Thivanka Pilimage or Image House
King Parakramabahu (1153-1186) constructed Thivanka Pilimage as part of the Jethavanarama Complex. This has been provided the name “Thivanka,” which literally implies three curves, since the big picture of Buddha was curved in 3 locations. This is too constructed with bricks including the statue, like most other constructions of this age.
Thivanka Pilimage or Image House is located in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka and is a part of the country’s rich heritage.
The Buddha statue at the Thivanka Pilimage is about 8 meters high, but today it has demolished the portion of the statue above the head. The statue is 6.6 meters tall today. The building is 67.6 “wide and 133 feet long. The walls are 7-12 feet thick, which makes the building’s inner size much smaller.
The buildings ‘ inside walls were decorated with frescoes showing the Jataka Stories (prior births of Buddha before enlightenment) although most of the masonry was destroyed, the colorful drawings can still be seen in the areas where the masonry is intact. There are two guard stones and two “Korawak Gala” entrances to the building.
The house of the image is built with bricks. It has Gedige’s architecture, just like the other two main image houses found in Polonnaruwa, Lankathilaka and Thuparama. The entire structure can be seen in the picture house of Thuparama. The walls are dense from 7-12 feet. The picture house’s exterior wall is adorned with sculptures of Vamana (dwarf), heaven-like Vimana.
Paintings of the Polonnaruwa Era are found in this Image House. Many of the paintings are well preserved even today, thanks to the efforts of the authorities.
The external restoration of this image house took place very slowly for the last 15 years and was covered by shuttering during this era.
