Kirinda Viharamahadevi Raja Maha Viharaya (කිරින්ද රජමහා විහාරය)

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More than 2000 years ago, there reigned over the western part of Ceylon, a king called Devanampiyatissa. As Kelaniya was his capital, he was also called Kelani Tissa. It so happened that this king thought he had good reason to suspect a monk of the temple of helping an intrigue between the queen and his brother, accordingly losing control over himself, he gave orders that the go-between be put to a painful death by immersion in a cauldron of boiling oil.

The ministers of state were horrified; the subjects of the realm were terror-stricken. What was more, it appeared as if even the gods were annoyed. By way of punishment, they caused the ocean to flood the land – and tradition holds that roughly a fifteen-mile swathe of coastline (a yodun) in the king’s realm was washed away.

Moved to penitence, Kelani Tissa thought out a method by which he could atone for his sacrilegious act. He planned, as a sacrifice, something which he considered would not only bring forcibly to the minds of his subjects the sincerity of his repentance but would also propitiate the gods.

He built a boat of gold. He provided it with food and water to last a month and therein he placed his eldest daughter the peerless princess of the realm. Bearing an inscription which made known to all that it contained a king’s daughter, the boat was cast adrift.

Many days later a fisherman roaming the sea coast spied a strange craft cast ashore at a spot called Dovera, near Kirinda. Coming nearer, he beheld the princess and forthwith carried the news to the king of the southern kingdom of Rohana – where Kavantissa ruled at Magama

This king, Kavantissa, married the maiden who had been brought to him so romantically by fate and named her Vihara Maha Devi. On the summit of the cliff, there stands a dagoba erected as a thank offering for the safe voyage of the princess. According to scholars the royal court of arms ( the sun and the moon) cut on a boulder nearby, commemorates this event and marks the landing place.

At Gotimbaragodaella about 2 miles inland from Kirinda are said to be the ruins of a palace where Kavantissa officially welcomed and wed the princess. And in the Ruhuna National Park near Palatupana are some ancient monuments referred to as Magul Maha Vihara where it is believed they lived after their marriage.

However, these monuments and sites are subject to heavy debate by archaeologists and historians.

Amongst the dunes of Pottuvil, the archaeological reserve of Mudu Maha Vihara is also said to be associated with Vihara Mahadevi. Some scholars believe that this is the place where Queen Vihara Mahadevi and her entourage were washed ashore and not Kirinda. Locally it is also believed that the picturesque village of Komari just a few miles away was where King Kavan Tissa asked where the princess was after sighting the vessel at sea. Hence “Ko Kumari?” which was corrupted into the name of that village: Komari.

Nearby at Lahugala stands the ruins of Kavantissa’s palace complex and the remains of an interesting building named the Magul Maduwa where the wedding ceremony of King Kavantissa to Vihara Mahadevi is believed to have been solemnized.

By Kishanie S. Fernando
Sunday Times

All the constructions at the present temple are modern but two rock inscriptions situated within the premises have ancient characters. Both inscriptions can be ascribed to the first century CE. Among them, the major inscription is carved on a granite rock surface facing east. This inscription has been deciphered and bared a political significance. This records a sub-king known as Naga who abandons his false beliefs and takes refuge in the teachings of Buddha.

‘In the boundless universe, there is none equal to Buddha. (He) is of all objects, the most difficult of attainment. (He) is the one who has attained omniscience, the Teacher who has no superior, the Great Refuge (and) the Eye of the World. Buddha is verily the Self-existent One. At the convent on this rock, the viceroy· named Naka’ went to Buddha for refuge. Having broken down false beliefs, (he) became (attached to the path of Beatitude)”

Paranavitana believes Naga to be the king Mahadathika Mahanaga (67-79 CE). A copy of this inscription is also found on the Akurugoda Pillar in Tissamaharama. The second inscription is also carved on a rock surface situated slightly lower level than the previous one.

References

  • C. W. Nicholas, 1963. Historical Topography of Ancient and Medival Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series Volume VI Special Number, pp.62.
  • S. Paranavitana, 1945. Brahmi Inscriptions in Sinhalese Verse. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume XXXI, pp.60-63.
  • Somadeva, R., 2006. URBAN ORIGINS IN SOUTHERN SRI LANKA. Doctoral Thesis in Archaeology. Uppsala University.

Also See

Map of   Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya

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Driving Directions to  Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya

Route I from Colombo to Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya Route  II from Colombo to Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya
Through : Ratnapura – Udawalawe – Thanamalwila
distance : 255 km
Travel time : 6 hours
Driving directions : see on google map
Through : Southern Expressway – Tissamaharama
distance : 280 km
Travel time : 4 hours
Driving directions : see on google map
Route from Kataragama to Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya  
Though : Tissamaharama
distance : 30 km
Travel time : 45 mins
Driving directions : see on google map

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