Browse Archive Items (15 total)

Bhikkhunis bringing a sapling of the Bodhi tree to Sri Lanka from India

Description: The only illustration in art of Bhikkhunis or Buddhist nuns during the period covered by this survey is seen at Dambulla. This painting shows the arrival of bhikkhuni Sanghamitta (the founder of the order of Buddhist nuns in Si Lanka) together with her companions, bringing with them a sapling of the Bodhi tree, the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

A royal group worshipping at a Buddhist stupa

Description: This scene, from the Dambulla cave paintings, shows the family of Dutthagamini (a popular Sri Lankan King of the 2nd century B.C.E.) together with god Sakra worshiping at the Ruvanvelisaya, Sri Lanka. It is noteworthy that the queen stands in front of the King.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

Women behind men worshipping at a Buddhist temple

Description: Among the cave paintings of Dambulla, which have been dated to the 18th century by art historians, is this illustration of four female devotees, seated behind two men, worshipping the Buddha.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

Sujatha, a female devotee of Buddha

Description: An episode in the life of the Buddha picked out as worthy of illustration by painters of the Kandyan period (18th to early 19th century A.D.) is the offering of alms by Sujatha. She would have been considered typical of the average female lay devotee. This painting is from the Gangarama Vihare near Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

A female devotee of God Siva

Description: This seated female bronze statue from Padaviya, Sri Lanka is that of Karaikkalammayyar, traditionally considered to be a devotee of Siva. Playing a pair of cymbals, her devotion is expressed through music. The statue which is at the Archaeological Museum, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka has been dated to a period between the 11th and 12th centuries A.D. by archaeologists.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

A painting of a female devotee

Description: This slide is made from a photograph available at the Department of Archaeology in Colombo. Seen at Gonagala, Ampara, Sri Lanka. It is a section of a cave painting where a female devotee stands in a dance posture. She is worshiping a male figure, no doubt a deity. The painting has been attributed to the 8th century A. D. by scholars.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

Terra-cotta models of women painted on the Sigiriya rock

Description: Terra-cotta models of the Sigiriya women were sculpted in subsequent times. They were probably meant to be souvenirs for visitors to Sigiriya, Sri Lanka. This torso was found during excavations associated with the Cultural Triangle Project at Sigiriya, and can be seen at the Project Museum.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

Sigiriya paintings- women carrying flowers

Description: The paintings of women carrying flowers, probably for worship, at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, belong to the period of Kasyapa I, in the 5th century A.D.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

Women of the Sigiriya paintings

Description: The Sigiriya women carrying flowers seem to be moving in the same direction, perhaps a Buddhist temple.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

Paintings of women (divine females or royal queens?) playing with flowers

Description: Interpreted mostly as divine females and at times as royal queens, the women painted on the rock caves at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, seem to be cast in the role of religious devotees. The figures are cut off at a point a little below the waist and they carry flower offerings.
Contributor: Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha