See the glossary for a brief description of the development of guardstones as symbolic works of art. This guardstone on the left side of steps is of dolomite marble and originally was at the Maligawila Purānavihāra (Moneragala district). It probably depicts a royal or princely figure (not one of four guardian deities found on later guardstones and referred to as Nāgarāja, if a hood of a snake is included behind the head); the figure is in the tribhanga, thrice-bent, posture, and is holding a long stem with a flower in the right hand and a lotus flower in the left hand, and not a "pot of plenty," as seen in later guardstones. It also lacks the two figures of ganas, often found at the feet of the main figure. The figure here is depicted in an architectural element similar to a façade of a shrine or image house.
7th century CE. Fallen statue, found in the 1950s, restored and raised in 1991
Place
Maligawila (Maligawela), monastery complex, possibly at the location called Kanagama. Maligawila (Maligawela). Monerāgala District, Uva province. 15 km from Butthala. Sri Lanka
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