# The Story of Sigiriya - Hardcover

by **Senani Ponnamperuma** (Author)

**The story of Sigiriya and its builder King Kasyapa is a tale of cruelty, intrigue, vision, grandeur, chivalry, betrayal, and abandonment.**

In the fifth century, Kasyapa acquires his throne by murdering his father, who he has plastered up alive into a wall. Tormented by guilt, he abandons his capital and flees into the inhospitable forests of central Sri Lanka. There, in an area dominated by a massive column of rock 660 feet high, he builds his royal citadel, a terrestrial paradise of gardens, pavilions, and ponds. He transforms the once foreboding column of rock to appear like a huge white cloud. Around its girth, he paints an exquisite tapestry depicting semi-nude celestial nymphs. On an escarpment halfway up this formidable rock, he constructs a gatehouse in the form of a sphinx-like lion giving his lair its name, Sigiriya-Lion Mountain. Atop the rock, he builds himself a sky palace of unparalleled beauty to emulate Alakamanda, the city of the gods. Hidden from view, he lives in splendid isolation tormented by guilt and fear, finally coming to a gruesome end. Then his splendid city disappears and is forgotten until rediscovered thirteen centuries later by an adventurous young British army officer on an elephant hunt.

  

**Part 1** details the history of the site and the king who built it.

**Part 2** contains an extensive Site Guide with vivid and never before seen photographs of the site.

  

**Hardcopy Edition** contains more information and photographs. It also includes more details on the construction of Sigiriya.

**Number of Pages:** 198

**Dimensions:** 0.63 x 10 x 8 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** March 01, 2020

## Details

- **Price:** 79.63 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 79.63 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Story of Sigiriya - Hardcover

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