pancavasa (biso maligawa)

                                           biso maligawa

     pics of biso maligawa

This Pancavasa located in the Abayagiri Monastery in Anuradhapura, now commonly known as Biso Maligaya or the queen’s palace for no apparent reason is most famous for the moonstone found in the main flight of stairs on the centre building. This moonstone is considered one of the the best and most well preserved moonstone in this era. This moonstone is believed to be belonging to the 7-8 th Centauries. HELLO

A second moonstone with equal artistic quality can be found on a entrance to a building behind the Ratnaprasada.
The outer edge is designed with a ring of flames and below that is a ring filled with 4 types of animals – The elephant, the horse, the lion, and the bull. The next is a circle of a floral pattern (“liyawela”). Next is a line of swans with a twig of flower and a leaf on their mouth. Next is again a floral pattern and at the centre is lotus with petals all around the semi circle on the moonstone .
The meanings of this combination of patterns are debated widely. One interpretation is that the out ring of fire represents the never ending life and the pains associated with it. The four animals represent the four noble truths (“Chathurarya Sathya”) of Buddha. It is said that the swan can separate out milk from a mixture of water and milk. Therefore once a person realizes the four noble truths they can have true understanding of good and bad. They are capable of filtering out the good just like the swan filters out milk. Once you do that you are capable of attaining the “Nibbana” represented by the lotus.
Another interesting fact is that the bull in the moonstones was apparently dropped in the Pollonnaruwa era (see Vatadage in Pollonnaruwa) . Moonstones in this era lack this symbol and sometimes the bull can be found on a higher pedestal on the sides of an entrance. This is thought to be the influence of Hindus. The bull is a sacred animal to the Hindus and trampling of this symbol was probably disrespectful.

Driving Directions to Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura can be reached through many routes from Colombo. The two main routes are through Puttlam (Puttalama) and though Kurunegala. Traveling from Puttlam you will pass scenic Wilpattu area. the From Kurunegala there are two main routes to Anuradhapura. The most common route is through Dambulla. The other route is though Galgamuwa. Out of all the routes, the commonly used is the Kurunegala - Dambulla route (Route 2)..

Route 01 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route 02 from Colombo to Anuradhapura
Though : Negambo - Chillaw - Puthlam distance from colombo :213 km Travel time : 3 hours Driving directions : see on google map	Through : Ambepussa - Kurunegala - Dambulla distance from Colombo : 221 km Travel time : 3.15 hours Driving Directions : see on google maps
Route 03 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route from Kandy to Anuradhapura
Though : Ambepussa - Kurunegala - Padeniya - Thambuthegama distance from colombo :213 km Travel time : 3 hours Driving directions : see on google map	Though : Katugastota - Matale - Dambulla distance from colombo :139 km Travel time : 2 hours Driving directions : see on google map