TEMPLE PAINTINGS OF SRI LANKA:

THEORY AND ABSTRACTION OF DESIGN ELEMENTS

Ranathunga B.D.L.D

University of Moratuwa

Srilanka
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Abstract

Through this lecture survey, a selected the background of number of paintings in

Kelaniya viharaya, the relationship between Kalpa wrukshaya and Punkalasa, definitions various

people have given them, the influences for the pieces of artwork, ways of identifying the present

society, how the society defines the creations, how the original artisan defined his work and

whether the present society understands the concept behind the work can be identified.

Keywords: Kalpa wrukshaya, Punkalasa, Two-dimensional, Defines the creations, Thinking

patterns, Novel manner, ymbolize

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TEMPLE PAINTINGS OF SRI LANKA:

THEORY AND ABSTRACTION OF DESIGN ELEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

The Kalaniya Rajamahavihara, which is a great place of pilgrimage, is situated on the

west bank of the river Kalani (Kalyana) about 10 km. north-east of Colombo. The main approach

to the vihara is the road that leads to Biyagama from the 4th mile-post of the Colombo-Kandy

Road. Yet another approach road turns off from the Kandy Road at Torana junction, not far from

the 5th mile-post. The temple is sited on a higher plain overlooking the river Kalani that flows in

front. The vihara popularly known as Tgodakalaniya' that constituted a section of the historic

royal monastery is located right opposite the other bank, and on festive occasions, a bridge of

pedda-boats used to be built till recent times to facilitate pilgrims worshipping both vihara sites.

(Chutiwongs, N., Prematilleke, L., & Silva, R. 1993)

Historical context

The chronicles, Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, record in detail the story of the Buddha's

visit to Kalaniya on the eighth year after his Enlightenment, on the invitation of the naga King

Maniakkhika. The jewelled throne, on which the Buddha sat while preaching, is said to have

been enshrined in the stupa at the Kalaniya temple.

The present shrine dates from the first half of the nineteenth century. As recorded on the

facade of the sanctum; the sittara-style paintings are dated B. E. 2394 (1851 A. D.). The shrine

has undergone further development during the first half of the twentieth century by the addition

of a new and large shrine to the old one. This shrine, together with an additional room of the old

shrine, has been painted entirely with a completely new style of the old classical idiom that
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remains unrivalled.The paintings of Kalaniya Rajamahavihara constitute two categories, the

nineteenth century low-country style of the Sittara tradition, and the twentieth-century creations

in the new shrine and the new section of the old shrine. .(Chutiwongs, N., Prematilleke, L., &

Silva, R. (1993)

Location.

Old Shrine

The old shrine consists of two oblong rooms, the sanctum with the reclining Buddha and

the long vestibule which is entered from the east. The paintings are depicted in the following

manner:

Vestibule

The vestibule of the old shrine contains the largest assemblage of paintings, covering the

four walls and the ceiling.

Ceiling

The ceiling of the vestibule contains rectangular panels positioned within beautiful

decorative floral scroll borders. This set of painted panels consists of:

Four panels with depiction of the Tree of Life,

differing from each other in detail;

One panel with the twelve signs of the Zodiac, with the sun and the moon in the centre, all

personified;

One panel with the planetary/guardian divinities;

One panel with the ten incarnations (avatara) of Visnu.

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The Tree of Life .

The Tree of Life( Kalpa wrukshaya) is a tree that is believed to provide resources as a

result of thought. Also known as Kapruka, Divya wrukshaya, Sankalpa wrukshaya and Jeewana

wrukshaya, this is known as kalpa wrukshaya as it remains until the end of the world. ( “Kalpa

Awasanaya”). This age old concept was seeped into our country following the Indian influence.

There, golden Kalpa wruksha were used in rituals of the vedic period. (Maddumage .1994)

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Mihinthale kantaka sthupa Auradapura jethawanaramaya Auradapura Ruwaanwaliseya

(De Silva-2009) Temple Temple

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The oldest Kalpa wruksha in a painting is seen in the stone buddha chamber of

Vessagiriya, Anuradhapura. (De Silva-2009)

Figure 4, Wessagiriya cave Temple-Anuradapura ear (De Silva-2009)

It is seen that images of trees, flowers and fruit weren’t given importance in Kandyan era

paintings. But in the 19th century, Kandyan artisans have attempted to include flowers and fruit

in their paintings.

