Katâraya (Sinhala; Sinhalese: කටාරය) are a unique feature of monastic caves (guhā-vihāra) and cave temples in Sri Lanka. It refers to a drip line or ledge carved around the mouth of a cave shelter to preserve the interiors and meditating monks from rainwater.[1]
This ledge protected the interior of the cave from rain water runoff flowing down the external face of the rock.[2] The donor's name or religious inscriptions were often carved on the face of this ledge.[3] [4] These inscriptions have then been used to date when the temples were established. The earliest cave temples have been dated to the Anuradhapura period, around the 2nd century CE.[5] Immediately below the kataraya, a timber framed, terra-cotta tiled, lean-to roof supported on carved wooden pillars or stone columns (kuluna) with wooden brackets (pekada) forming a protected walkway or verandah (pilla) would be erected.[2]
R. L. Brohier in his 1973 work, Discovering Ceylon described it as being a "primeval gutter serving as a run-off for the rain which would otherwise trickle down the rock to its base, making the cave inhabitable during the wet season of the year."[6]