Sri Nilagiri Purana Rajamaha Viharaya (ගලේවෙල ශ්‍රී නිලගිරි පුරාණ රජමහා විහාරය)

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Sri Nilagiri Purana Rajamaha Viharaya lies in the village known as Nilagama in Galewela lying 6 km off Galewela town.

Nilagama is the home of the traditional Siththara (temple mural artists) families who have sustained this art for thousands of years. When Theri Sangamitta arrived in this country in 249 BC with the sapling of the original Sri Maha Bodhi, an entourage of families from eighteen types of crafts arrived in Sri Lanka. Among them were Sittara families who painted temple murals. These families settled in various parts of the country and the Sittaras were finally settled in Balawatte serving the Gampola area during the reign of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinhe (1747 – 1781).

To restore the murals of Dambulla Rajamaha Viharaya, the king wanted these artists close to Dambulla and gifted them land in this area whole families moved to the current location and the name of the village became known as Nilagama, in English simply “Official Village”.  (Sigiriya and Beyond – pages 106-107)

This temple is believed to be first built by the king Devanampiyatissa (250-210 BC) of the Anuradhapura kingdom. The murals we see today at the Sri Nilagiri Rajamaha Viharaya have been of course done by the Sittaras of Nilagama.  The main shrine of the temple is built inside a cave 60 feet long 10 feet deep and about 12 feet in height. The walls of the shrine are at least 2 feet thick and the inner walls are covered in murals from the life of Buddha. A mural of Buddha preaching to the Paswaga Thausan, the first disciples of Buddha decorates the roof of this shrine.

In addition to the murals, two ancient Dragon Arches (Makara Thorana)  can be seen preserved at this shrine. Unfortunately, although this site has been declared a protected archaeological site, no preservation has been done and the murals are badly damaged by rainwater seeping through the roof and others are fading.

References

  • Gunetilleke, N. et al. (2016) Sigiriya & Beyond: To Dambulla, Habarana, Kekirawa, galewela. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Back of Beyond Sigiriya (Pvt.) Ltd.

Also See

Map of Sri Nilagiri Purana Rajamaha Viharaya

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The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

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Travel Directions to Sri Nilagiri Purana Rajamaha Viharaya

Route from Galewela to Sri Nilagiri Purana Rajamaha Viharaya
Through : Damunumulla
Time to Spend : 30  mins
Distance :6 km
Travel time : 10 min.
Driving directions : see on Google map

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