After the Buddha himself, the most revered and universally popular figure in Buddhism is Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Since his appearance in about the first century BCE this beloved bodhisattva has been worshipped with almost unparalleled fervor by the followers of all schools of Buddhism.
Tradition says that Avalokitesvara has 108 names, one of which is Natha
and it is under this name that the bodhisattva is still worshipped in
Sri Lanka. Though accessible through prayer and supplication to anyone
anywhere, Avalokitesvara was believed to abide on a mountain in a
remote part of India where, from its lofty and cloud-decked heights, he
could be as his name suggests, 'the regarder of the cries of the
world'. This mountain was called Potala.
Hiuen Tsiang traveled through south India in the 7th century and
although he was unable to visit Potala himself he left this description
of it based on what others had told him. ‘To the east of the Malaya
Mountains is Mount Potala. The passes on the mountain are very
dangerous; its sides are precipitous and its valleys rugged. On the top
of the mountain is a lake; its waters are as clear as a mirror. From a
grotto precedes a great river which encircles the mountain twenty times
as it flows down to the southern sea. By the side of the lake is a rock
palace of the gods. Here Avalokitesvara in coming and going takes his
abode. Those who strongly desire to see the bodhisattva do not regard
their lives, but fording the streams, climb the mountain forgetful of
its difficulties and dangers. Of those who make the attempt there are
very few who reach the summit. But even those who dwell below the
mountain, if they earnestly pray and beg to behold the god, sometimes
he appears as Isvara, sometimes under the form of a yogi, and addresses
them with benevolent words and then they obtain their wishes according
to their desires’. This description is clearly a blend of fact and
fiction, a trend concerning Potala that increased as time went by.
Gradually the sacred mountain came to be seen as a kind of magical
fairy land, a paradise where rare medical herbs and exquisite flowers
grew, where mythological animals frolicked and where those blessed
enough to be reborn in Avalokitesvara's presence abided in bliss. So
strong was the desire to visit Mount Potala but so difficult was it to
do so that replicas of the holy mountain began to appear. In north
India there was one such to the north of Rajagaha and Chinese Buddhists
have their own called Putuo Shan in Zhejiang Province. The Sri Lankans
created their own replica of Avalokitesvara mountain abode at Sigiriya.
Rising 200 meters above the jungle-covered plain Sigiriya is a huge
flat topped rock covered with ruins and represents one of the most
astonishing Buddhist complexes ever built. F or at least a century
after its rediscovery Sigiriya was thought to be the palace where the
patricide King Kassapa I lived in fear of his brother. At least this is
the story the Culavamsa tells. But this chronicle was written some
seven hundred years after Kassapa and at a time when Mahayana Buddhism
had disappeared from Sri Lanka. The chronicler either suppresses
Sigiriya’s Mahayana origins, or more likely didn’t know of them.
Sigiriya was very clearly a Mahayana monastery and meant to suggests
Mount Potala or an imitation of it. The Culavamsa calls the place the
Lion Mountain (Sihagiri) but the earlier and probably original name was
the Mountain of Remembrance (Sihigiri). Sigiriya functioned as a centre
of religion There are numerous caves around the main rock with 24
inscriptions dating from between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd
century CE indicating that it was inhabited by ascetic monks during
that period. Later it became a branch of the Abhayagiri and continued
to function as a monastery up to at least the 10th century.
The mountain, temples and gardens of Sigiriya are surrounded by
a series of impressive walls and moats nearly two kilometers long. The
outer wall now barely visible in parts was made out of rammed earth and
next to which is a moat. Beyond this is a second moat and a wall made
out of brick. The inner moat is 80 feet wide, 14 feet deep and lined
with stone blocks while the inner wall is made of rubble, stone and
earth dug from the moat and is 30 feet high. The main entrance is on
the west and was probably approached by a draw bridge. There are other
gates through both the northern and southern walls.
Crossing the inner moat and passing through the inner wall the
pilgrim enters what were once a series of extraordinary gardens
imitating those on Mount Potala. On the right is a sunken garden, the
corresponding part on the left has not yet been excavated. The whole
complex is sunken and hard to make out but it seems to have consisted
of flower beds and variously shaped ponds at different levels and fed
by waterfalls and springs. The main path then leads to second part of
the water garden which is 525 feet long, 78 feet wide and leads upward
in a series of low terraces. Water stored on the lower slopes of the
mountain was fed under pressure through underground pipes into
fountains from where it flowed into meandering streams, over small
waterfalls and into little pools and ponds. The circular limestone
slabs with holes in them are the fountains and after heavy rain they
still work. On both side of this garden are two islands which
originally had buildings on them, four causeways could approach the
outer most of these islands. Further along on the left are several
large rectangular brick lined pools with stepped passages leading to
them. and on the left is a large octagonal pool , one of its sides
formed by a huge rock.
