Corner Relief Of A Sitting Lion

Abhayagiri Monastery, Anuradhapura

The lion in Sri Lanka is both a religious symbol of Buddha (whose voice was likened to the lion's roar), and a political symbol of the Sinhalese (who count a lion among their ancestry, as the name "sinhala" suggests). The lion seen here, at the corner of a wall, probably served multiple functions - decorative, symbolic, protective. He is half sitting on his hind legs, with his tail arranged into a figure eight and his fierce mouth slightly opened, resembling the guardian lions of Chinese temples.