Location: Matale District Map
Constructed: 5th century by King Kashyapa
Sigiriya is a massive fortress constructed on a natural rock platform in central Matale District in Sri Lanka. It was constructed by King Kashyapa (AD 477 – 495) at the altitude of 200 meters above surface. The site of Sigiriya was inhabited since the Mesolithic Period fie thousand years ago, but playboy king took the building to the extreme. The king knew how to build lavish palaces. He surrounded his residence with gardens, pools and fountains. Ceremonial path surrounded by pools on both sides leads to the only entrance to the king's residence. The only way to get to the palace is to take a long staircase that is carved into a rock and passes through the legs of a giant lion. The head of the lion that once stood here collapse either due to natural causes or due to constant warfare that was so common in the history of Sri Lanka.
At the end of the 5th century, Kassapa I, the eldest son of a
concubine, of the king of Anuradhapura Dhatusena, came into conflict
with his younger brother Moggallana. The throne must rightfully return
to the legitimate son but Kassapa does not see it that way. He hatches a
plot and kills his father by walling him up alive then takes control of
the regency and expels his brother Moggallana who is forced into forced
exile in India. Moggallana, leaving his brother, warns him that he will
return and avenge their late father. Extremely cautious and paranoid,
Kassapa, who knows that one day his brother will return, raises his army
and leaves the royal capital of Anuradhapura to settle in Sigiriya while
awaiting his brother's return. He chose the site of Sigiriya because of
the immense rock culminating at 370 meters with steep walls which plays
the role of impressive walls and the presence ten kilometers away of a
tank, a water reservoir that his father had once dug. father. The site
development work is relatively short, compared to the difficulty and
scale of the task to be accomplished.
Kassapa had a fortress
built at the top of the rock and he laid out on the ground the entire
part which extends to the South and East of the rock where he had two
rows of walls and ditches built, the North and West being protected by
the thick jungle which prevents any massive invasion. Kassapa drilled an
underground breakthrough from the reservoir located in the North-East to
the Sigiriya site in order to bring running water there, the slope of
this pipe is very slight and the difference in altitude between the
reservoir and the Sigiriya site does not exceed 50 centimeters. However,
this is enough for water to flow in Sigiriya and the gardens surrounding
the site are dotted with ponds and dotted with small fountains. This
water is transported to the top of the rock by a process of cisterns
without any human force and it flows to the top supplying the king's
swimming pool, and the various reservoirs intended for watering the
gardens and washing the members of the the courtyard.
Kassapa
posts his guards around the rock in the gardens set up behind the walls,
the constructions skilfully follow the geological shapes of the site,
sometimes a large stone serves as a wall and foundation, sometimes a
crevice in the rock serves as support for a roof... This Ingenious use
of the surrounding nature made it possible, among other things, to speed
up the work. The guards are all placed on promontories with an
excessively small and chaotic surface, any loss of vigilance or
drowsiness causing the sentry to fall.
Once the structural work
was completed, Kassapa moved into his palace where he remained, fearful,
most of his time. He is surrounded by his court made up of servants,
valets, henchmen, confidants and his courtesans. Legend says that King
Kassapa was surrounded by a thousand courtesans, the young ladies of
Sigiriya. He had painted, in a style close to that of Ajantâ, in a large
crevice of the rock on the south face of the rock, halfway up, the
portraits of the feet or bust of all these young ladies - or more
probably of the apsaras , twenty-one in number - all different.
For eighteen years, Kassapa lived as a recluse in his fortress waiting
in the middle of his rather feminine court for the return of his brother
Mogallana. During this time, Mogallana took refuge in India, raised an
army with the help of a raja and crossed the Palk Strait which separates
the Indian continent from Ceylon then headed directly towards
Anuradhapura which he found completely abandoned. He obtains information
which allows him to find his parricide brother in Sigiriya.
While
Kassapa is staying quietly at the top of his rock, he sees troops
arriving from the South and East which he immediately identifies: his
brother is back. Kassapa cordons off the gardens and puts the guard on
alert for the fight which he inevitably thinks will be won given the
advantage his position gives him. Mogallana, a fine strategist, deployed
his troops around the site and besieged it, waiting for his brother to
go down to fight. Kassapa had thought of everything, except supplies in
the event of a siege. After barely a week, Kassapa, exhausted by hunger,
comes down and gives himself up, without a fight, to his older brother
who executes him.
Mogallana takes over the regency and Sigiriya
is forever abandoned.
Mogallana takes over the regency and
Sigiriya is forever abandoned.
It should be noted that the
version presented above, inspired by that written only in the 13th
century by Buddhist chroniclers hostile to Kassapa, has always been
recognized as biased and open to doubt. Drawing a parallel with the poem
“Messenger Cloud” by the famous Indian playwright Kalidasa (Meghaduta,
Les Belles Lettres, 1967), the great Sinhalese orientalist Senarat
Paranavitana turned the interpretation of the site upside down by seeing
in it a representation of Mount Kailash, a Himalayan residence of the
Hindu god Kubera, whose aim would have been to legitimize the reign of
Kassapa by deifying him.
