Thimanka image house

Thivanka Pilimage was built by King Parakramabahu (1153-1186) as part of the Jethavanarama Complex. Since the large image of Buddha has been curved in 3 places, this has been given the name "Thivanka" which literally means three curves. Like most other structures of this era, this is also built with bricks including the statue.

The Buddha statue at the Thivanka Pilimage is about 8 meters in height but today the part of the statue above the head has been destroyed. The statue as of today is 6.6 metres tall. The building is 133 feet long and 67.6" feet wide. The walls are 7-12 feet thick making the internal size of the building much smaller.

The inside walls of the buildings have been decorated with frescoes showing the Jataka Stories (prior births of Buddha before enlightenment) although most of the masonry has been destroyed, the colourful drawings can be still seen on the areas where the masonry is intact. The entrance to the building consists of two guard stones and two "Korawak Gala"

The outer restoration of this image house has been carried out at a snail's pace for the last 15 years and has been covered with shuttering throughout this period.