This statue is also known as “Sasseruwa” and is located at a distance of about 16 km from the Aukana statue. This work of art, which looks unfinished at first glance, is 5 inches taller than the Aukana statue, according to the book “Brohier Dutu Lanka”. The Ras Vehera Buddha statue is carved out of a rock and many features of this statue can be said to be similar to the Bamiyan Buddha statue. Therefore, historians suggest that the carpenter who built the Ras Vehera may have come from the Bamiyan country, then known as Awaken Desha, or present-day Afghanistan.
In that sense, there are many folklore about these creations which are mentioned as a pair of Buddha statues created at the same time. The most popular legend is that the two creators of this pair of statues were the teacher and the student. It is said that the teacher has started carving the statue of Ras Vehera and the student has started carving the statue of Aukana. First the builder had to raise his voice and tell the other. However, the teacher who was carving the statue of Ras Vehera felt that he had been defeated when he heard the voice of his student and jumped from the rock where the statue was being carved and committed suicide.
Whatever its true falsity, it is clear that this pair of statues is revered and revered by the Buddhist community in our country today as well as a masterpiece that showcases Sri Lanka’s past glory as well as artistry.
