The semicircular carved threshold stone placed at the foot of stairways into shrines — the moonstone, one of the most distinctive forms in Sri Lankan architecture.
The concentric bands are usually read as a sequence: flames at the outer edge, then a procession of elephants, horses, lions and bulls, then a creeper, then geese, and a lotus at the centre. The most common interpretation treats the progression as the passage from worldly attachment to release, though readings differ. The carving is the work of the Navandanna stone craftsmen.