Amunakole Sri Wardhanaramaya Tampita Viharaya

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අමුණකොලේ ශ්‍රී වර්ධනාරාමය ටැම්පිට විහාරය - Amunakole Sri Wardhanaramaya Tampita Viharaya
අමුණකොලේ ශ්‍රී වර්ධනාරාමය ටැම්පිට විහාරය – Amunakole Sri Wardhanaramaya Tampita Viharaya

Amunakole Sri Wardhanaramaya is an ancient temple lying between Nikaweratiya and Padeniya. To reach the temple, travel 5 km past Nikaweratiya towards Padeniya to Vithikuliya junction. Take the Kadawalagedara road from this junction and travel 7.5 km and take the right bylane to reach the temple.

Tampita Vihara was a popular architectural feature during the Kandyan kingdom where the temple was built on a platform which was held on an arrays of pillars, mostly stone.

Amunakole Tampita Viharaya is built on 9 stone pillars 5.6 centimeters high. A corridor like circumambulating path is built around the image house with half height outer walls. This is 76 centimeters wide at the front and only 45.7 centimeters wide at the side and the rear. since its not possible for a normal person to walk around this narrow path this cannot be considered as a circumambulating path.

At the entrance to the inner chamber, 2 guardian deities have been painted on the wall. None of the art or statues of this Tampita Viharaya shows influence of the Kandyan Art typically . The inner image house is is 3 meters in length and 2.72 meters wide. The full structure is 4.20 meters long and 3.56 meters wide. The roof is held by 11 wooden pillars fixed on to the raised platform.

The main statue, a seated Buddha lies facing the door. This statue is special since its very rare in Sri Lanka to find statues with Bhumisparsha Mudra. This mudra is a reflection of the great defeat of Mara by the Bodhisattva at the time of his enlightenment, when he stretched out his hand to the earth, saying ‘This earth stand witness to me’ to witness his enlightenment. This mudra is mainly seen in Mahayana Buddhism and thus was never a popular pose.

A halo around the Buddha is drawn in typical flame style. This is drawn as a perfect circle and is different from the typical halos found in such temples of the Kanyan era. High relief sculptures of of Sariyuth and Mungalan theros can be seen beside the Buddha statue. A standing Buddha statue has been sculptured on the left wall. Part of this statue is destroyed. A statue of a king or a deity is found on the opposite wall. The paintings on this tampita viharaya is breaking up and signs of repairs can be seen.

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Map of Amunakole Tampita Viharaya

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Driving Directions of Amunakole Tampita Viharaya

Kandy to Amunakole Tampita Viharaya
Through : Lewalla
Distance : 48 kilometers
Travel Time : 1 hour
Time to Spend : about 30 mins
Driving Directions : See Google Map here

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