Pabalu Vehera
A brick stupa built by a queen of Parakramabahu, ringed by small image houses and known for the glass beads found here that gave it its name.
Within Polonnaruwa's ancient city, an unusually shaped brick stupa stands out from its neighbors for a detail immediately apparent to anyone who explores its base, nine separate image houses surrounding the structure rather than the standard four found at most stupas across the island. The Chulavamsa, Sri Lanka's historical chronicle, records that a queen named Rupavati, celebrated for her beauty and piety, had a cetiya built in the capital decorated with glittering golden pinnacles, a description historians have matched directly to Pabalu Vehera, making it one of the few Polonnaruwa monuments with a documented female royal patron, believed to be one of King Parakramabahu I's own consorts during his reign between 1153 and 1186.
The stupa's current name, meaning beads in Sinhala, comes from a rather more recent archaeological discovery than its royal origins, excavations around the site turned up large quantities of small glass beads scattered through the surrounding soil, and the name simply stuck, its original ancient title lost to history entirely. Built in the bubbulakara, or bubble shaped, form common throughout the Polonnaruwa period, the hemispherical dome remains largely intact even today, though the upper section, the hatharas kotuwa and spire, has collapsed, and the stupa's very center appears to have been damaged more recently, likely by treasure hunters rather than ancient invaders.
Among the nine surrounding image houses, some hold seated Buddha statues while others contain standing figures, one preserves a Sri Pathla, a carved impression of the Buddha's footprint, and another houses a reclining Buddha image, evidence suggesting these individual shrines were added by different patrons across varying time periods rather than built as a single unified project. A stairway leads visitors up to the stupa's first level, offering a genuinely intimate look at construction techniques and devotional additions that together paint Pabalu Vehera as one of the more architecturally layered, if lesser known, monuments within Parakramabahu's golden age capital.
At a glance
- Entry fee: Covered by the Polonnaruwa ancient city ticket, around USD 25
- Opening hours: 7:00am to 6:00pm
- Time needed: 20 minutes
- Best time: Daytime
Getting there
Between the central Quadrangle and the northern group of the ancient city.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to visit Pabalu Vehera?
- Covered by the Polonnaruwa ancient city ticket, around USD 25.
- What are the opening hours at Pabalu Vehera?
- 7:00am to 6:00pm.
- How long should I spend at Pabalu Vehera?
- Plan for 20 minutes.
- When is the best time to visit Pabalu Vehera?
- Daytime.
- How do I get to Pabalu Vehera?
- Between the central Quadrangle and the northern group of the ancient city.