A pond that is more than three times longer (159 m), more than twice broader (52.7 m) and almost 5 times deeper (9.5 m) and holding 30 times more volume of water than an Olympic swimming pool (75000 Cubic meters) created during 2 century B.C to 1 century A.D period and still has a functioning underground water supply system connected to a tank in the neighbourhood, is very much difficult to apprehend unless one see it! “Eth pokuna” had a fair volume of water during my visit and it was a lovely sight.

Roughly 1,700 years old, it was a place for monks to bathe and engage in ablutions. It is made of granite and has an underground canal system. Its monumental scale reflected its need to service some 5,000 monks at a time. That it is larger than six Olympic size swimming pools is an architectural achievement itself for the time.