Demalamaha Seya

Demalamaha Seya
Demalamaha Seya , also known as Damila Thupa (Sinhala: දෙමළ මහා සෑය, දමිල ස්තූපය), Demala Maha Seya, Damila Maha Seya is a gigantic brick-built Stupa situated in the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa , Sri Lanka. History Demalamaha Seya, according to the description in Mahawamsa, was a Stupa with a size of approximately 1300 cubits (Gunawardhana & Perera, 2018). It is believed that this Stupa was built by King Parakramabahu I ( 1153–1186 A.D. ) in the 12th century with a workforce of Cola labourers who were brought from South India as prisoners (Abeynayake et al., 1993; Gunawardhana & Perera, 2018; Prematileke, 1990). According to scholars, this Stupa built by King Parakramabahu I was intended to surpass all other monuments of the type in the country (Gunawardhana & Perera, 2018; Ray, 1960). However, due to some reason, the king has not completed the dome of the Stupa and stopped its construction at a height of about 50 feet from the ground, forming an extensive circular plateau at th…