Visnu Devale No. 3 (Sinhala: විශ්ණු දේවාලය අංක 3) is a ruined Hindu temple situated near the bank of Parakrama Samudraya Reservoir in the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.
History
The construction date or the builder of this shrine is not known. However, it is believed to have been constructed during the Cola Period of Sri Lanka (1017-1070 A.D.) or in the 13th century (Arumugam, 1991).
The temple
Only the stone pillars and some brickworks of the original temple remain at the site. The 40 ft. long temple had been enclosed by a walled enclosure of about 150 ft. long and 100 ft. wide (Arumugam, 1991). The Moolsathanam of the shrine is 8 ft. square and is joined by an Artha-mandapam of the same size opening out to a 25 ft. long Maha-mandapam (Arumugam, 1991). A statue of God Visnu, about 3 ft. 9
inches high, was unearthed from the site (Arumugam, 1991). It has
four arms and three of them carry the traditional emblems; the Sakkaram, conch and lotus (Arumugam, 1991). The fourth arm is lifted in Abhaya (blessing) pose (Arumugam, 1991).
Two other shrines dedicated to Goddess Kali and God Siva (Siva Devale No. 4) are found in the vicinity of this shrine.
See also
Attribution
1) LankaPradeepa.com would like to thank Mohan Lakshitha for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.
References
1) Arumugam, S., 1991. More Hindu temples of Sri Lanka. London. p.87.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 7 January 2023
