Lankarama is a

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

built by King Valagamba, in an ancient place at Galhebakada in the ancient kingdom of

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. 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) 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 Abhayagiri may refer to: * Abhayagiri vihāra a ruined monastic complex of great historical significance in Sri Lanka * Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, a Theravadin Buddhist monastery in Redwood Valley, California See also * Abhaya (disambiguati ...

(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