Sri Lanka is surrounded by many tourist attractions. Among them, Pabalu Vehera or the Coral shrine located in Polonnaruwa of North Central Province of Sri Lanka is a truly a masterpiece of ancient Sri Lankan architect. This was built by Queen Rupawathi who was one of the queens of King Parakramabahu the great (1153 – 1186 A.D.). You will find a cluster of Buddha statues and images of Polonnaruwa era around the dagoba. Obviously, these image houses belong to varying periods of its history.
Being the second most ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa has a great history which dates back to 1000 of years before. Further being influenced by both Tamil and Sinhala cultural impacts, it became more famous. The unusual and strange shape of the Vehera is a must to be explored during your vacation in Sri Lanka. You will have to take caps or an umbrella to take cover from hashes sun, on your way around the ancient temples, monuments, palaces and religious sites of Polonnaruwa. However, the name ‘Pabalu Vehera’ is to be believed that it is derived from the meaning beads. A large number of small glass beads found during the excavations carried out by the archeologists around the site. The great ancient epic ‘Culavamsa’ provides a great description of the service made by King Parakramabahu. By the way, the top of the Dagoba which is called the ‘Kotha’ (Pinnacle) was destroyed by the invaders and also some parts of the Dagoba were broke by treasure hunters and protests. Not only that but also the pinnacle of the Dagoba and the ‘Hatares Kotuwa’ or the enclosure of the upper dagoba were fully destroyed due to the destruction carried out by South Indian invaders There are 4 image houses together with nine statue houses built around the dagoba. Thus sitting statues, standing statues and reclining statues of Lord Gautama Buddha can be found on the premises.
But comparing to other statues of Polonnaruwa these do not differ from the architecture of Polonnaruwa era. Consequently, you will find a ‘Sri Pathula’ or a stone inscribed footprint of Lord Buddha. Archeologists say that these image houses have been built by different people from time to time. You will have to climb a narrow staircase consisted of three flights at the south to reach the top. Hence this brick construction is now endangered due to being open to the environment. However local authorities haven’t taken yet action to secure or protect.