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At 7:15 AM on June 2, 1987, a bus carrying 33 young novice Buddhist monks, their mentor Ven. Hegoda Indrasara Thera, and several civilians was halted near the village of Nuwerathanne in the Ampara District, Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. The group was on a pilgrimage from Mahavapi Vihara to the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, two sacred sites of Buddhist veneration.
As they passed through a remote area near Aranthalawa, the bus was ambushed by approximately 20 armed cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)—a separatist terrorist group known for ruthless acts of terror during the protracted civil war. The attackers forced the bus onto a nearby jungle path under gunpoint.
What followed was a massacre of unimaginable brutality. Without warning or provocation, the LTTE militants opened fire on the unarmed monks, most of whom were between 10 and 18 years old. Those who tried to escape or hide were hacked and slashed with swords and knives. The chief priest, Ven. Indrasara, was also killed while attempting to protect the young novices.
Due to the Vinaya, the Buddhist monastic code, the monks could not carry weapons or defend themselves. The savagery left 31 novice monks and 4 laypersons dead. Four monks survived, all critically wounded; of them, one remains permanently disabled, and others live today with lifelong physical and emotional scars.
The Aranthalawa Massacre shocked the nation and the world. It represented one of the worst civilian atrocities of the Sri Lankan civil war, not only in scale but in its symbolic and spiritual impact—targeting innocent children in saffron robes who embodied the island’s religious heritage.
In 2003, the Helabima Organisation and the STF (Special Task Force) got together to build a monument near the very place that the massacre took place. Today this monument stands alone in the middle of the jungles of Aranthalawa, surrounded by trees that witnessed this massacre over 20 years ago.
In 2013, a memorial museum was built in this location using the same bus in which these monks were travelling by a local artist. The gruesome last minutes of these small novice monks have been re-created inside this bus and are open to the public.
Aranthalawa Massacre Museum licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 by L Manju 
Aranthalawa Massacre Museum – Source : dailymirror.lk Aranthalawa Massacre Museum – Source : dailymirror.lk Aranthalawa Massacre Museum – Source : dailymirror.lk Aranthalawa Massacre Museum – Source : dailymirror.lk Aranthalawa Massacre Museum – Source : dailymirror.lk
How to get there
Aranthalawa lies between Ampara and Maha Oya. There is a newer monument with the statue of Chief Priest Ven. Hegoda Indrasara was built by the road. In front of this monument is a gravel road which leads to the place where the massacre took place. This gravel road is marked by a cement slab, which is visible only if you travel from the Mahaoya side.
After traveling about 50 meters on this gravel path, you will come across the monument, which is built upon a natural rock to mark the place of one of the cruelest bloodbaths of recent Sri Lankan history.
Also See
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Waterfalls of Sri Lanka
- Nature and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Monument of Aranthalawa Massacre
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Travel Directions to Monument of Aranthalawa Massacre
| Route from Ampara Monument of Aranthalawa Massacre |
| Through : Maha Oya Road Distance : 46 km Travel time : 45 minutes Driving directions : See on Google Maps |
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