Aluvihara, Sri Lanka

Reclining Buddha

Aluvihara, Sri Lanka
The ancient monastery of Aluvihara, located about 20km (12mi) north of Kandy, is the site where, in the first century BC, the Theravada Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka) were first set down in writing. In spite of Aluvihara's historical importance, the paintings and sculptures that one sees in its cave-temples today are modern.
In this reclining Buddha, there is a sweetness of expression and humanized appearance that encourages bhakti(devotion) by gently drawing the worshiper into the Buddha's ambience. The figure is draped in a gilt-cloth robe and surrounded by offerings.

Makara Torana

                   

The arch, which surmounts a seated Buddha, is fashioned in kala-makara form. Above the center of the left half-arch, seen here, Brahma rides his goose between a holy man and a guardian figure. Similarly, Indra rides his elephant on the right half-arch (not shown). Brahma and Indra figure in the Buddha story as the two gods who accompany him as he preaches in Trayastrimsha heaven.

Cosmological Diagram

This painting at Aluvihara represents the Himalaya mountain range, and the four great rivers that flow from it, as understood in Tibetan (sic) cosmology. These rivers symbolically issue from the mouth of a lion, elephant, horse, and peacock respectively. Their names are variously given, depending on the source, but the Indus is always included among their number.
It is interesting to find a Tibetan sacred landscape as far south as Sri Lanka. The course of the rivers has been arranged into a circular maze, that could even be interpreted as a sort of mandala or concentration aid, where viewers can attempt to trace the individual course of each river in their mind's eye.

Hell Punishments

In this painting, one of a grotesque series of hell punishments, bug-eyed demons are chopping apart the body of a sinner. Whatever he did (the crime is explained in a caption below the panel), you want to avoid this fate at all costs.