Overview
Reswehera Rajamaha Vihara is an ancient temple which was built by the king Devanampiya Tissa situated in north western province in Sri Lanka. The temple is well known for its two Gautama Buddha statues, one carved in a rock.
Description
There is a famous legend, that the two statues are the result of a guru-gola competition, “guru” meaning “teacher, master” and “gola” is “pupil”. This story is an explanation why the Aukana statue is perfected, whereas the similar Sasseruwa statue is almost finalized but not completely. So the story goes: The Guru constructed the Avukana statue, while his Gola made the statue at Sasseruwa. They had agreed that the first one to complete his statue had to notify this to the other by ringing a bell. The Guru managed to complete his statue earlier and then signalled it by the ringing of a bell. When the Gola heard the sound of the bell, he understood to have lost the competition and instantly ceased continuing his work. This is why the Sasseruwa Buddha remained unfinalised. However, there is another explanatory legend that Sasseruwa was a kind prototype of the Aukana statue carved by the same sculptor.
Kekirawa North Central
Sri Lanka
URL:
http://www.lanka-excursions-holidays.com/sasseruwa-buddha.html