Wegama Rajamaha Viharaya (වෑගම රජ මහා විහාරය)

RATE THIS LOCATION :1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars Be the first to rate
Loading...

Wegama Rajamaha Viharaya is believed to have been built during the Gampola era by ‘Henakanda Biso Bandara’ who some believe was the queen of King Wickramabahu III (1357-1374) and is located in Wegama GS division in Nuwara Eliya District. However, the drip-ledged caves in this temple are believed to have been built during the reign of King Walagagamba (89-77 BC). Ancient texts write that during a famine called ‘Baminithiya Saya’ which lasted for 12 years during the reign of   King Walagagamba, some of the priests living at the Sithulpawwa retreated to these caves at  Wegama.

Based on the ‘Kothmale Purawurtha’ written by P. B. Kehelgamuwe in 1935, the legend of the birth and life of Henakanda Biso Bandara is an interesting one. During the Gampola Era, an unusually large beli fruit was grown on a Beli tree in the Beligala Temple.

One day, a deity appeared in a dream of the head priest and stated that a lucky child would be born from this fruit and the Beli fruit should be plucked and kept on an altar in the temple. The priest followed the instructions and one night the fruit cracked making a sound of heavy thunder. When the priest and the villagers went in, they saw a baby girl had been born out of the fruit. Since this baby came out to the world making the sounds of thunder, she was named Henakanda Biso Bandara.

The villagers looked after this baby and she grew into a woman of unparalleled beauty. She was a devoted Buddhist and supported many temples in the area. Many princes came in hope of marrying this beauty but nothing but bad luck came upon them. Finally, she left the village and went to live in Hindurankanda Mountain.

She used to visit the Embakke Devalaya often to worship the Kataragama deity.  Kataragama deity was mesmerized by her beauty, he too started visiting her frequently. To avoid the advances of this deity, she moved to Kothmale so she could worship the ancient Pusulpitiya Rajamaha Viharaya and built an inconspicuous palace at Meddegoda.  This area became known as Maligathanne and the ruins of this place were reported to be in existence till 1930s.

Another legend states that Henakanda Biso Bandara married Wicramabahu III (1357-1374) at some point in her life.

The Wegama Rajamaha Viharaya which is believed to be one of the many temples built by Henakanda Biso Bandara is the only place that a statue of this queen existed.

Unfortunately, this temple has faced seven attacks by treasure hunters in the past. In 1932, the left shoulder of the statue of the Henakanda Biso Bandara was broken and treasure hidden in the statue was taken, later the statue was dragged out of the temple and broken into pieces looking for more treasures. In around 1952, a 30-kilogram gold-plated ancient Buddha Statue had been stolen. Once the Makara Torana ( the dragon’s arch) in the temple was broken looking for treasures. Another time the ancient Samadhi Buddha Statue near the stupa was broken. The final attack by the treasure hunters occurred in 2007 when the statue of Henakanda Biso Bandara and a Buddha statue believed to be made by her were destroyed.

This temple also housed the sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha during the British invasion of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1803.  The massive Sapu Tree where the Tooth relic was hidden from the British, still can be seen in the temple. Close to this is a massive sweet mango tree which is said to be rooted out from a seed of sweet mango offered to the Tooth Relic.

The Bo tree of the temple is too believed to be a sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi.

Alternate names : “Wagama Rajamaha Viharaya”

Also See

Map of Wegama Rajamaha Viharaya

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)
.

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

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.

Travel Directions to Wegama Rajamaha Viharaya

Route from Kandy to Wegama Rajamaha Viharaya
Through : Ampitiya – Mailapitiya – Hanguranketha – Ekiriya
Distance :37 km
Travel time : 1 hour
Driving directions : see on google map

© www.amazinglanka.com

Leave a Reply