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The Pallebedda Bambaragala Forest Monastery is an ancient monastery complex lying close to the remote village of Galpagama north to the Udawalawe National Park. The Bambaragala, translated as the “Wasp Rock” is an impressive rocky mountain with several natural caves. It is said that this name was derived due to the amount of wasp hives found in the caves.
Archaeological studies of this ancient monastic complex have identified about 15 drip ledge caves out of which 6 have inscriptions. Based on the evidence, the temple complex has been flourishing from the 3rd century BCE till about the 12th century AD. The complex has been neglected thereafter and it has been conserved to a monastery recently.
Archaeological research has placed inscriptions of one cave to the 3rd century BC and the latest one to about the 12th century. One drip-ledged cave, which is considerably larger than the others at 100 feet long and 24 feet deep called “Kana Biso Lena” carries a special place in the heart of the villages. The cave is enclosed by walls made of wattle and daub with a single door and a window.
Near the ancient Bodhi Tree, you can see a bow and an arrow carved on a rocky plain. A mound of rubble known as Veheragodella has been a stupa in the past.
The villagers believe that this mountain was once a fortress of a regional king called Mangara. Remnants of a rock wall at the top of the mountain is presented as proof of this fortress. King Maranga owned an extremely rare gem which has been locked inside a special room, where he would visit it every day. The gem has been kept away even from his queen.
One day when the king was away, the queen tried to peek at the gem through the keyhole and the brightness burned her eye and when she tried to see from the other eye, that too burned making her blind. Thereafter she has been known as “Kana Biso” ( the blind queen).
When the queen went blind, the king built a guiding rope from her room to her bathing pond at the top of the rock and assigned some attendants to look after her. But attendants sick of serving her had moved the guiding rope towards a precipice and the queen had fallen off the rock and killed instantly.
The king saddened by her death has buried her body along with the invaluable gem and two gold walking sticks near the “Kanabiso Lena”. The point is marked by 3 boulders placed to cover the tomb. One can observe how treasure looters have blasted many rocks in this area in search of the treasures buried with the queen’s body.
When King Mangara passed away at a later time, the villagers identified him as the “Mangara Deviyo” the deity who looked after the cattle. Even today, the villagers receive protection from cattle diseases by making offerings to the Mangara Deviyo.
Close to the Bambaragala mountain lies a waterway called Kudawa Oya. Two embankments across this river called “Gal Amuna” and “Thal Amuna” have been used to divert water to a paddy field called Galpaya long ago. According to the folklore when the crop was ready to be harvested, the farmers would bathe, clean themselves in Kudawa Oya, and visit a Bambaragala Cave in clean white cloths. There they would keep a bundle of beetle leaves equivalent to several sickles they need for harvesting. The next morning they would find the exact number of golden sickles in the cave. At the end of harvesting, they would return the sickles and they would disappear again.
On the night of harvesting, a white cobra would appear in the field and it would divide the harvest for the “Mangara Deviyo” and the farmers. Then the pack bulls of the deity would arrive and carry his portion to Bambaragala mountain.
But one day after a harvest, one farmer has returned an iron sickle to the cave instead of the golden sickle which he received and it is said that golden sickles were never seen thereafter. The two embankments across Kudawa Oya too have been destroyed beyond repair after the lead pack bull of the “Mangara Deviyo” was loaded with seedless paddy by the farmers one day.
The deep connection between the Bambaragala Temple and the villagers still exists today. During dry spells, the villagers get together and empty 17-plus ponds found atop Bambaragala. It’s said that the rain would always fall after this activity.
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Map of Pallebedda Bambaragala Forest Monastery
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Travel Directions to Pallebedda Bambaragala Forest Monastery
| Route from Ratnapura to Pallebedda Bambaragala Forest Monastery |
| Distance: 54 km Travel time: 1 hour Driving directions: see on Google map |
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