and construct many temples and monasteries.
There are proofs that the people of this time had
a great devotion and belief in god. They believed
in the gods such as Upulwan, Vibheeshana,
Skandakumar and Saman and constructed
Devalas for the gods. There is a reference to
the gods Upulwan and Vibhishana in Sandesha
Kavyas.
There is information that there was a Shiva
Devala adjacent to Sri Jayawardhanpura in the
fifteenth century. It is believed that it must have
been constructed for Siva devotees.
The Munneshvaram temple in Chilaw was a
sacred religious place for the Hindus during this
time.
There were sacred Islamic religious places in sea-
port areas where the Muslim devotees resided
and engaged in their international trade affairs.
7.4.3 Arts and Architecture
A lot of architecture could be seen in the cities,
which were created from Yapahuwa period to
Kotte period. It is a special feature that these
creations have been influenced by the South
Indian architecture.
It is believed that the steps in the Yapahuwa
kingdom and creations of its posts have had the
Pandyan and Cambodian influences. It could
clearly be noticed that the contemporary South
Indian architectural styles had influenced the
Pilimageya (Idol-house) at the Gadaladeniya
temple which belonged to the Gampola period.
Another feature that could be seen in these
periods is constructing Devals connecting to the
Pilimageyas (Idol-houses).
One example for this is that a Devala has
been built for God Upulvan connecting to the
Gadaladeniya Pilimageya. Devalas have been
built connecting to Lankathilaka Pilimageya
too. Having Devalas in the idol-houses is a proof
that displays that the Hindu and Mahayana ideas
influenced the architecture.The Embekke Devala, which was constructed
by king Wickramabahu III during the Gampola
period is a valuable construction with wood
carvings. Its magnificence is displayed by its
posts with beautiful wood carvings and its
wooden roof.There are a lot of evidences to prove that there was
a great revival in language and literature during
the second urbanization. Learned monks, kings’
sponsoring, and having a number of educational
centres influenced the advancement of literature.During the ruling period of King Parakramabahu
II in Dambadeniya, many literary texts were
written. He was given the honorary title Kalikala
Sahithya Sarvagna Panditha. Several literary
texts were written by him. It is accepted that
Kawsilumina, one of the great Sinhalese literary
works, was written by King Parakramabahu II.
Saddharmarathnawaliya written by Dharmasena
Thero, and Poojawaliya written by Mayurapada
Parivenadhipathi Buddhaputhra Thero were
two significant prose texts written during
the Dambadeniya period. Sidath Sangarawa
on Sinhalese grammar, Elusandes Lakuna
on prosody too belonged to this period.
Dambadeni Kathikavatha, which consists of the
disciplinary rules of the monks, Kandawuru
Siritha, which describes the daily routine of king
Parakramabahu II and the valuable medicinal
text name Yogarnvaya written by Buddha Puthra
Thero were written during the Dambdeniya
period. There are several important texts written
in Pali language during this time. Vishuddhi
Marga Sannasa, Samanthakuta Varnana,
Rasavahini, Sara Sangrahaya, the medicinal book
named Bhessajja Manjusa, Hathvanagalla Vihara
Vansaya and Thupavamsa are examples for that.During Kurunegala period the Sinhalese prose
literature was further advanced. Translating