Nalanda on the Dambulla-Kandy road few miles from the road is the Gedige monument a stone building dating from the 8th Century and one of the most remarkable examples of the amalgamation of Hindu and Buddhist architecture. This is a Buddhist Temple and the shrine room has a “Gopuram” like structure similar to a Hindu Shrine room but the figures and statues are Buddhist. This may be a Mahayana shrine, with its stones containing rare “Tantric” carving of a sexual theme in one sculpture.