Rankoth Vehera: Polonnaruwa's largest stupa

Rankoth Vehera was built in the late 12th century by King Nissanka Malla, who reigned in Polonnaruwa from 1187 to 1196. Nissanka Malla built extensively and left many inscriptions recording his work, including one at Rankoth Vehera describing how he watched the construction.

The stupa was modelled on Ruwanwelisaya in Anuradhapura, the great bubble-shaped stupa of the first capital. Building on that model connected Polonnaruwa to Anuradhapura's sacred authority. Some sources suggest Parakramabahu I began it and Nissanka Malla completed it.

After Polonnaruwa was abandoned, the stupa lost its plaster and spire, and forest grew over it until clearance in the 20th century.

Rankoth Vehera's inscription is one of many left by Nissanka Malla across Polonnaruwa. It describes the king inspecting the work and is unusual in recording a ruler's personal involvement. Guides can point out the inscription stone, and it is worth a moment for anyone interested in how Sri Lankan kings presented themselves.

Rankoth Vehera stands about 55 metres high today, its unplastered brick dome visible from far across the site. At its base are small shrines and image houses at the cardinal points, and a wide terrace for walking around clockwise.

The brickwork is clear, showing how stupas were built in layers. Vegetation grows on parts of the dome, and the size is striking from the terrace.

The stupa's terrace once had a wall and gateways, with remains of image houses and small stupas around it. Some of these structures are visible at ground level. The best view of the whole dome is from a short distance to the south, where its size can be seen against the surrounding trees.

Rankoth Vehera is covered by the Polonnaruwa ticket, roughly US$25 to US$30 for foreign adults, bought at the museum ticket office. Allow 20 to 30 minutes. Remove shoes and hats at the terrace, and visit before late morning, as the terrace heats up.

It lies on the main route north, between the Sacred Quadrangle and the Alahana Pirivena. By bicycle, it is a natural stop after the quadrangle. Lankan Stays & Trails guides often pause here to compare it with Ruwanwelisaya, which guests may have seen in Anuradhapura.

Pilgrims visit Rankoth Vehera less than Gal Vihara, so it is usually calm.

By bicycle, Rankoth Vehera is about a five-minute ride north of the Sacred Quadrangle. There is shade under trees near the entrance, and vendors sometimes sell king coconuts. It is a good place for a short rest before continuing to Lankatilaka, Kiri Vehera and Gal Vihara.

Nissanka Malla, who built Rankoth Vehera, was one of Polonnaruwa's most prolific builders. Originally from south India, he reigned for under a decade but left buildings and inscriptions across the island, including the Hatadage, the Gal Pota and the Latha Mandapaya.

His inscriptions praise his own achievements generously, and historians read them with some caution. His reign marked a last flourish before Polonnaruwa's decline in the 13th century.

Nissanka Malla also claimed to have visited Adam's Peak and to have reduced taxes, according to his own inscriptions. Whatever the truth, his building programme left Polonnaruwa with several of its most visited monuments, and Rankoth Vehera is the largest of them.

Rankoth Vehera is large for Polonnaruwa but smaller than Anuradhapura's giants. Jetavanaramaya stands about 70 metres today, Abhayagiri about 75 metres, and Ruwanwelisaya, its model, is similar in shape.

Visiting Rankoth Vehera after Anuradhapura shows how Polonnaruwa's kings deliberately echoed the first capital.