Nalanda Gedige

This small but intriguing temple was built between the 8th and 10th century. The dating relies on an inscription on a pillar, which also reveals that the temple was part of a Buddhist monastery. Stylistically, Nalanda Gedige exhibits more Hindu than Buddhist traits, including the design of the (once roofed) entrance hall and the passage leading to the inner sanctum, the flattened columns attached to the walls, and the false horseshoe windows. The Buddhist elements of the temple include carvings of Buddha and Bodhisattva images and some erotic Tantric figures, but these seem to have appeared at a later stage, suggesting that perhaps, Nalanda Gedige was originally a Hindu structure that was eventually turned into a Buddhist temple.

It is always problematic to talk about the discovery of a temple of this kind, as the local population was probably aware of its existence prior to the official record filed by the archeological commissioner H. C. P. Bell in 1893. Upon the successful acquisition of this property, Bell began studying Nalanda Gedige in 1911. At the time, the site was covered by a thick layer of vegetation. Once this was cleared, Bell had a better appreciation of the place, and he planned to dismantle and relocate the temple.

What happened afterwards is not documented, but the temple was not relocated. Its relocation had to wait until the 1970s, when the government decided to construct a dam that would submerge the site. Each and every piece of granite was numbered, removed, and reassembled in its current location on a hummock surrounded by marshes.

Nalanda Gedige is characterised by a number of anomalies that some people consider mysteries. The first, of course, is that this may be a Buddhist temple superimposed on a Hindu structure. As an unintended consequence of this, Nalanda Gedige faces west, a highly unusual feature among Buddhist temples, which almost always face east. Its location is also puzzling, as there are no sizable historical settlements near it.  What was a Buddhist temple doing deep in the jungle? Did the founders know that this is a good approximation of the geographical center of Sri Lanka?

These anomalies did not escape the collective imagination of local folklore. One of the myths surrounding this place maintains that a sacred snake used to call Nalanda Gedige home, and offerings to this creature would be rewarded with good fortune. Another myth claims that a local merchant buried his riches on these grounds, but in spite of various attempts, nothing has been unearthed to date. Perhaps, nothing has been found yet because of another myth, according to which the souls of the monks who used to live here are protecting the temple and anything in it.