Pallava traditions of India. The famous Mithuna or
“loving couple” figure, which dates to the fifth to sixth
centuries, from the so-called Isurumuniya Monastery
of Anuradhapura is a well-known example of Gupta
influence. The “man and the horse head” figure (sixth
or seventh century) from the same monastery is con-
sidered to have been influenced by the Pallava tradi-
tion. Beautifully carved dvarapalas(guardstones) from
the sixth to tenth centuries flank the entrances to Bud-
dhist monasteries from Anuradhapura and many other
parts of Sri Lanka; these are unique examples of both
Gupta and Pallava artistic influences. The sandakada-
pahana(moonstone), an elaborately carved half-circle
stepping stone placed at the entrance to a Buddhist
monastery, is unique to Sri Lanka. At the center of
these stone ornaments is a lotus flower from which em-
anate concentric half circles of vegetable, animal, bird,
and flame motifs. Although the most refined moon-
stones are from the late Anuradhapura period, the
carving of moonstones continued into the Polon-
naruva period and later.
Although secular in nature, Sigiriya’s elegant sym-
metrical gardens (fifth century) and water gardens are
the earliest such examples in South Asia. Almost con-
temporary to the famous AJANTApaintings from In-
dia, the renowned fifth-century rock paintings at
Sigiriya, which was built by King Kas ́yapa as a palace
city, are masterpieces of early Sri Lankan art. On the
western face of the Sigiriya rock, about four hundred
feet above the ground, there are twenty-two extant
paintings of beautiful women voluptuously depicted,
most with their breasts exposed. Two images in par-
ticular appear prominently in these paintings: an elite
lady standing alone holding a flower or an elite lady
accompanied by a handmaiden. The meaning of these
images is controversial. Ananda CoomaraswamySRILANKA, BUDDHISTART IN
A recumbent Buddha statue at the twelfth-century Gal Vihara (Rock Temple) at Polonnaruva, Sri Lanka. The temple and statuary are
carved out of the living rock. The Art Archive/Musée Guimet Paris/Dagli Orti. Reproduced by permission.