Figure 5

Sapatthu tree at

Danagirigala Temple

(Maddumage M.-1994)
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In the early ages, there has been an issue with scales and proportions of plants and flowers. But it

is seen in the subsequent paintings that this issue has been solved.

Figure 5 Plate 34 Tree of Life – Celing vestibul Shrine

(Chutiwongs, N., Prematilleke, L., & Silva, R. 1993)

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It is seen that fruit such as mango and pomegranate, flowers of various kinds and birds are

illustrated in this painting. Here, the creature who is known to be absurd.

Details on two kalpa wrukshas in two royal pavilions, Saraswathi Mandapaya and Raja waishya

Bujanga Mandapaya built during the period of the Great Parakramabahu in the Polonnaruwa era

is mentioned in sources ( Mahawansa; 73rd chapter)

When studying the portrayal of trees in the Kandyan art tradition, the methods of old artisans and

modern artisans can be compared.

These paintings have used a continuous speech system in a fair manner,

Have brought the whole painting into a single plane,

Decorated with external lines when portraying delicate details,

According to Ananda Koomaraswamy(2003), a downfall was seen in the craft

techniques that were being improved from the early times. Artists beginning to go for

mare realistic styles of drawing were assumed to be the cause. The main reason behind

following such a style was the western thinking accumulated to Sri Lankan culture after

being under the rule of foreign nation.

During this time, it can be assumed that Sri Lankan art diverted towards a

different direction. Kalpa wrukshaya mentioned here is also known as kapruka in the

vocabulary of people.kapruka has also been made similar to the coconut tree because

there is a use out of every part of it. The concept of Kalpawrukshaya, made on the basis

of a tree reveals the relationship man had with nature. A tree is a useful element as well

as the basis of life. Kalpa wrukshaya is the unity of all of it. From the early days, man has

used a tree to fulfill his objectives. Even though Kalpa Wrukshaya is a conceptual

creation, the idea behind it is not gone.

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Punkalasa

Location

North Wall

This wall, though is of the same dimensions as the south wall, serves as the facade of the

sanctum, bereft of didactic stories. The two doors are decorated with makara-toranas of two

different orders, being the usual makara and simha-makara types. The one towards the east

contains figures of Siva, Brahma, Indra and Visnu and the Suddhavasa-Brahmas. The space

within the torana over the door lintel contains a medallion, held by two kneeling male figures,

which gives the date as B.E. 2394. A female camara-bearer is shown at the right-hand corner

above and a nagini holding auspicious jar appears near the right hand pillar of the same

makara-torana.

Punkalasa is a symbol for fullness, luck, wealth and prosperity. Punkalasa is considered

to be one of “ashta mangala wasthu”. From the ancient eras upto now, this is the symbol for

prosperity. Archaeological sources reveal that punkalasa was designed to be the root of the

“Kalpa Wrukshaya”

Architecture and punkalasa have a very close relationship. From ancient times, for the

fullness and prosperity of a place, a punkalasa was placed on either side of the doors of a shrine/

place of worship. The early man has felt a complete devotion after seeing a punkalasa.

Punkalasa was designed in full circles and semicircles during the Anuradhapura era.
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Figure 6 Side view of Puklasa Figure 7 Punkalasa and Kalpawruksha

Ruwanwaliseya Ruwanwaliseya

(De Silva-2009) (De Silva-2009)

Through this, the usage and the evolution of the Punkalasa can be understood.

These can be seen in places of worship such as Abhayagiriya, Lankathilaka viharaya and

Ruwanweliseya. In addition to that, these can be seen in places of archaeological importance

such as kuttam pokuna. They are also seen in places utilized by Buddhist monks. When

delicately studying art, the difference in their features in each place can be observed. Statues

with stone carvings on Naga doors from early Anuradhapura era to Polonnaruwa era can be

considered as advanced designs.

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Figure 8 Punkalasa with Gurdians

Jethawanaya Temple

(De Silva-2009)

Stone carved statues were limited during the Kandyan era. Craftsmen who carried knowledge

from one generation to the next spread to different areas of Sri Lanka after the invasion of

Kalinga Magha.

With the improvement of art during the Kandyan era, their three-dimensional features were

attempted to be drawn differently. As a result, the “Punkalasa” was brought into the two-

dimensional form.

