Description of the attraction
Just a few minutes' walk north of the royal palace ruins, is the area known as the Quadrangle, which is a ruin of ancient structures located in an elevated walled plaza. It has the largest concentration of age-old architectural heritage that you will see in ancient cities. In addition to the ruins, there is also a house of images, a Bodhisattva temple and a holy bodhi tree. You can only walk barefoot on this land, as in other shrines.
In the southeast of the quadrangle, there is a watadagi (round house of relics) typical of Sri Lanka. Its outer terrace is 18m in diameter, while the second terrace has four entrances with stone guards. The moonstone at the north entrance is considered the best in Polonnaruwa. Four entrances lead to a central relic store with four seated Buddhas. The stone shield is considered a later addition to the relic house. It was probably made under the Nissan Malle.
At the southern end of the quadrangle is the Tuparama Gedige, or house of images, the smallest gedige (hollow Buddhist temple with thick walls) in Polonnaruwa. The roof in it has been preserved unchanged. It was built during the reign of Parakramabah I. There are several images of Buddha inside, but they are barely visible in daylight.
Gal Pota (Stone Book), located to the east of the house of relics, is a colossal stone image of the book “ola”. The length is 9 m, the width is 1.5 m, and the thickness is from 40 cm to 66 cm. The inscription on it indicates that this is a Nissan Malla edition. Much of him praises his virtue as a king, but the footnote also states that the slab weighs 25 tons and was pulled out of Mihintale.
In addition, the temple erected by Nissanka Mall for the main Buddhist relic, the tooth of the Buddha, is believed to have been built in 60 days.
Nissanka Malla was also responsible for Lata Mandapaya. This unique structure consists of a lattice stone fence imitating a wooden fence with inscriptions and railings and surrounding a small relic storage. The vault is surrounded by stone pillars in the shape of a lotus, the stems of which are crowned with closed buds. The story goes that Nissanka Malla would often sit in this building and enjoy Buddhist texts.
Almost nothing is known about Satmahal Prasada. It is made in the form of a stepped pyramid of six floors, each of which is smaller than the previous one (previously there were seven).
The temple for the Tooth of the Buddha - atadage (translated from Sinhalese means the eighth house for the tooth of the Buddha) - is the only structure that has survived to this day in Polonnaruwa, built during the reign of Vizhayabahu I.
