Cave No.1-Dev Raja Viharaya

Cave No 1 is the first shrine the visitor meets as entering the temple through the main gateway. This cave is called Dev Raja Viharaya. Or the Temple of the King of the Gods. It’s got this name from the traditional story that sakka who is the king of the Gods gave the finishing touches to the principal statue it. This image depicts the parinibbana or the passing away of the Buddha. The statue is typical of late Anuradhapura sculpture. It is about 47 ft. in length. The face is shapeless, dull wooden, almost expressionless and not very artistically executed. The robe covers the body, down to the ankles, leaving the right shoulder and breast bare. The eyes are merely cut but not well sculpted, in detail. The forehead is narrow and the ear unshapely. The hair is schematically shown by a series of dots. The fun textured robe is depicted by a serial of grooves arranged closely in pairs. The body is proportionately and well sculpted except for the stiffness of the feet and right leg. The whole figure is executed in the round out of the living rock and is joined to the rock wall along the back. The image has been well preserved. This cave holds five other images. Of these the one at the southern end of the room is said to be  Arahat Ananda, the Buddha’s attendant –at – arms , weeping at the death of the Master. At the northern end, facing the principal image is a stature identified as Vishnu by some scholars and as Upulvan by others, one of the four guardian deities of that island. This figure has been very cleverly worked. It is a pity that that the room containing these figures is always closed to the public for unknown reasons. This cave holds innumerable wall and ceiling painting which have been by the smoke of incense burnt by devotees.