5/5 Seevali De A. 3 years ago on Google
Elephant
Visits
the
Temple!
I
visited
the
temple
twice,
once
in
the
morning
on
16th
and
again
in
the
evening
on
18th
March
2020.
Visitors
need
to
remove
their
shoes
at
the
entrance
to
the
temple.
Being
a
place
of
worship,
there
is
no
entrance
fee
for
locals.
The
tourists
over
12
years
are
charged
Rs
400
(USD
2.25)
per
person.
The
temple
is
open
to
the
public
from
0530
until
2200
hrs.
The
main
attractions
at
the
temple
are
an
Image
House,
Samadhi
statue
and
Stupa,
Atavisi
Hall,
Bo
tree,
imitation
of
Indonesian
Borobudur
monument,
museum,
relic
chamber,
library
as
well
as
alms
and
educational
halls.
A
three
storeyed
building
houses
priests
and
includes
rooms
that
provide
space
for
their
education
at
the
monastic
college
(pirivena).
I
spent
about
two
hours
within
the
temple
on
the
16th.
As
I
was
coming
out
at
about
ten
o’clock
in
the
morning,
I
was
lucky
and
fortunate
to
witness
the
fascinating
spectacle
of
the
temple
elephant
coming
in
through
the
entrance
with
a
lotus
flower
atop
its
raised
trunk.
It
walked
in,
attended
by
the
mahout,
walked
up
through
the
temple
courtyard
up
to
the
Samadhi
Buddha
statue
and
paid
homage,
kneeling
and
prostrating
itself
on
all
fours
and
placing
the
flower
gently
on
the
offer
table!
Though
the
elephant
had
some
chains
around
its
neck,
it
walked
with
a
bouncing
gait
and
went
away
presumably
for
its
daily
walk
on
the
streets
around
the
temple.
It
was
an
unusual
and
a
spectacular
sight
that
I
witnessed
that
morning!
I
am
an
animal
lover
and
was
glad
to
see
that
the
elephant
was
not
forced
in
anyway
to
perform
this
act
–
though
it
must
have
been
trained
to
do
that
ritual!
My
first
stop
was
the
Image
House
or
Viharaya.
A
large
sized
seated
buddha
statue
in
meditation
is
the
central
attraction
within.
Flanked
are
many
other
statues
and
statuettes
of
heavenly
beings
as
well
as
paintings
related
to
Buddhist
narratives
and
stories
all
decorated
in
golden
yellow.
The
white
Samadhi
statue,
chiselled
out
of
white
jade,
was
my
next
stop.
The
statue
sits
in
an
intricately
sculpted
stone
house
flanked
by
two
elephant
tusks.
It
is
at
the
offer
table
here,
that
I
later
saw
the
temple
elephant
placing
the
lotus
flower.
Behind
the
Samadhi
statue
is
the
white
domed
stupa.
The
bo-tree
is
at
the
upper
level.
This
is
one
of
the
key
items
in
Buddhist
worship.
Buddha
is
reputed
to
have
attained
enlightenment
under
a
bo-tree.
At
the
upper
level
also
are
an
alms
hall
for
priests
and
an
educational
hall
for
the
public
to
listen
to
Buddhist
preachings
by
priests.
Within
the
relic
chamber
are
housed
relics
of
Buddha
and
some
of
his
disciples.
A
large
collection
of
objects
of
historical,
cultural
and
religious
significance
are
housed
in
the
museum
that
is
entirely
filled
with
objects.
These
include
vast
arrays
of
Buddhist
artefacts,
old
coins,
statues,
ola-leaf
writings,
jewellery
and
many
others
Though
not
within
the
museum,
there
is
an
array
of
vintage
cars,
watches,
clocks
and
other
mechanical
equipment.
An
imitation
from
the
Borobudur
temple
in
Indonesia
depicting
an
array
of
buddha
statues
on
stacked
platforms,
sits
behind
the
relic
chamber.
The
Seema
Malaka
on
the
adjoining
Beira
lake
too
is
part
of
this
temple,
although
TripAdvisor
provides
it
a
separate
listing.
The
Navam
Perahera,
a
colourful
pageant
is
held
annually
in
February.
This
grand
spectacle
of
hundreds
of
dressed
up
and
costumed
elephants
together
with
many
troupes
of
dancers,
drummers
and
other
performers
touring
in
procession
is
watched
by
tourists
and
visitors
perched
on
multi-level
stages
that
are
erected
along
the
roads.
The
temple
contributes
to
and
carries
out
several
community
projects
too.
Among
these
are
vocational
training
centres,
homes
for
abandoned
and
street
children,
homes
for
the
elderly
as
well
as
publication
of
Buddhist
literature.
The
temple
swarms
with
tourists
and
devotees
throughout
the
day.
Early
morning
is
the
best
time
to
avoid
the
crowds.
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