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he elaborate moonstone
at its base is in itself a distinctive element of ancient sculpture in the
island. These semi-circular slabs of granite or gneiss acquired increasingly
complex bonds of decorations over the years. They range from the near
abstract-tongues of five and bands of creeper vines to symbolic interpretations
of the four perils of life. The latter consists of the elephant a symbol of
birth, the bull, indicative of decay. The lion, representing disease and the
horse, a symbol of death. Some also have a band of geese which represent the
distinction between good & evil. To some, the moonstone is symbolic of
transcending wordly temptations & achieving “nibbane”
At the heart of many
moonstones is a lotus petal. Buddhist regards the lotus as a sacred flower, a
symbol of the male and female creative forces that prevails throughout Sri
Lankan art, architecture, sculpture and literature. It figures in the legends
attached to the birth of the Buddha, when seven lotus sprang into bloom at his
feet as he looks the first seven steps in his life. The lotus bloomed again in
profusion at the moment he reached the state of Enlightenment. In the
moonstone, the lotus usually represents the central crowing seat of success.
The total effect, then, of mounting the stairs begins with the devotee at the
lotus, his back to the world, preparing to ascend to the shrine of wisdom &
insight.
The “Mahavamsa”
describes a step shaped like the half moon in a passage concerning a vatadage
of the naga world. Some of the earliest examples of decorated moonstone can be
seen on the ground of the “Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Temple” at Anuradhapura. Other
good examples are found at the national museum in Colombo, the temple of the Tooth
in kandy. And at various location in the city of Polonnaruwa. Excavations in
1983 revealed the first rectangular moonstone ever discovered, at polonnaruwa’s
alahana Pirivena.
