Panduwasnuwara is the largest excavation site in Sri Lanka’s Northwestern Province. According to legends, it was the residence of King Panduvasdeva in the pre-Buddhist period of early Sinhalese history. What can be seen today are foundations walls of a city from the Middle Ages. Historically, Panduwasnuwara was the capital of the principality reigned by Parakramabahu the Great before he succeeded in unifying the country as the most important king of the Pollonaruwa period. In a sense, Panduwasnuwara was the prototype of his royal residence in Polonnaruwa.
Frankly speaking, Panduwasnuwara is not a must-see for heritage travellers with only a limited time frame. But it’s off the beaten path and therefore less crowded than other heritage site and Panduwasnuwara, besides Dedigama, is definitely the most important archaeological site from the Polonnaruwa period in the west of Sri Lanka get. The excavation site is unspectacular, both in terms of the flat landscape and also the plane remnants of historical buildings. After all, the ruins are quite extensive, stretching over a large area. And at least one item is quite unique in Sri Lanka, namely the Chakrawalaya, a wide circular square. A ring wall of comparable size is otherwise not known from the architecture of the ancient Sinhalese civilization.
Places to visit in Panduwasnuwara
Neighbouring the southeastern corner of the citadel, two monastic complexes are situated in close proximity to one another. Both compounds feature monk cells and all of the classical four or five types of Sinhalese monastic architecture: chapter hall, stupa, Bo-tree sanctuary, image houses. One of the two main stupas is built on a circular platform. Not much has remained from the statues of the image houses.
The modern Vihara of Panduwasnuwara, carrying the name of the excavation site, is sligthly further south. Most of the buildings of the Panduwasnuwara temple are modern. But one edifice is remarkable, as it is a Kandyan-style wooden hall (18th century) on a platform from the Polonnaruwa period (12th century). This structure is claimed to have been the Tooth Temple during the period of Parakramabahu ruling in Panduwasnuwara, before he shifted his residence to Polonnaruwa. However, it's unlikely that a Tooth Temple ever existed in Panduwasnuwara.
The most remarkable structure of Panduwasnuwara is a circular rampart with a smaller circular structure in the veryy centre. This layout is unique in Sri Lanka. And it's unknown what purpose this large "arena" served for. Local legends claim that it was the prison of Ummada Chitta, mother of Pandukabhaya, who became the first king of Anuradhapura. As Ummada Chitta was held captive in the residence of her father, King Panduvadewa, the modern Sinhalese name of the entire site, Panduwasudewa, refers to this legendary king.
History of Panduwasnuwara
The history of Panduwasnuwara goes as far back as the 6th century BCE, the time of King Panduwasdeva (504-474 BC) who is credited with building Panda Wewa reservoir around 450 BCE which is considered the first man-made great reservoir in the world. Mahawamsa, the great chronicle of Sri Lanka, records that King Mahadathika Mahanaga (9-21 AC) presented gifts to a Samanera bhikku of the Pandawa Vehera in the 34th chapter.
The 60th chapter describes the repairing of Panda Wewa by King Vijayabahu I (1070-1110) and in the 68th chapter King Parakramabahu (1153-1186) expanded the Panda Wewa and built a three-storied palace and a stupa on the island of the Panda Wewa. According to Parker, the Panda Wewa had extended up to Panduwasnuwara city the current building identified as the palace complex may have been an island in the extended Panda Wewa which is no more today.
However, most of the ruins found today in the ancient city of Panduwasnuwara belong to the era of King Parakramabahu (1153-1186) who set up his temporary capital in this city in the 12th century.
According to Parker,
the ancient manuscript “Pardhana Nawarawal” (principal cities) published in the
14th century provides a detailed description of Panduwasnuwara city along with
other cities such as Kurunegala, Yapahuwa and Kandy. According to this
manuscript, the city was founded by Panduwas Raja who also built a reservoir
for the city. It also states that the original city had the honour of being
built by Vishwakarma, the divine builder acting under the instructions of the
god Indra.
The fortifications of this kingdom consist of an enclosing wall of forty feet thick and seven feet high faced with brickwork on both sides. A 7-foot-deep and a 10-foot-wide (at the bottom) ditch has been cut outside the enclosing wall. Parker believes that this ditch would have been fed by the Panda Wewa where the sound end of its embankment would have ended at the edge of the city.
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