Rajanganaya Angamuwa Wewa Reservoir

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Discover Angamuwa Wewa, an ancient reservoir born of royal vision and ingenuity, once sustaining a thriving city and its sacred temple. Set amid peaceful landscapes and vibrant birdlife, this historic tank invites you to experience the living heritage of Sri Lanka’s Anuradhapura era.

Angamuwa Wewa is a medium-scale irrigation reservoir dating back to the Anuradhapura kingdom. Situated in Rajanganaya, it stands near the far larger Rajanganaya Wewa.

According to tradition, this region was once a thriving commercial city known as Mahadeegawapa. It is believed that a regional ruler named Mahanaga, together with his minister Ahala, constructed the Angamuwa Wewa reservoir and dedicated its revenue to a temple called Ahala-Pawatha (also known as Asela Parwatahaya), which today is identified as the Andigala Rajamaha Viharaya.

Angamuwa Wewa was created by damming the Lunu Oya, a tributary of the Kala Oya. Its embankment rises about 10 meters (33 ft) and stretches roughly 1.8 kilometers (1.1 mi). The reservoir has a capacity of 13.5 million cubic meters, with surplus water returning to the Lunu Oya via the spill. Around 2,000 acres (809 ha) of paddy fields are nourished by its waters.

The reservoir is also a serene spot well suited for birdwatching.

Angamuwa Inscription

The reservoir’s bund terminates at a rocky outcrop known as Vadigala, where a large natural rock pool remains. At the highest point near Veheragala stand the remnants of a stupa, partly worn by time and further damaged by treasure hunters. Below the outcrop are several shallow caves and two rock inscriptions. Approximately 200 yards (about 183 meters) beyond this point lies Pannumgala, the reservoir’s rock spill.

Text
Siddham | Tisamaha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
viharahi Tisaraja A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (ga)ma-
-ki ca Kadisaga-gamaki ca (boji)ya
pati Anula-pavata viharahi
biku-sagahațaya dine
Translation
Success! To the vihara (founded by) the great king Tissa, King Tissa granted the overlord’s share of the village A……. and of the village Kadisaga-gama. This was granted to the community of bhikkhus in the Anuļāpabbata monastery.

The inscription opens by naming a king called Tisa, identified as maharaja, suggesting that this Tisa-maharaja founded the ancient vihara at the site. It further appears that Tisaraja was the donor of several villages to the monastery, which bore the name Anulapavata.

Paranavitana (1983, pp 7–8) dates the script to the first century, allowing the founder-king to be identified as Kutakanna Tissa (42–20 BCE) and Tisa-raja, the donor, with his son and successor Bhatika Tissa (20 BCE–9 CE). The vihara’s name supports this attribution: Kutakanna Tissa’s chief queen was Anula-devi, and a monastery established by him could plausibly have been named in her honor, with further endowments made by her son, Bhatika Tissa.

None of the village names correspond to Angamuva, and the reservoir by that name was likely not yet constructed at the time this inscription was made.

References

Paranavitana, S. (1983). Inscriptions of Ceylon : Volume II Part I Containing Rock and Other Inscriptions From the Reign of Kutakanna Abhaya (41 B.C. 19 BC-19 B.C.) to Bhatiya II (140-164, A . D .): Vol. II-Part I. Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.

Also See

Map of the Angamuwa Wewa

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Traveling to Angamuwa Wewa

Route from Colombo Town to Angamuwa Wewa

Through : Divulapitiya – Giriulla – Narammala – Padeniya – Thambuttegama
Distance : 185 km
Travel time : 4 hours
Driving directions : see on Google map