The Lata Mandapa represents a particularly flamboyant design in ancient Lankan architecture. Unlike the straight pillars characteristic of other structures in Polonnaruwa and elsewhere, at the Lata Mandapa we find the extraordinary wobbling columns. Lata Mandapa, which means "Flower Scroll Hall" was built by King Nissanka Malla in the 12th century.

The swaying columns, which supported a timber roof to house a small stupa, are stylized representations of the lotus stems with the flower at the capital. Lata Mandapa represents a "baroque" or "rococo" period in Sinhalese art in which the austere style yields to heavy ornamentation.