More recently, in a well-documented
novel, entitled “Sigiriya, the Lion Rock” (Editions Argemmios, 2012) the
French writer Alain Delbe imagines that King Kassapa tells the story of
his life to a storyteller and brigand who accepted Moggallana the
mission to assassinate him. In addition to Sigiriya being a palace
dedicated to Shiva, a portrait of Kassapa is revealed which, far from
the image of the megalomaniac and paranoid king, reveals a being engaged
in a true mystical and artistic quest.
The very vast site is bordered to the west and north by a thick
jungle, to the south and east by a double row of deep ditches fortified
by a wall. This exterior enclosure protects access to the gardens
surrounding the rock.
The gardens are very well landscaped, the
grass is short, the trees elegantly scattered and enriched with numerous
paved ponds with perfect symmetries on which lotuses and other aquatic
plants float. Numerous water jets complete this natural decor.
Approaching the rock, constructions intended for guards rely on the
natural setting such as large rocks, trees, use of differences in ground
level, etc.
On the east side of the rock is the main cistern
which supplies the palace as well as buildings for guards and worship.
Access to the rock is only possible from the south face and it is
obligatory to pass through a bottleneck to access the steps which lead
to the base of the rock approximately 20 meters above ground level.
Obviously, this unique entrance is well guarded, each height position is
used to post a guard there in conditions of balance which do not allow
relaxation. After passing under a natural rock arch, a straight and
well-cut flight of steps provides access to the south face of the rock.
From this point, the steps are much more irregular and the ascent more
difficult.
Arriving halfway up, it is essential to take a wooden
staircase which provides access to a large crevice in the rock which
scars the south face of the rock several tens of meters wide and several
meters deep. It is on this face from this height that the paintings
representing the young ladies of Sigiriya are found. A long wall
partitions this crevice, thus protecting those who are there from prying
eyes and projectiles. This wall is shiny because it is covered with a
unique coating made from eggs and lime.
Once you reach the end,
there are still many steps to climb to access the west face of the rock.
This west face is special because it is cut by a terrace halfway up.
This relatively flat and vast terrace allows you to rest during the
ascent and shelters some buildings. The main particularity is that, from
this terrace, you access the last flight of steps passing between the
paws of a gigantic lion carved in the rock which imposes its majesty on
the entire valley below, the statue of more than ten meters high guards
the entrance to the fortress.
The “steps” which follow are very
steep and thin and this increases during the ascent, the last steps
which finish the last ten meters do not exceed 5 millimeters in width!
The most surprising thing is that Kassapa is carried to his palace on a
sedan chair moved by at least four servants, when it is already
difficult for a single person in good shape to keep his balance!
Finally, at the top, we discover the king's palace, two stories high and
built of stone, which is rare for the time when the floors were made of
wood. Behind the palace are the king's swimming pool and the gardens and
further on the cisterns which supply the gardens and then the toilet
facilities. A few buildings on one level house the valets and guards who
ensure stewardship while the king frolics with his numerous courtesans.
The path to descend is different from that used for ascent. Indeed,
from the gallery of frescoes, it is possible to access the east face of
the rock from where a staircase descends in a curve and leads to a
series of buildings reserved for guards then another series of buildings
reserved for worship . Finally the path joins a part of isolated gardens
with ponds and water jets then emerges outside the perimeter at the
level of the double ditch.
This configuration allows you to
control the input and outputs. It is not possible to enter and leave the
site by the same route.
The long-abandoned site was rehabilitated in the mid-20th century
by the Sinhalese authorities.
The gardens are cleared, the
ditches are also walled, as are the ponds and water jets. Access to
the rock is clear and new constructions make it possible to once
again take the path taken by Kassapa. Entrance to the site is via
the ancient entrance as planned at the time, as is the exit.
Arriving at the site the first thing that catches the eye is the
perspective: the gardens in the foreground laid out with stone walls
and areas of short grass, then the trees standing out against a
background of rock concretions and finally the vanishing point from
this perspective leading to the lion rock, several hundred meters
high.
As you advance through the gardens, pools out of water
appear and as you bend down, strange flat and square steles pierced
with round holes are visible in many places, these are the water jet
installations. The Sinhalese government successfully attempted to
restart these water jets in the late 20th century. The water rises
between 30 and 40 centimeters above the ground. Mischievous monkeys
lie in wait for visitors, perched on the trees.
As you
approach the rock, a natural rock arch acts as an entrance, the
passage becomes narrower, narrow, the first steps are revealed and
the environment is completely rocky. Arriving at the top of the
first flight of steps, the altitude is already greater than 50
meters and turning around, the view goes beyond the rocks previously
passed and the perspective opens onto the gardens below.
