The Story of Sigiriya.

A long time ago a King called Dhatusena ruled in Anuradhapura.He had two sons named Moggalana and Kasyapa. Kasyapa was younger than Moggalana but he wanted to become king. Moggalana was very angry. He wanted to kill Kasyapa and become king. So Kasyapa ran away from Anuradhapura and built a beautiful palace on top of a rock so that nobody could catch him and kill him. This rock was called Sigiriya. He built many beautiful buildings on Sigiriya and painted beautiful pictures on the sides of the rock. Even now we can see some of these pictures and some ruins of the buildings.

Avukana Buddha Statue.

Near the village of Avukana, located in the Aunradhapura district, stands the tallest Budda statue in Sri lanka. The Avukana Buddha statue is almost 12 meters high and is carved out from a granite cliff. It is almost free-standing, being joined to the cliff by just a narrow piece of rock.

It is commonly believed that this statue was constructed sometime in the 5^th century, during the reign of King Dhatusena. Although carved more than a thousand years ago, the Avukana Buddha statue is in extremely good condition, with its features and details still very sharp and clear. Despite its size, it was very delicately carved, resulting in an image of finesse and grace. To give a sense of the statue’s size, a person of average height would stand as tall as its toes. It is so well crafted that raindrops will flow down vertically and land right between the feet of the statue.