Some 30km northwest of
Golden Dambulla Rock Temple, the village of Aukana located close to the large ancient Kala Wewa rainwater reservoir,
is home to the most perfectly preserved ancient statue in Sri Lanka. The
perfect & elegant 12m-high standing Buddha is adored all over the island
to such an extent, that several full scale copies have been erected in
the island:
Colombo,
Dondra,
Ratnapura, and Trincomalee. The statue was
erected in the same period as those at Polonnaruwa's
Gal Vihara &
Lankatilaka Vihara as well as
Buduruwagala & Maligawila all of which
emphasis on Buddha's superhuman, transcendal powers.
Bless you
Unlike other great statues in the island which are carved in "Abhaya
Mudra" (Have no fear), the Aukana statue is in the "Asisa Mudra", the
blessing position, with the right hand turned sideways to the viewer.
The figure is carved in the round, narrowly connected at the rear to the
rock.
The perfect Buddha statue
Carved out of the living rock with supreme assurance, Aukana Buddha
is a magnificent image. His expression is serene & from his curled hair
there sprouts the flame called siraspata signifying the power of supreme
enlightenment. Although the statue is large & stands straight up with
feet firmly planted on the lotus stone pedestal, the body retains a
graceful quality enhanced by beautifully flowing drapery clinging to the
body.
The tallest Buddha statue in the world
The magnificent free-standing statue carved out of a single rock is
the tallest Buddha statue in existence today. Following the destruction
of similar but much larger statues at Bamiyan in Afghanistan, the Aukana
Buddha has gained even greater significance in the Buddhist World.
The whole of cultured world was horrified at the savagery & barbarity
inflicted upon the colossal Bamian Buddha statues carved from the cliffs
that dominate the dusty plains in the heart of Hindu Kush which have
watched serenely for 15 centuries as the fortunes of the city beneath
them waned from Silk Road metropolis to remote Afghan backwater.
In honour of the destroyed & in defiance of intolerant, China quietly
goes with its own form of defiance: in their territory, carving,
sculpting, erecting two statues similar in every conceivable way, to the
two Buddha Statues destroyed by Taliban. In the ancient times Bamiyan,
the region where Mahayana Buddhism originated, was known as Vokkana or
Avakana. Do we have a clue to the name Aukana? In Sinhalese there is no
such word as Aukana meaning sun eating as erroneously proclaimed.
Best time to see
The best time to see the magnificent statue is at the crack of dawn when
the first rays of sun light up the east-facing statue's finely carved
features.
