Wathuruwa Rajamaha Viharaya at Sella Kataragama (සෙල්ල කතරගම වතුරුවා රජමහා විහාරය)

RATE THIS LOCATION :1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading...

Wathuruwa Rajamaha Viharaya at Sella Kataragama is an ancient Buddhist temple belonging to the kingdom of Ruhuna which was yet another ancient temple forgotten by the people until recently.

It is believed that the Wathuruwa Temple was built by the regional king Mahanaga, brother of King Devanampiyatissa (250-210 BCE) who is also considered the founder of the Ruhuna Kingdom. When Prince Dutugemunu (161-131 BCE) marched towards Anuradhapura to free the country from the Tamil Invader Elara in the 2nd century BCE,  records state that the prince obtained blessings from the Karawile Gama Wathuruwa Viharaya as it was known then.

The most important artefact which lies in the Wathuruwa Rajamaha Viharaya is the pillar inscription of King Nissanka Malla (1187-1196) of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom. Known as Nissanka Tam Lipi (Nissanka Pillar Inscriptions), these inscriptions had been placed every mile along the ancient road from Polonnaruwa to Ambalanthora Ramba Rajamaha Viharaya. These inscriptions were placed in the southern country to establish his rule over the Ruhunu Kingdom and demand the authority of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom.

Unfortunately, only two of these pillar inscriptions survive in the Kataragama area today. The other lies in the Kataragama Museum. A third pillar inscription which was at the Len Viharaya at Kataragama Gamudawa Mawatha had been destroyed by an unknown group in 2013.

In addition to this, you can see pillars which had been the base of an ancient tampita viharaya and ruins of an ancient stupa now resembling a mound of earth. In addition, the temple premises is scattered with ancient wall segments, pieces of ancient clay tiles and pottery.

The Wathuruwa Rajamaha Viharaya came into the limelight in around 2013 when a local businessman constructed a 72-foot-high golden stupa in memory of his son who passed away from Dengue. The hollow stupa with a circumference of 136 feet is covered in gold dust mixed with glass mosaic tiles. The 7.2 feet high pinnacle has been plated with gold of 65 gold pounds imported from Thailand. The Crest Gem is made of lead crystal and is produced in the Czech Republic and polished in Singapore. This is also considered the highest Crest Gem in any temple in Sri Lanka with a 32-inch height.  19 more lead crystals decorate the pinnacle and the ‘Hataras Kotuwa’.

The stupa has been named “Yasvanth Golden Stupa”, the name of the son who tragically passed away.

The stupa enshrines a golden replica of the Dalada at Dalada Maligawa at Kandy and many other relics discovered on the temple grounds. On the perimeter of the stupa lies 3 translucent Buddha statues, replicas of the famous  Emerald Buddha which is considered the palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand donated by Sri Lanka in the ancient past.

The three jade Buddha statues are adorned with three different sets of gold seasonal costumes similar to the Emerald Buddha in Thailand. They consist of replicas of the 3 costumes for summer, the rainy season, and for the winter or the cold season.

The temple lies just 1.5 km from the Sella Kataragama Junction and is easily reached by the pilgrims of the Sella Kataragama.

Also See

Map of  Sella Kataragama Wathuruwa 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 Sella Kataragama Wathuruwa Rajamaha Viharaya

Route from Sella Kataragama to  Wathuruwa Rajamaha Viharaya
Though : Thanamalwila Road
distance :1.4 km
Travel time : 5 mins
Driving directions : see on google map

© www.amazinglanka.com

Leave a Reply