Embekke Devalaya, Kandy

Embekke Devalaya, Kandy is a wooden temple situated in the Ambakka village, three kilometers from the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. It was built in the 14th century by King Wickremabahu III. Adajacent to the main temple in the Embekke Devalaya, Kandy is a digge and inside the temple there is a courtyard where originally the hewisi were played. There are many legends which tell how the 'devale' or the 'devalaya' came into existence.

It is the popular belief that one of the king's consorts named Henakanda Biso Bandara, in association with a drummer named as Rangama were the founders of the devale. They had a dream in which Lord Kataragama appeared and therefore this three-storied temple is dedicated to the Lord Kataragama. In the recent years the Embekke Devalaya has become one of the popular tourist destinations in Kandy because of its exquisite architecture.

Embekke Devalaya, Kandy comprises carved wooden pillars with engravings of swans, lions, bulls, elephants and other such animals. On these pillars you will often find motifs like leafs, flowers, soldiers, dancing women and even mermaids. There are a total of 128 carvings on these pillars. Most of these carvings are presumably the work of the ancient artisan, Devendra Mulachari. 16 wooden pillars adorn the entrance of the Embekke Devalaya in Kandy.

The digge inside the Embekke Devalaya, Kandy is 52 feet, 10 inches long and 25 feet, 9 inches wide. Thirty two square shaped pillars guard it. The types of wood used for building this structure are

   

    * -Na
    * -Ginisapu
    * -Pihibiya.
    * -Gammalu


The wooden pillars inside the digge usually have a stone base. UNESCO has accredited the site as the abode of rare specimens of fine wooden carvings in the world.

Apart from the pillars the other striking feature of the temple is the roof which has only one central beam. 26 smaller rafters are fixed to the roof to support it. Long wooden nails which resemble the spokes in a cart wheel have been used extensively to put the roof together. The main temple is 28 feet long, 23 feet and 7 inches wide and is a two-storied building. A verandah surrounds the building along its three sides. Tourist will get to see 125 series of decorations, 256 liyawel, 64 lotus designs in Pekada, 30 decorative patterns on timber and many more such artistic instances. There is an image house in the Embekke Devalaya, Kandy too, known as vahalkada. The resting place or the ambalama and a throne are situated outside the temple premises but are part of the structure.