Sinha Pokuna (Mihintale)

Sinha Pokuna (the Lion pond) is one of the ponds in the ancient Buddhist monastery complex of Mihintale in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. It is found among the ruins on the ground opposite Kantaka Cetiya.

The pond has been given its name since there is a statue of a lion standing with two legs. The lion figure has been made on the outer wall of the lower terrace of the pond. The water is discharged through the mouth of the lion making a spout. This was used to collect water (or bath?) for the use of Buddhist monks. The water for the pond had been supplied from the Naga Pokuna through a tunnel.

The pond is believed to be a work of the 7th century AD (Wikramagamage, 2004). Therefore, it is considered one of the oldest ponds with a spout in Sri Lanka (Wikramagamage, 2004). There is another spout different in appearance in one of the ponds at Ranmasu Uyana garden near Tissa Wewa (Wikramagamage, 2004).

References

1) Wikramagamage, C., 2004. Heritage of Rajarata: Major Natural, Cultural and Historic sites: Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. pp.165-166.

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This page was last updated on 20 November 2022