A Buddhist monk watches the world from a once decorative window in the Kataluwa Purvarama Mahavihara temple in Sri Lanka.

---

A Buddhist monk watches the world from a once decorative window in the Kataluwa Purvarama Mahavihara temple in Sri Lanka. The temple was originally built in the 13th century and is renowned for its remarkable Kandyan-style paintings in the main shrine, dating from the late nineteenth century. Paintings of Queen Victoria & the Queen Mother too are done in gratitude of Queen Victoria's role in ensuring the free practice of Buddhism outlined in the Kandyan capitulation of Sri Lanka in 1815.

---

Size: 4724px × 3150px
Location: Kataluwa Purvarama Mahavihara temple, Sri Lanka
Photo credit: © Andrew Aitchison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: aitchison, andrew, andy, buddhism, buddhist, kataluwa, lanka, mahavihara, monk, orange, purvarama, robes, sri, temple, young