Vatadage

A vatadage is a type of Buddhist structure found in Sri Lanka. It also known as a dage, thupagara and a cetiyagara. Although it may have had some Indian influence, it is a structure that is more or less unique to the architecture of ancient Sri Lanka. Vatadages were built around small stupas for their protection, which often enshrined a relic or were built on hallowed ground. Circular in shape, they were commonly built of stone and brick and adorned with elaborate stone carvings. Vatadages may have also had a wooden roof, supported by a number of stone columns arranged in several concentric rows.

Only ten vatadages now remain in Sri Lanka. The builders of many of these monuments are unknown, as are their time of creation. The oldest such construction is believed to be the one surrounding the Thuparamaya. The best example of a vatadage is generally believed to be the Polonnaruwa Vatadage. Along with it, the vatadages at Medirigiriya and Thiriyai remain more or less intact.

Although popularly known as vatadage now, the structure has had several different names. In ancient Sinhalese literature, this type of structure is referred to as vatadage or dage. The 12th and 13th century chronicles Pujavaliya and Dalada Siritha use these names when mentioning the Thuparamaya and Polonnaruwa Vatadage. However, Pali texts use the name thupaghara. The name cetiyaghara is also used in some sources.

The word vatadage literally means circular relic house or shrine. Dage simply means "relic house". Similarly, cetiyaghara means "cetiya-house" and thupaghara "stupa-house".

As the name implies, vatadages were circular in shape. They were constructed around small stupas for their protection, as well as shelter for devotees. The stupa is located at the centre of a raised circular platform, commonly paved with stone. The vatadage in Polonnaruwa has two platforms, one above the other. This platform contained several concentric rows of stone columns. The columns on the inner row were the highest, while the heights of the columns in the outer rows gradually diminished as they spread further from the center. The number of stone columns and rows have varied from structure to structure, with the vatadage in Lankarama originally having as many as 88 columns.

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