Your base for exploring this tourist attraction is the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. For tourist information about Polonnaruwa, go to Polonnaruwa Travel Guide. To prepare for a trip to Sri Lanka, read also the Sri Lanka Travel Guide. Looking for budget accommodation there? Use AsiaExplorers Budget Accommodation Guide, the no-frills website to cover your budget accommodation needs.
The Lata Mandapa represents a particularly flamboyant design in ancient Lankan architecture. Unlike the straight pillars characteristic of other structures in Polonnaruwa and elsewhere, at the Lata Mandapa we find the extraordinary wobbling columns. Lata Mandapa, which means "Flower Scroll Hall" was built by King Nissanka Malla in the 12th century.
The swaying columns, which supported a timber roof to house a small stupa, are stylized representations of the lotus stems with the flower at the capital. Lata Mandapa represents a "baroque" or "rococo" period in Sinhalese art in which the austere style yields to heavy ornamentation.
The Lata Mandapa.
Inscription in the Lata Mandapa attributes it to King Nissanka Malla, and tells of how the king used to listen to recitals of the Buddhist scriptures here.
Polonnaruwa Travel Guide
Explore the places of interest in Polonnaruwa. Click to view list.
