The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

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288. Anuradhapura, Thuparama dagaba
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round platform supporting the dome were staircases,
and the monument was surrounded by
three concentric rings of stone pillars which
were probably intended as supports for a woodand-metal
domical roof, sustained by wooden
rafters and entirely enclosing the whole stupa. 5
Structures of this type, known as thupa gharas,
are referred to in Singhalese texts, and presumably
have a relationship to ancient circular
shrines in India proper, the appearance of
which may be divined from occasional rock-cut
replicas. 6 Here, as in all Singhalese stupas, the
main approach was from the south, the direction
associated with the sun at its highest point
in the heavens and with the supreme moment of
the Buddha's career, his Enlightenment. Although,
obviously, no trace of them has been
found, it has been assumed that the dagabas
were originally surrounded by wooden railings
and toranas after Indian originals in stone.
One of the largest of all the stupas in Ceylon is
the Ruvanveli dagaba at Anuradhapura, which,
in origin at least, goes back to the time of Duttha
Gamani. This monument has undergone such
a complete renovation in the course of the last
seventy-five years that a better idea of its
original elevation may be had from a miniature
stupa on the platform of the great dagaba [289].
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289. Anuradhapura, Ruvanveli dagaba,
dedicatory stupa