SIGIRIYA

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Sigiriya was no mere fortress, gloomy and forbidding. At the brief height of it glory - it was a royal citadel for more than 18 years, from 477 to 495 A. D. and one of the loveliest that have graced this land.     There are many interpretation of the Sigiriya period, history replete with legend, love & betrayal. But one story remains, the story of Kasyapa  (477 to 495 A. D.) its creator, king with an artist's soud. Bards have written about him and plays & films have tried to capture his personality.     Kasyapa left Anuradapura and built for himself at Sigiriya, a palace an city modeled on the mythical abode of "Kuvera" God of wealth. He gave from to his dreams of grandeur. Eighteen years later, his half-brother Moggallan challenged him with an army.     By one those momentary mistake of judgement that changes the course of history, Kasyapa thought he was along in battle, his dagger and slew himself.     In a sheltered pocket on the western face of the Sigiriya rock, approached by a spiral staitway, are the famous frescoes. Epigraphically evidenced refers to the existence of 500 such portraits, but only 19 remain today.     On the western & northern sides of the steep rock face runs a gallery or pathway which provides access to the seemingly inaccessible summit. Shielding this pathway is a 9 1/2 feet. Plaster wall , so highly polished, that even today, after fifteen centuries of exposure to sun, wind & rain, one can see one's reflection in it. Hence the name "Mirror wall".     On the polished surface are the Sigiri Grsffit... recorded by processions of visitors to the rock in the past.     The summit of the rock is nearly three acres in extent. The outer wall of the palace which is the main building was constructed on the very brink of the precipice. There were gardens, cisterns and ponds laid out attractively.     The pleasure garden of the western side of the rock is studded with ponds, islets, promenades and pavilions. Some underground and surface drainage systems have been discovered during excavations. The wall abutting the most encircling the fortress is one of the most arresting features. Back