Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
A sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, this cave monastery, with its five sanctuaries, is the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist mural paintings (covering an area of 2,100 m2 ) are of particular importance, as are the 157 statues.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Temple troglodyte de Rangiri Dambulla
Haut lieu de pèlerinage de Sri Lanka depuis vingt-deux siècles, ce monastère rupestre, qui contient cinq sanctuaires, est l'ensemble le plus grand et le mieux conservé de temples-cavernes à Sri Lanka. Il est particulièrement remarquable par ses peintures murales bouddhiques couvrant une superficie de 2 100 m2 et par ses 157 statues.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
المعبد الذهبي في دامبولا
يشكل هذا الدير المنحوت في الصخر بأضرحته الخمسة محجة في سريلانكا منذ 22 قرناً، وهو المجمع الأكبر حجماً والأسلم حالاً بين المعابد الكهفية في سريلانكا، ويتميز خاصة بلوحاته الجدراية البوذية التي تغطي مساحة 2100 متر مربع وبتماثيل يبلغ عددها 157.
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
丹布勒金寺
丹布勒金寺是一个享有22个世纪历史的朝圣圣地。丹布勒金寺里有五大圣堂，是斯里兰卡最大、保存最完整的洞穴庙宇群。这里珍藏着面积达2100平方米的壁画和157尊雕像，极为珍贵。
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
“Золотой храм” Дамбулла
Этот пещерный монастырь, служивший священным местом паломничества на протяжении 22-х столетий, является крупнейшим и наилучшим образом сохранившимся пещерным храмовым комплексом в Шри-Ланке. Буддийские настенные росписи, покрывающие площадь 2100 кв. м, и 157 статуй имеют особое культурное значение.
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Templo de Oro de Dambulla
Importante lugar de peregrinación desde hace 2.200 años, este monasterio rupestre forma con sus cinco santuarios el conjunto más grande y mejor conservado de templos-caverna de Sri Lanka. Son especialmente notables sus 157 estatuas y las pinturas murales budistas que cubren una superficie de 2.100 m2.
source: UNESCO/ERI
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
ダンブッラの黄金寺院
キャンディの北、文化のトライアングルの中央に位置する街の、岩山中腹に開かれた石窟寺院。BC1世紀の開窟以来、常に信仰の対象として生き続けてきた。現在5窟あり、第1窟は頭を北に向けて横たわる約14mの涅槃仏で知られ、最大の石窟である第2窟には50数体の仏像が安置され、壁や天井は数々の壁画で覆われている。第4窟は盗掘がはなはだしく、第3窟は18世紀の作、第5窟は1951年に開窟された。source: NFUAJ
Gouden tempel van Dambulla
Dit grotklooster is al 22 eeuwen een heilig bedevaartsoord. De basis ervan bestaat uit de rots van Dambulla. Het klooster heeft vijf heiligdommen en is het grootste, best bewaarde grottempelcomplex in Sri Lanka. Vooral de 157 beelden en boeddhistische muurschilderingen - met een oppervlakte van 2.100 vierkante meter - zijn bijzonder. De Gouden tempel is belangrijk voor de geologische geschiedenis van het eiland. De plek bevat bewijzen – zoals de megalithische begraafplaats in Ibbankatuwa – dat de menselijke bewoning er teruggaat tot de prehistorie. Het grotklooster werd gevestigd in de 3e eeuw en is tot op de dag van vandaag in gebruik.
Source: unesco.nl
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple (Sri Lanka)
© UNESCO
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
Located in central Sri Lanka, the Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple is a living Buddhist site that is focused on a series of five cave shrines. Inhabited by forest-dwelling Buddhist monks since the 3rd century BCE, these natural caves have been transformed continuously throughout the historical period into one of the largest and most outstanding Buddhist complexes in the Southern and South Eastern Asian region, showcasing innovative approaches to interior layout and decoration. In keeping with a longstanding tradition associated with living Buddhist ritual practices and continuous royal patronage, the cave shrines underwent several renovation and refurbishing programmes before assuming their present interior forms in the 18th century. The vast internal spaces of the cave shrines are not compartmentalized, but are spatially differentiated by a deliberate and subtle arrangement of polychrome sculpture of exceptional craftsmanship and decorated with brilliant compositions of mural paintings. This spatial hierarchy and purposive interior layout devoid of physical divisions lead the devotees systematically through the spaces from one ritual function to the next. The site is remarkable in the Buddhist world for its association with the continuous tradition of living Buddhist ritual practices and pilgrimage for more than two millennia.
Criterion (i): The monastic ensemble of Dambulla is an outstanding example of the religious art and expression of Sri Lanka and South and Southeast Asia. The cave shrine, their painted surfaces, and statuary are unique in scale and degree of preservation. The monastery includes significant masterpieces of 18th-century art in the Sri Lankan school of Kandy.
Criterion (vi): Dambulla is an important shrine in the Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka, remarkable for its association with the long-standing and wide-spread tradition of living Buddhist ritual practices and pilgrimage for more than two millennia.
Integrity
The property includes all the elements and components related to different facets of creativity that are necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, such as the polychrome statuary either moulded with stucco or clay or carved out of the living rock within the cave shrines, mural paintings, and interior layout. The physical fabric of these elements is in good condition and has been preserved to express this value. The property currently does not suffer from any adverse effects of development or other pressures.
Authenticity
The overall form and design as well as the materials and substance of the mural paintings that cover the interior surfaces of the cave shrines and the rock-cut and moulded statuary within the caves have been retained. No interventions have been carried out to change the overall form and design of the interior spaces of the caves, or the location and positioning of sculptures and paintings in relation to their interior layouts. The interior spaces are still being used by pilgrims for ritual Buddhist practices, thus maintaining the original use and function as well as the spirit and feeling of their interior spaces.
Protection and management requirements
The property, which is under the ownership of the Asgiriya Chapter of Buddhist monks, has been declared a Protected Monument under the legal protection of the Department of Archaeology of the Government of Sri Lanka, which administers the Antiquities Ordinance of 1940 (rev. 1998) at the national level. No interventions to the property are allowed without the permission of the Department of Archaeology. Conservation and monitoring of the paintings and polychrome objects are the responsibility of the Department of Archaeology. The monks conduct the daily rituals and are responsible for the general maintenance, protection, and upkeep of the property. Part of the gate collection from foreign tourists visiting the property is used by the monks for these purposes. The area extending up to the edge of entire rock outcrop has been designated a buffer zone under the purview of the Department of Archaeology. The religious character of the property is further safeguarded by the declaration of the whole area around the rock outcrop as a sacred area by the National Physical Planning Department.
The main challenges ahead are conserving the paintings, dealing with the carrying capacity in view of increased pilgrimage mainly during religious festivities, and achieving better results in conservation and regular maintenance. Sustaining the Outstanding Universal Value of the property over time will require taking measures to enhance the management, conservation, and presentation of the property. These include preparing a heritage management framework, a master development plan, and a visitor management plan, and establishing a regular monitoring regime.
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