Nalanda Gedige, Matale District | Sri Lanka

Nalanda Gedige stands near Matale as one of Sri Lanka's most enigmatic historical monuments — a structure that has confounded researchers for generations with its rare and deliberate blending of Hindu and Buddhist architectural traditions. Believed to be at least a thousand years old, it was lost to the jungle for centuries before being rediscovered in 1893, and its full story remains only partially told.

The video takes a closer look at this remarkable shrine: its turbulent origins, the British official who brought it back to scholarly attention, and the dramatic rescue operation that saved it from rising floodwaters in the 1980s.

History

According to historians and archaeologists, the structure was created between the 8th and 10th century AD — a turbulent period for ancient Ceylon, during which South Indian kings were establishing themselves in the wake of a declining Sinhalese monarchy. Some historians conjecture that it represented a bold attempt at a fusion of Tamil and Sinhalese cultures. Others argue that the structure began as a Hindu temple built in the Pallava style, which was later adopted for Buddhist worship. At some unknown point in time, the shrine was abandoned and forgotten, and the forest slowly reclaimed it.

Many centuries later, in 1893, H. C. P. Bell — the Archaeological Commissioner of Sri Lanka at the time — discovered the edifice deep in jungle close to a village. Recognising its historical importance, he acquired the surrounding land for the sole purpose of research. In one of his journals he described the site as "situated on raised ground in paddy fields, picturesquely surrounded by low hills and wooded hamlets", and called it "the sole example yet discovered in Ceylon of composite styles of architecture judiciously blended to form a delightfully homogeneous edifice." Bell also considered dismantling and relocating the entire structure, concerned that its elevated position was precarious and could cause irretrievable damage. Those plans, however, did not come to fruition during his tenure as Archaeological Commissioner.

The most dramatic chapter in the monument's modern history came in the 1980s, when the newly created Bowatenne Tank threatened to flood the shrine entirely. Researchers seized the moment to carefully dismantle the ruin and rebuild it on the retaining wall of the tank, well above the waterline. It was reconstructed beside the tank and can now be approached by a flower-edged causeway set against a backdrop of tree-clad hills.

Architecture

Nalanda Gedige was designed within the standard framework of a Hindu temple, incorporating mandapams — halls used for ceremonial events — as well as an entrance passage. Yet what makes the structure truly singular is the way Buddhist elements are woven into this Hindu foundation, creating what Bell himself called a homogeneous whole. This fusion is the quality that has kept scholars debating the monument's origins and purpose for well over a century, and it is what gives Nalanda Gedige its enduring sense of mystery.