Image-house in Jethavanarama Monastery and Principles for Image-house of Manju Sri bhaṣitavāstuvidyāśāstra

Abstract

The Jethavanarama monastery was commissioned by king Mahasena who ruled Sri Lanka and within the premises ruins of an ancient large image house too is found. There is also a Sanskrit book called Manjusribhastawastuvidyashastra which was written as a guide for building monasteries including all parts such as image house etc. This research investigates into how helpful the above book or another Sanskrit theory books and/ or traditions were in creating the image house of Jethavanarama. The research uses data collected from Sanskrit theory books such as Manjusribhasitavastuvidyashastra and Bimbamana as main sources while study of excavation and conservation reports, library exploration and field studies are also used. This study confirms the use of Sanskrit vastuvidya texts in the construction of image houses in Sri Lanka. The main objective of this study is to socialize the correct knowledge and methodology for creating a modern image house.