintings in these caves date back to the 1st century BC. But the paintings and statues were repaired and repainted in the 11th, 12th, and 18th century AD. The caves in the city provided refuge to King Valagamba (also called ''Vattagamini Abhaya'') in his 14-year-long exile from the

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 ...

kingdom.

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

meditating in the caves of Dambulla at that time provided the exiled king protection from his enemies. When King Valagamba returned to the throne at Anuradapura kingdom in the 1st century BC, he had a magnificent rock temple built at Dambulla in gratitude to the monks in Dambulla. At the Ibbankatuwa Prehistoric burial site near Dhambulla, prehistoric (2700 years old) human skeletons were found on scientific analysis to give evidence of civilisations in this area long before the arrival of

Buddhism in Sri Lanka Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2% of the population as of 2012. Practitioners of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be found amongst the majority Sinhalese population as well as among the minority ...

. Evidence of ancient people living on agriculture have been detected in this area for over 2700 years according to archaeological findings. (750 BC) It was earlier known as Dhamballai and was ruled by Kings like

Raja Raja Chola Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

and

Rajendra Chola Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tami ...

during their tenure in the late 10th and early 11th centuries.

Dambulla Cave Temple

It is the largest and best preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

in the surrounding. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain

statues A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

and

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. This paintings and statues are related to

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

and his life. There are a total of 153

statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of god and goddess. The latter four include two statues of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

gods,

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

and

Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

. The murals cover an area of 2,100 m². Depictions in the walls of the caves include Buddha's temptation by demon Mara and Buddha's first sermon.

Demographics

Ethnicity in Dambulla town (2012)

Dambulla is a

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

majority town, there is also sizable Muslim minority with a small Sri Lankan Tamil community. Others include Indian Tamils, Malays,

Bharatha Bharatha People (, ) also known as Bharatakula and Paravar, is an ethnicity in the island of Sri Lanka. Earlier considered a caste of the Sri Lankan Tamils, they got classified as separate ethnic group in the 2001 census. They are descendant o ...

Sri Lankan Chetties Sri Lankan Chetties (, ) also known as Colombo Chetties, is an ethnicity in the island of Sri Lanka. Formerly considered a Sri Lankan Tamil caste, they were classified as a separate ethnic group in the 2001 census. They were a class of Tamil spea ...

and

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

. ''Sourc
statistics.gov.lk
'

Time line

* 7th to 3rd century BC: early inhabitants * 1st century BC: paintings and statues * 5th century AD: the ''stupa'' was built * 12th century AD: addition of the statues of Hindu gods * 18th century AD: most of what is seen nowadays * 19th century AD: an additional cave and some repainting * 20th century AD: UNESCO restoration and lighting ...

Sports

The international cricket venue

is located here in a scenic area.

References

https://www.citypopulation.de/en/srilanka/cities/?cityid=34069 https://www.citypopulation.de/en/srilanka/admin/matale/2206__dambulla/

External links

{{Municipalities and Urban areas of Sri Lanka Grama Niladhari divisions of Sri Lanka