Buddhas of Sasseruwa and Avukana, Sri Lanka

There are many amazing Buddha sculptures in Sri Lanka. I personally find the rock-cut standing images the most impressive – such as the ones at Buduruwagala [https://www.travelgumbo.com/2020/07/03/july-3-2020-buduruwagala-nr-wellawaya-sri-lanka/] or Dhowa [https://www.travelgumbo.com/2024/08/13/dhowa-rock-temple-near-ella-sri-lanka/]. One of the most well-known statues is located at Avukana in Sri Lanka’s ‘Cultural Triangle’. It had been on our horizon for many years and on our last trip we decided to finally tick it off the list.

When I was planning a route to Avukana that would take us past other interesting sights, I came across references to another rock-cut Buddha at a place I had never heard of. In some sources it was listed as the Sasseruwa statue, in others it appeared as the Buddha of Rasvehera. A Sri Lankan friend/guide who accompanied us on the trip did not know anything about it, and nor did the driver. As it turned out, even the locals in the area had only a vague idea about where the statue might be found. However, we persisted and eventually found the right place – a jungle temple by the side of a small lake.

A set of steps led to the statue.

It is just under 12m tall, carved straight out of a rock face at the back of the temple complex. As the photos show, it is also clearly unfinished. There is a story about why that might be the case, but it is quite implausible – I shall come back to that.

We all enjoyed our visit to this very tranquil location, which we had completely to ourselves. Consulting our maps we identified a good route from there to Avukana, but it turned out that the road was too rough for the car we had. Even the detour we ended up having to take was through some difficult terrain.

We therefore arrived at Avukana a lot later than we had intended. This is a much busier site, with a ticket office and a variety of stalls selling flowers, food, and drinks. Most visitors were just leaving when we got there and the sun was going down behind the statue.

It has a very similar size to the Sasseruwa Buddha, but has been fully finished and stands proud of the rock from which it was carved.

You can see why it is often described as a masterpiece. The ‘beard’, incidentally, is a bees nest.

How old the statue is has been a matter of debate. In all likelihood, it was created in the 8th century. This brings us back to the unfinished Sasseruwa Buddha. A local legend apparently tells the story of a master sculptor and his pupil. The master sets to work at Avukana, whilst his pupil attempts to create a statue at Sasseruwa. When he sees the master’s work, he realises that he cannot possibly match the craftsmanship and abandons his project. A nice little story, but it has a fatal flaw: whilst nobody knows for sure when precisely the Sasseruwa Buddha was created, it is more or less certain that it predates the one at Avukana by several centuries.

I can understand why visitors flock to Avukana – for a start, it is certainly easier to get to than Sasseruwa. For me, however, the non-commercialised jungle setting of the latter has a certain allure that is not matched by the Avukana site.

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Marilyn Jones
29 days ago

I agree with you. You found a treasure in the jungle with the Sasseruwa Buddha and its tranquil surroundings.

Admin
29 days ago

Excellent finds, Professor! These stone Buddha carvings are probably the country’s best art heritage.

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