This book talk on the recently published monograph, Temples to the Buddha and the Gods: Transnational Dravida Tradition of Architecture in Sri Lanka (University of Hawai’i Press, 2024), by Dr Sujatha Arundathi Meegama will address some of the core issues of the book.
Described as a contribution to recent scholarship on networks and the circulation of knowledge, Temples to the Buddha and the Gods locates the architecture of the island within a wider South Asian and Indian Ocean framework of analysis. This richly illustrated account presents together for the first time different types of image houses built by various patrons—monarchs, monks, ministers, and merchants—that were previously considered in isolation and rarely included in the Sri Lankan art historical canon. Closely examining temple architecture and analysing inscriptions and Buddhist poetry, Temples to the Buddha and the Gods opens new ways of thinking about Sri Lanka’s architectural histories.
Moderated by Dr Elizabeth Harris (President, UK Association of Buddhist Studies and University of Birmingham), this event includes a presentation and a discussion with the author, Dr Sujatha Arundathi Meegama (The Courtauld), and the London Buddhist Vihara community.
Praise for the book:
Meegama examines a range of evidence—archaeological remains, poetry, architecture, inscriptions—and synthesizes disparate literature on the religious cultures, architecture and history of Sri Lanka in the later medieval and early modern periods to demonstrate that there was a greater degree of shared architectural forms, ritual practices and patterns of patronage among the diverse communities of the island over this long period. By situating the architecture of the island within a wider South Asian and Indian Ocean framework of analysis, Temples to the Buddha and the Gods contributes to recent scholarship on global networks and the circulation of knowledge, as well as on visual and material culture.
— Crispin Branfoot, SOAS, University of London.
Organised by Sujatha Arundathi Meegama, Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Art History, in collaboration with the London Buddhist Vihara, and the British MahaBodhi Society, as part of The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation at The Courtauld.
Speakers
Dr Elizabeth Harris is President of the UK Association of Buddhist Studies and teaches at the University of Birmingham. She is an honorary fellow at the Edward Cadbury Centre. Her research focuses on Buddhist studies and inter-religious studies. She is the author of numerous books, articles, and chapters and most recently, she was a co-editor and contributor to Buddhism and International Humanitarian Law (Routledge, 2024).
Dr Sujatha Arundathi Meegama is the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Art History. She is the editor of Sri Lanka: Connected Art Histories (Marg, 2017). Her research focuses on transcultural objects and sites in the Indian Ocean world.
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