Sri Lanka :: Sigiriya :: The Cobra Hood Cave

At the next level is the Boulder Garden. Tiya took them first to the Cobra Hood cave and just pointed out the Cobra shaped rock looming over the cave, and took them inside to show the paintings on the cave roof.

The paintings were different from the ones on the Sihigiri rock wall.

"they are probably drawn by the same artists, but this is more an expressionist painting" Sona thera explained to the two young men.

"is it a natural formation or done by man?" asked the young priest

"probably it is natural, or had it been done by man long ago, it would have been more than a thousand years ago, by the race of the Nagas" said the elder

"i have heard it said that this is the cave where King Ravana kept Sita"

"yes, they call this the cave of the 'Naguli' and some people believe that 'Naguli' means Sita as she is believed to be borne from a farrow. The name Sita also could be interpreted to mean the same thing 'Born of a farrow'" explained the elder.

"but why call her Naguli and not Sita?"
"'Naguli' could have been a derogatory term used by Ravana's sister, in her hatred of Rama for disfiguring her"

-- From the kat bitha by daya dissanayake, page 67 & 68 :