Hemmathagama Madiliya Purana Tampita Viharaya

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Tampita Viharaya at Hemmathagama Madiliya Rajamaha Viharaya
Tampita Viharaya at Hemmathagama Madiliya Rajamaha Viharaya

Madiliya Purana Rajamaha Viharaya is an ancient temple with a Tampita Viharaya (temple on pillars)  hidden away in middle of picturesque paddy fields between Aranayake and Hemmathagama in Rambukkana.

One of the unique features a visitor could observe today at this temple  is the Tampita Vihara Ge. Tampita Vihara were a popular architectural feature of temples during the Kandyan era. The temple is built on top of granite stumps with wooden platform laid across the stumps.

The tampita temple has been built on 2½ feet high 20 pillar stumps. Eight 9 inches x 9 inches wooden beams has been laid on the pillars and 4 inch thick wooden planks has been laid on the beams to build the temple. It is 20 feet in length and 12 feet in width. The inner image house is 12×7 feet in size. The walls are built using clay on a lattice structure and roof is tiled with flat clay tiles, popular during Kandyan era buildings.

The main seated Buddha statue typical of Kandyan design is 3½ feet high and 2½ feet wide. The statue is seated in the middle of a elaborate dragons arch. There has been 2 standing Buddha statues on the two side walls but unfortunately these two statues have been stolen by treasure hunters and the only the edge marks can be seen where statues had been.

The inner walls of the Tampita Viharaya is decorated with lotus flower and other floral designs as well as creatures such as sarapendiya. Among the paintings is a painting of the God Vishwakarma, the God of Architecture .

The archeology department has cleaned and removed the soot collected over the years and the old images have gotten a new life. Roof of the temple is said to be dilapidated with water seeping from places.

The Tampita Viharaya is connected to a Mandapa (porch) in the front. This is 15×15 feet in size. The roof of the building is tiled with Sinhala Ulu (semi – cylindrical clay tiles) and possibly an later addition.

The buildings of the temple exhibit features belonging to late Kandyan period. Two massive Na tree a and Bo tree stand as proof of the antiquity of the temple. In addition to the Tampita Viharaya an old Devale dedicated to Kataragama deity can be found at this temple. An amblama belonging to the same era can be seen opposite to this temple. This ambalama has been marked as Hemmathagama Madiliya Ambalama in the List of Ambalam is Sri Lanka.

To reach the temple take to road towards Hemmathagama from Mawanella. From Hemanthagama, take the road towards Horewala. The temple   lies 2.4 km down this road.

Alternate names : Mediliya Purana Tampita Viharaya, Madiliya Rajamaha Viharaya, Mediliya Rajamaha Viharaya

References

  • කෑගලු කෝරළ පවත : පරණකුරු, කිණිගොඩ සහ ගල්බඩ කෝරළයන්හි ඓතිහාසික, සංස්කෘතික සහ පුරාවිද්‍යාත්මක ගවේෂණය – එම්. ඩී. එම්. එස්. යටවර

Also See

Map of Hemmathagama Madiliya Purana Tampita Viharaya

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Traveling to Hemmathagama Madiliya Purana Tampita Viharaya

Route from Mawanella to Hemmathagama Madiliya Purana Tampita Viharaya

Distance : 16.6  km
Travel time : 45  mins
Driving directions : see on google map

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