At times it can be identified that the pieces of art brought into the two-dimensional form lack the

liveliness and perfection of their early forms.

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Figure 9, Nagini Gurdian (Chutiwongs, N., Prematilleke, L., & Silva, R. 1993)
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The picture above denotes a “Nagini” figure masked as a human. To her left is a

punkalasa filled willed with lotus flowers. She holds a flower with a long stalk by her right hand.

Her hair is seen to be swept down in curls. Top portion of her body is covered by a shawl with

linework. The “Nagini” image is clarified by the head of a serpant on top of the figure. This

image is situated near the entrance to the Kelaniya temple.Because of this, it can be concluded

that “Naga” images were used in art. The earliest paintings of the Kelaniya temple belong to the

low country art tradition in the 19th century. Contemporary paintings in temples have a

similarity to the paintings in the Kelaniya temple.

The design of “Punkalasa” was directly inspired by western art, which is a main feature

of low country art tradition. The quality of art was observed to be reduced after making changes

to the 3D forms. The main reason for this was the designs were done on two dimensional planes.

Sri Lankans, from early days have preferred “form”. Form, in 3D, was able to highlight

the fullness of the punkalasa. But when designed in 2D, this feature disappeared.

The painting in Kelaniya temple denotes the usage of punkalasa at the entrance doors of

the Anuradhapura era in a novel manner.

Here the artist has wanted to symbolize prosperity. It has been enhanced with the usage

of the female “naga” (Naga kanthawa) image along with the punkalasa. As the females

symbolize prosperity from the early ages, it can be the reason they are used in the design.

Studies on ancient archaeological ruins reveal the close relationship between the

punkalasa and the nagas. This is because nagas and punkalasa are used together for waterside

designs.

Ancient sources reveal the arrival of Buddha to Sri Lanka in order to settle the dispute

between the naga brothers chulodhara and mahodhara over a gem studded chair ( Minipalanga)
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All Colour usages in Kelaniya temple

Kalaniya paintings of the mid-nineteenth century follows to a certain Colour , extent, the

colour scheme of the Sittara art tradition of the preceeding ' century. One notices a modification

of the old scheme by the introduction of colours such as light blue, brown, grey, and pink, which

was a feature that came into prevalence from the nineteenth century onwards. A distinguishing

feature in this series of paintings at Kalaniya is the preference for both red and black as

background colours of the horizontal registers depicting arahants, divinities and didactic stories.

Brownish red is frequently applied to the interior spaces of buildings. Yellow, extensively used

for roof-tiles and columns, usually has a subdued and often brownish tint. Grey and brown form

the prominent colours applied to subjects imbued with fierceness.( Chutiwongs, N., Prematilleke,

L., & Silva, R. 1993)

Besides, as usual to the Sittara tradition, the social status of people is revealed by

different complexions, golden yellow for noble figures and brown for those of lower strata such

as attendants and conch-blower (Pls. 30 and 37). White remains the favourite colour used for

apparel, against which background dainty designs are depicted in red, blue and pink. White and

pink are dominant in depictions of flowers and floral motifs. The tree trunks are shown in white

with a little shading in other colours, or in more realistic hues of ochre and brown. The foliage

often displays a combination of green and white, while Idealistic multi-coloured schemes also

appear. (Chutiwongs, N., Prematilleke, L., & Silva, R. 1993)

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Conclusion

In the Sri Lankan history, art and design change throughout the time in various eras

according to the social system, political system and the thinking patterns of people. The

definitions for them change during different time periods. So we can identifying the relationship

between kalpa wrukshaya and punkalasa, definitions various people have given them, the

influences for the pieces of artwork, ways of identifying the present society, how the society

defines the creations, how the original artisan defined his work and whether the present society

understands the concept behind the work can be identified.

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References

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy - Medival Sinhalese Arts - Munshiram Manoharlal

Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2003. First edition

Maddumage M.- Srilankika Bithusithuwam Kalawe Wrukshalatha Nirmana – Vidyarthna

Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1994. First edition

Chutiwongs, N., Prematilleke, L., & Silva, R. (1993B)- Paintings of Sri Lanka-

Kelaniya.Colombo:Government Publications.

De Silva, Nimal - Sinhala chithrara saha Mosthara Sampradaya - Padmapani Design

and Publishers Pvt. Ltd – 2009

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Appendix