| Nalanda Gedige | |
|---|---|
නාලන්ද ගෙඩිගේ | |
 The Gedige image house | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhism |
| District | Matale |
| Province | Central Province |
| Location | |
| Location | Nalanda |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Geographic coordinates | 7°40′11″N 80°38′44″E / 7.66972°N 80.64556°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Gedige image house |
Nalanda Gedige (Sinhala: නාලන්ද ගෙඩිගේ; Tamil: நாலந்த கெடிகே) is an ancient complete stone temple near Matale, Sri Lanka and its original site is considered the geographical centre of Sri Lanka.[1] The building was constructed between the 8th and 10th centuries with dravidian architecture in (Pallava style) and is believed to have been used by Buddhists.[2][3] A pillar inscription of the 9-10th century A.D. that was unearthed from the site revealed Nalanda Gedige was a Buddhist monastery.[4] Recorded in the Sinhala language, it includes a code of regulations made for the temple.[4] Also some scholars describe this building as a dravidian architecture dedicated to a Mahayana cult with pronounced Tantric learning and known as an ancient monument of possible Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhist affinities.[5]
Nalanda Gedige is designed on the lines of a Hindu temple with a mandapa, an entrance hall (originally roofed), a short passage to a bare cello, and an ambulatory round the holy centre. A limited number of the original Hindu deity statuettes exist within the temple, however, a statue of the God Kubera appears on the south side of the tympanum over the sanctuary, a feature that can only be seen in Sri Lanka.
The richly decorated facade sections, laboriously reassembled in 1975, are predominantly in the South Indian style. Although they cannot be precisely dated, they are believed to have originated sometime between the 8 to 11th centuries.
- ^ Dhammika, Shravasti (2008). Sacred Island: A Buddhist Pilgrim's Guide to Sri Lanka. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. p. 153. ISBN 978-955-24-0271-5. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ Anna Aleksandra Ślączka, Temple consecration rituals in ancient India: text and archaeology - Volume 26 of Brill's Indological. Stone container with twenty-five compartments. Published by BRILL. p. 343
- ^ J. Harmatta, J.K.Litvak, R.Lonis, T.Obenga, R.Thanmar and Zhou Yiliang, History of Humanity: From the seventh century BC to the seventh century AD- Vol III.Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. Published by UNESCO 1996. p. 100
- ^ a b Ranawella, Sirimal (2005). Inscriptions of Ceylon, Vol. V, Part. III#Nalanda Pillar Inscription. Department of Archaeology Sri Lanka. pp. 109–110. ISBN 955-91-59-57-7.
- ^ Nandasena Mudiyanse. Mahayana monuments in Ceylon. M. D. Gunasena, 1967, p. 28.