Diyasen Paya is an ancient Uposathagara (a chapter house) located in the premises of the Monastery of Jetavanarama in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
History
This is believed to be the chapter house built by King Mahinda IV [(956-972 A.D.) Wikramagamage, 2004]. The Abhayagiri Slab Inscription of Mahinda IV states that he built a chapter house named Diyasen at Dena Vehera [(Jetavanarama Monastery) Nicholas, 1963; Ranawella, 2004; Wickremasinghe, 1912]. It was used by Buddhist monks for the ceremony of confession and for the performance of various Sangha-Kammas such as meditation, and discussion of religious texts (Jayasuriya, 2016).
The edifice
The edifice has the remains of 176 gigantic stone pillars indicating that it was a multi-storied building (Jayasuriya, 2016). The upper floors of it may have been used for residential purposes. The ground plan of the building is very much similar to that of the Ratnaprasada, the chapter house of Abhayagiri Monastery but it is comparatively small (Wikramagamage, 2004).
References
1) Jayasuriya, E., 2016. A guide to the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. Central Cultural Fund. ISBN: 978-955-613-312-7. p.44.
2) Nicholas, C. W., 1963. Historical topography of ancient and medieval
Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New
Series (Vol VI). Special Number: Colombo. Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon
Branch). p.143.
3) Ranawella, G.S., 2004. Inscription of Ceylon. Volume V, Part II. Department of Archaeology. pp.245-252.
4) Wikramagamage, C., 2004. Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural, and historic sites. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. pp.136-137.
6) Wickremasinghe, D.M.D.Z., 1912. Epigraphia Zeylanica: Being lithic and other inscription of Ceylon. Vol. I. London. Archaeological
Survey of Ceylon. pp.213-229.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 3 June 2022
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