http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/19 2026-04-21T12:45:06Z http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/1086 Emaciated Female Playing the Cymbals: A Study of the Ancient Hindu Bronze Figurine in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka Chandrajeewa, Sarath. The ancient bronze figurine which is the subject of this text, is exhibited at the archaeological museum in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. It is associated with two activities, religious chanting and playing cymbals. The figurine, illustrates how a work of art denotes its creator the freedom to visualize and recreate a religious story through the use of a three-dimensional form. Taken as a whole, its iconography represents the ‘Shiva -bhakti’ tradition’ prevalent in Sri Lanka in the 11th century. The figurine, which shows a devotee of Lord Shiva, has been identified as a depiction of poet-saint Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār. This and similar sculptures, were originally designed for temple worship and festivals in South India and Sri Lanka. Even to date, Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār is celebrated annually in several temple festivals in Tamil Nadu and other locations where there is a significant population of Hindu worshipers of Lord Shiva. In the text, the figurine and the legend surrounding Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār are examined and reflected on as important aspects of Sri Lanka’s history. This paper considers the story of the poet-saint Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār through a fascinating artistic remnant of the ancient Shiva-bhakti movement on the island of Sri Lanka, an evocative bronze temple figurine. The Hindu figurine is first examined through visual examination and consideration of it archaeological contexts and finally interpreted through the legends surrounding Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār and her historical legacy as part of a once powerful spiritual movement in South India and Sri Lanka. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/1085 Some Thoughts on Expectations: The Second Music Education Alliance Across the Belt and Road Conference, CCOM Beijing, 2019 Chandrajeewa, Sarath. This interview is to review the event of the THE SECOND MUSIC EDUCATION ALLIANCE ACROSS THE BELT AND ROAD CONFERENCE, CCOM BEIJING, 2019, as well as the thoughts of a participant who is one of the most recent members of this initiative. He is also one of the authors in this volume representing the case that a co-operation of this format should always be substantiated by active research. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.lib.vpa.ac.lk/handle/123456789/237 An Investigation of the Sundial at Abhayagiri Monastery in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka Jayasinghe, Anoma; Jayasinghe, Nimal; Chandrajeewa, Sarath The ancient text of vāstuvidyāśāstra states that lot of beliefs and rituals were performed before making a sundial. Thereafter, these rituals were performed daily at the beginning of the day beforetaking the first reading. Though we call it traditional knowledge, through this research we came to the conclusion that behind all these rituals and formalities there is a scientific theory. A question arises whether the expert ancient sundial users may have known that the earth circles around the sun while rotating on its geographical north-south axis. The Abhayagiri Sundial has been found in the refectory. This leads to the belief that this was used to calculate the noon meal time for the Buddhist monks. But in truth, this was also used to calculate the times of a broader range. For example; auspicious times, seasons of the year, the fall of Sinhala and Tamil New Year (the new year times change every year according to the calculations of the traditional calendar called (‘litha’). Sinhala and Tamil New Year, in other words is called as Sun Festival (Sūrya Mangalya). True meaning of this name comes to light through this research. All ancient sculptures, frontispieces and walls were plastered and painted. We believe that the sundials too were plastered with a thin white layer and have been painted with lines and motifs. It appears that the users of Abhayagiri Sundial did not possess a clear knowledge of the equation of time. This is the inequality of the sun’s motion which results in the true noon crossing the observer’s meridian before or after the mean noon, which can have a positive or a negative value through the solar year. This needs a correction chart or a curve to verify the true noon. But surely they knew how to mark out the shift of the sun across the celestial sphere between solstices and equinoxes, which will basically relate to the seasons of the year. This is in addition to keeping time. With available data on Abhayagiri Sundial, further mathematical resolutions are not possible. This being a unique design, when compared to standard horizontal sundials, how the markings on the sundial face collaborated with the sun-earth motion is immediately unpredictable. 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z