The path through the Water Gardens now rises in a series of
terraces to the Rock Garden. If the pilgrim makes his or her way
towards the south he will eventually come to an immense boulder that
had cracked in half. The top side of the half that has broken off and
fallen away has been cut into a level floor and has a large low throne
carved out of it. Directly below this rock on the west is another
throne carved out of a boulder and a cave. On the east side is a narrow
paved gallery in which is a small seat facing the rock wall. Like all
these seats and thrones this was probably used for meditation.
At the end of the gallery is a cave with a low wall around it and a
throne in it both again cut out of the living rock. Fragments of
paintings can still be seen on the roof of this cave. Right opposite
this cave is another one which a brick wall around it which monks may
have lived it. From here a flight of stairs lead down to the
dramatically shaped Cobra’s Hood Cave. The small fragment of painting
on the roof of this cave gives some idea of how sumptuously the
monasteries and temples of Sigiriya were decorated. The monks of old
have very skillfully enhanced the natural environment to make it
conducive to meditation.
All sorts of gods, demi-gods and mythical beings were believe to
dwell on the slopes of Mount Potala in ascending order, with
bodhisattvas like Tara towards the top and Avalokitesvara in his glory
above them all. The sides of Sigiriya rock were actually painted to
resemble the abodes of these deities. All these paintings have now
disappeared except for those in a small concave area sheltered from the
elements. There are 19 figures altogether probably representing Tara,
the consort of Avalokitesvara, and her attendants. The artists of
Sigiriya depicted Tara numerous times in accordance with one of her
characteristics as mentioned in the Manjusrimulakalpa; ‘She dwells
multiplying herself again and again in a thousand places to increase
everyone’s contentment’.
The figure which archeologists number as B 10 is the loveliest of these
and in my opinion is one of most superb representation of a female from
the ancient world. Tara is shown looking down from her lofty abode and
she has an almost ethereally beautiful smile on her face.. Her left
hand is in the gesture of teaching while her right hand holds blossoms
which she is about to toss so that they sprinkle down. She is naked
from the waist up and wares bejeweled bracelets, armlets, a
three-stringed pearl necklace and another necklace with a large jeweled
brooch hanging from it. Rather than earrings she wares large ear plugs.
Some of her hair is gathered up in a jeweled crown while the rest with
flowers tied in it is left to fall down her back.
A spiral iron staircase now gives the modern visitor to the privilege
of seeing these remarkable paintings up close. All the other figures
will more than repay careful inspection and unhurried contemplation. It
is remarkable to think that the artists who painted these glorious
pictures took such care over their details despite believing that no
one but they would ever see them except from a great distance. Clearly
the creating of the figures wasn’t just a commission for these artists
, it was an act of the deepest faith and devotion.
Proceeding along the gallery the pilgrim will eventually come
out into a large terrace. The northern end of this terrace drops away
some 40 feet and on the rock below are numerous holes indicating that a
wooden staircase once led up to the terrace. Originally a huge
crouching lion made of brick sat on this terrace and people climbed to
the top of the rock by a staircase that went through its mouth. Now
only the lion’s two huge paws remain.
Those coming to Sigiriya to worship Avalokitesvara and Tara
climbed to the summit, made their way around its eastern side and then
climbed the stairs on the west up to the main shrine which was on the
highest point of the summit, that is, on its northern end. The summit
of the rock takes up an area of about 1.6 hectares and was covered with
monasteries pavilions, gardens and temples. A high wall surrounded the
whole summit. It is worth spending a few moments contemplating the
enormous effort needed to carry all the bricks, stones and other
material to the top of this rock. On arriving at the top the pilgrim
should take the paved path that leads to the left thus keeping the main
temple to his or her right.
A little further along to the left of the path and below it is a
magnificent throne carved out of the living rock. The square holes on
the front corners of the throne were for the wooden pillars that once
supported the canopy over it. This throne may have been for monks
giving sermons but as there is no room for an audience this seems
unlikely. It was more probably meant to represent Avalokitesvara’s
throne on Mount Potala as mentioned in so many descriptions of the holy
mountain. Proceeding along the path the pilgrim soon comes to a huge
reservoir again cut out of the rock and over 40 feet deep. This
represents the one on Mount Potala but was also used for bathing. Rock
cut stairs lead down to the water.
Sigiriya is 10 km from Inamaluwa which is on the main Kandy to Anuradhapura road.
Copyright© Ven. S Dhammika
