恩贝卡神庙

恩贝克神庙 恩贝克神庙 恩贝克神庙

斯里兰卡的恩贝克神庙:拥有世界上最佳木雕工艺的地方

在康提区的乌杜努瓦拉地区,有一座历史超过六个世纪的神庙。它建于维克拉马巴胡三世国王(公元1371-1394年)统治时期,当时他统治着甘波拉王国,这座神庙几乎覆盖着木雕。这些木雕作品被联合国教科文组织确认为世界上最好、最精细的木雕之一。这座神庙供奉的神灵,印度教徒称之为'穆卢干',佛教徒称之为'卡塔拉伽马神灵'。

故事

传说维克拉马巴胡三世国王的王妃赫纳坎达·比索·班达拉从一个奇怪的梦中醒来,梦中神灵出现,要求她为其建造一座神庙。当她发现鼓手兰伽玛也做了同样的梦时,他们认为这是一个预兆,于是共同建造了一座神庙。最初的神庙据说是一座三层建筑,但遗憾的是未能经受住时间的摧残。

结构

神庙由三个主要区域组成。第一个是加拉伽圣所,这是内殿,供奉着神灵的雕像。接下来是舞厅或迪格,代表国王的王妃赫纳坎达·班达拉,在国王时代,这里曾举办舞蹈活动。最后一个部分是鼓手厅,代表鼓手兰伽玛,曾经在这里举办音乐活动。

木雕工艺

除了圣所之外,神庙的其余部分几乎全部由木材建造而成。从侧面开放的厅堂中雕刻精美的木柱,到制作精美的屋顶,整个区域都布满了雕刻。柱基为八角形,柱顶则以四片叶子堆叠成方形收尾。柱基侧面雕刻着各种图像。此外,横梁、椽子和门框上也饰有雕刻。

这些杰作中值得注意的雕刻包括缠绕的天鹅、双头鹰、缠绕的绳索图案、哺乳图、骑马作战的士兵、女舞者、摔跤手、从血管中浮现的女性、鸟人混合体、象牛混合体、象狮混合体等等。整个神庙的雕刻包括125个装饰系列、256种利亚维拉类型的设计、64个莲花图案、30种装饰图案以及屋顶设计,共计514种独特的设计。

神庙的屋顶是古代木构建筑的杰出典范,26根椽子仅由一根木销支撑。

相关遗址

在距离神庙约八分之一英里处,有一些遗址,矗立着一组石柱。石柱上的雕刻与恩贝克神庙的雕刻相同。据说,曾经有一个木制屋顶坐落于这些石柱之上,但如今它们已沦为废墟。

无论是恩贝克神庙还是附近的遗址,都值得历史和艺术爱好者前来参观。

恩贝克神庙 恩贝克神庙 恩贝克神庙

About Kandy District

Kandy district is situated in the centrel province of Sri Lanka. One of the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka, Kandy was once home to the Kandyan Kings of yore in the 16th-century and a fountainhead for all the music, arts, crafts and culture in the country. About 129 km away from Colombo, Kandy is ensconced amongst a hilly terrain and all eyes are drawn to the centre of the city, where the Kandy Lake forms a charming feature. Kandy retains great religious significance for Sri Lanka, because it is in this charming city that the Dalada Maligawa or "Temple of the Tooth" is located, within which the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha lies well guarded.

The Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya is situated about 5 km to the west of the city centre at Peradeniya and is visited by 1.2 million people per year. It is the largest botanical garden on the island. The Udawatta Kele (Udawatta Forest) is a protected sanctuary situated in the heart of the city, just north of Temple of the Tooth.

Kandy is a Sinhala majority city; there are sizeable communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as Moors and Tamils. Kandy is second only to Colombo the center of the Sri Lankan Economy. Many major co operations have large branch officers in Kandy and many industries include textiles, furniture, Information Technology and jewellery are found here. Many agriculture research centers are located in the city.

And a fountainhead for all the music, arts, crafts and culture in the country. About 129 km away from Colombo, Kandy is ensconced amongst a hilly terrain and all eyes are drawn to the centre of the city, where the Kandy Lake forms a charming feature. Kandy retains great religious significance for Sri Lanka , because it is in this charming city that the Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Toothis located, within which the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha lies well guarded.

About Central Provincce

The Central Province of Sri Lanka consists primarily of mountainous terrain. The province has an area of 5,674 km², and a population of 2,421,148. Some major towns include Kandy, Gampola (24,730), Nuwara Eliya and Bandarawela. The population is a mixture of Sinhalese, Tamil and the Moors.

Both the hill capital Kandy and the city of Nuwara Eliya are located within the Central Province as well as Sri Pada. The province produces much of the famous Ceylon tea, planted by the British in the 1860s after a devastating disease killed all the coffee plantations in the province. Central Province attracts many tourists, with hill station towns such as Kandy, Gampola, Hatton and Nuwara Eliya. Temple tooth or Dalada maligawa is the main sacred place in Centrel province.

The climate is cool, and many areas about 1500 meters often have chilly nights. The western slopes are very wet, some places having almost 7000 mm of rain per year. The eastern slopes are parts of the mid-dry zone as it is receiving rain only from North-Eastern monsoon. The Temperatures range from 24°C at Kandy to just 16°C in Nuwara Eliya, which is located 1,889 m above sea level. The highest mountains in Sri Lanka are located in the Central Province. The terrain is mostly mountainous, with deep valleys cutting into it. The two main mountain regions are the central massif and the Knuckles range to the east of Kandy.