Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple is a Buddhist site situated in the central part of Sri Lanka 150 KM away from Colombo. Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. It is on the rock 160 m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Five amongst them are important and well preserved. The site is said to have existed since the prehistoric period.
The temple and the caves have been continuously inhabited by Buddhist monks since the 3rd century. The complex has always been patronised by rulers. The interior spaces are still being used by pilgrims for Buddhist ritual practices. The vast internal spaces of the cave shrines are not compartmentalised, but are spatially differentiated by a subtle arrangement of sculpture and mural paintings. The painted surfaces, and statuary are unique in scale and degree of preservation. There are some masterpieces of 18th-century art in the Sri Lankan school of Kandy. In 1938 the architecture of the facade of the caves was embellished with arched colonnades and gabled entrances.
The complex is under the ownership of the Asgiriya Chapter of Buddhist monks, and has been declared a Protected Monument by the Department of Archaeology of the Government of Sri Lanka. In the first cave there is a 14-meter statue of the Buddha, hewn out of the rock. At his feet is Buddha’s favourite pupil, Ananda and at his head is Vishnu. Other Hindu deities are also represented here.
The monks conduct the daily rituals and are responsible for the general maintenance, protection, and upkeep of the property. The Buddhist mural paintings (covering an area of 2,100 m2) and the 157 statues are also responsible for the award of world heritage status to the complex by UNESCO. Recently UNESCO in 2003 has proposed an expansion to the existing protected zone around the complex to give it more protection. Ajanta Caves of Maharashtra are also Buddhist caves and date back to almost the same period; they have also been declared as World Heritage sites by UNESCO.
