OneCeylon
All questions

Polonnaruwa Lotus Pond (Nelum Pokuna): stepped eight-petaled granite carving architecture?

Seen by 1,340 travellers
Jump to the accepted answer
D
Dr Rohan Petal•950 rep

How did 12th-century stonecutters carve the concentric eight-petaled lotus bath from solid granite blocks in the Jetavana monastic gardens of Polonnaruwa?

28

5 Answers from travellers

✓Accepted Answer

Nelum Pokuna (the Lotus Pond) in northern Polonnaruwa, built under King Parakramabahu I for visiting Buddhist monks, is an architectural masterpiece of stylized stone carving. Sunken into the ground, the bath represents a fully blooming eight-petaled lotus flower. The bath is engineered in five descending concentric tiers of finely dressed granite masonry blocks, each tier shaped into rounded lotus petals that step down to a central circular floor (measuring 8 meters in diameter). Water entered through an underground stone conduit connected to the Tiwanka canal and drained via a sunken base drain.

40
D
Dr Senarath CCF•1920 rep

The granite petal tiers were dressed with mortise-and-tenon keys and sealed with hydraulic lime putty, maintaining watertight seals without mortar decay.

23
D
Dr Rohan Petal•950 rep

The stepped petal tiers functioned as seating for meditating monks who bathed in cool water while chanting monastic suttas.

18
G
Guru Dharmasena Wood•1830 rep

Located along the quiet northern road toward the Tivanka Image House, the pond is shaded by weeping willows and wild Ceylon ebony trees.

15
S
Sarah Field Scout•1720 rep

The high-purity crystalline gneiss blocks show minimal biological exfoliation, retaining sharp petal curvature after eight centuries of monsoon cycles.

12
D
Dr Bandula GSMB•1850 rep

You must be logged in to post an answer.

Log In to Answer

Related questions

Browse all questions