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Nalanda Gedige |
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නාලන්දා ගෙඩිගේ |
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Known as: |
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நாலந்த கெடிகே |
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Description: |
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Nalanda Gedige is an ancient complete stone temple near Matale
and its original site was considered as the center of Sri Lanka.
The building was constructed in between 8th and 10th centuries
with dravidian architecture in Pallava style and is believed to
have been used by Buddhists. A pillar inscription of the 9-10th
century A.D. that was unearthed from the site revealed Nalanda
Gedige was a Buddhist monastery.Recorded in the Sinhala
language, it includes a code of regulations made for the temple.
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
center. 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. |
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Province |
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Central |
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District |
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Anuradhapura |
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City |
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Matale |
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Genre |
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Temple |
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Best exposure |
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Opening time |
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Entry fee |
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N/A |
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GPS : |
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7.66995, 80.64567 |
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SRI LANKA THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY 