Continuing the ascent of a hundred meters, the passage leads to a
metal spiral staircase which allows access to the rock gallery where
the Young Ladies of Sigiriya are painted: there remain today
twenty-one of which around ten perfectly preserved. These are the
only female images from medieval Ceylon.
After this necessary
break for the contemplation of these centuries-old works, the
passage continues along the exterior, along the south face. It is
here that visitors take the path closed to the outside by a shiny
wall smooth as marble. It is covered with a coating based on egg and
lime which gives it this strange, opaque and diaphanous appearance.
This coating is original and some contemporary graffiti leave a
vandal trace from the time when the site was not protected by the
Sinhalese authorities.
The passage leads to a final flight of
steps, steeper and more irregular than the previous ones, leading to
a large terrace where there are a number of small wooden stands run
by local merchants offering water, postcards and other items. local
groceries. It is from this terrace that the west face of the wall
rises, almost vertically, another hundred to one hundred and fifty
meters high.
Of the giant lion statue which once guarded the
entrance to the palace, all that remains is the imposing legs which
frame a first staircase with straight and regular steps. Four large
wooden cages, enclosed by a fine mesh, are scattered across the
terrace. The ascent of this last part is the most perilous and also
the most impressive, because, to climb, you have to take numerous
series of irregular steps on the side of the wall, some very high
and others very thin. The last part of the ascent leads to the
convex top of the east face. Certainly the slope is less steep there
but it is also here that the steps are the thinnest, some being in
fact only furrows a few millimeters deep.
Today the climb is
secured by a metal staircase and parapets. The top of the rock is
relatively flat, sloping gently towards the west. Of the ancient
constructions, only the foundations remain as well as a piece of
wall of the Kassapa palace on one and a half floors, and a piece of
the staircase which provided access to the floors and the cisterns.
The king's pool is very well preserved, measures approximately one
hundred square meters and is approximately two meters deep at most.
The steps that border the swimming pool are almost all still
present.
The remains of the gardens stand out very clearly
among the stone foundations and the irrigation system, which no
longer works, is still visible to the expert eye.
The
360-degree panorama offered to the viewer is grandiose, to the north
and east the jungle dotted with lakes and villages, in the distance
the mountainous foothills of the Adam's Peak massif are revealed,
the large reservoir built by Kassapa's father in the distance
indicates and proves all the engineering put in place by Kassapa to
transport water over ten kilometers. To the south and west the view
overlooking the gardens reveals a perfect perspective, unimaginable
from the ground.
Going back down, the path taken diverges,
after the rock gallery and provides access to the west side of the
rock, the steps descend into the middle of richer and more luxuriant
vegetation than at the entrance, the path leads to a first clearing
oval where a few wooden buildings house local artists and artisans
who sell their productions. Further on, a second clearing, more
open, serves as a base for snake charmers as well as some artists.
It is particularly complex and advanced for the time (5th century),
the reservoir which supplies the network is located more than ten
kilometers from the site and the underground pipe which allows the
transport of water opens only 50 centimeters lower than the level of the
reservoir, i.e. a slope of 1 in 20,000. It is however proven that the
Sinhalese were always excellent technicians and several centuries ahead
in terms of hydraulic and irrigation systems. The water jets of Sigiriya
are emblematic of this knowledge; for comparison, the first water jets
at Versailles were only inaugurated more than a millennium after those
of Sigiriya.
The other particularity is the delivery of water to
the top of the rock, more than 350 meters above the level of the
reservoir. By an ingenious system of cistern and pressure difference,
the water did not need any human intervention to spring to the top in
the large cistern which first supplied the swimming pool, then the water
flowed into a another smaller cistern which supplied gardens and
buildings.
When the visitor is on the terrace of the west face, all he has to do
is look up, about 70 meters above, on the west-northwest side of the
wall, to see enormous brown masses stuck to the wall. These are giant
swarms of hornets, the largest of which measures more than 7 meters high
and 3 meters wide. Occasionally, hornets attack when a visitor climbs
the last part of the rock. A swarm of hundreds of thousands of insects
blackens the sky and attacks visitors, hence the usefulness of the mesh
cages which serve as refuge for tourists and guides during such an
attack. These are quite frequent, but no death or serious accident has
ever occurred since the site opened to tourists.
The Sinhalese
government, on several occasions, attempted to exterminate these swarms.
With a lot of insecticide and repellent, all the swarms and hornets were
destroyed for the first time. The following year, they grew again, even
bigger, and the number of hornets increased accordingly. And this two
years in a row. Since then, the authorities have decided that it was
useless to try to dislodge these guests with a bad reputation and that
the best thing to do was to leave them alone. It was then decided to
install mesh huts to protect visitors and locals in the event of an
attack.
The legend was soon born, the hornets are considered by
the Sinhalese as the guardians of Sigiriya and when they attack it is
because those who want to climb are not welcome.
The rock of Sigiriya is almost 200 meters high. This is solidified magma from a long-eroded volcano. It was formed more than two billion years ago.