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Araththana Viharaya is a sacred temple located near Hanguranketha town, and it often served as the temple for the royalty who resided in Hanguranketha. The earliest documented evidence regarding the history of this temple, situated approximately one kilometer south of Hanguranketha, is found in two of its three title deeds (සන්නස්).
The first of these was granted during the reign of King Senarath in the year 1613 C.E. It is mentioned here that the king arrived at this place, and the Araththana Pinbath Kumbura, which was initially offered to this temple but later became royal property, was offered back to this temple in the Saka year 1535. The fact that it is stated that this paddy field was first offered to the Araththana Viharaya before King Senarath and that it became royal property clearly proves that the origin of this temple predates the reign of King Senarath.
The Mandaram Pura Puwatha mentions that the beautiful edifice at the temple, built by King Senarath (1604 – 1635) was rebuilt by King Weeraparakrama Narendrasinha (1707 – 1739). Since the beautiful edifice here can be concluded to be the image house, it is possible to ascertain that the image house seen here now is a creation belonging to the reign of King Senarath. The temple possesses three very valuable painted Pethikadas that King Senarath is said to have offered to this temple.
It is surprising that nothing is mentioned about this temple in the Maga Salakuna Sandesha Kavya (a book of poetry) of the early part of the reign of King Rajasinha II (1635 – 1687) or perhaps even belonging to the reign of King Senarath. The reason for this is that this temple was certainly located near the route taken by the messenger in the Maga Salakuna Sandesha Kavya. However, the author invites the messenger passing through Hanguranketha town to view the Bodhi tree of Ankelihinna, which appears on his left. The place currently known as Ankelihinna is located adjacent to the Hanguranketha Government Dispensary. The Bodhi tree located on the land of the government dispensary may well have been the same Bodhi tree described in the Maga Salakuna. According to folklore, the original temple of Araththana was on the land where the Ankelihinna Bodhi tree is located. It is further stated there that this temple was initially named Devram Vehera. Professor H. G. Charles attempts to trace the origins of Devram Vehera back to the Polonnaruwa period.
As stated in a title deed dated Saka year 1638 (C.E. 1716) offered to this temple during the reign of King Vimaladharmasuriya II (1687 – 1707), ‘the monk who was then the chief incumbent of Araththana Viharaya was one of the first to receive higher ordination brought here from Rakkhanga Desha. This deed further mentions that he was a grandson of the Gana Nayaka (chief) Rajanarayana Ekanayaka Maha Thera of Hasa Sal Vehera (Asgiri Viharaya), who resided and passed away in this temple.
The Mandaram Pura Puwatha mentions that King Weeraparakrama Narendrasinha (1707 – 1739) rebuilt (i.e., renovated) the beautiful mansion built by King Senarath and constructed a beautiful wall around the Bodhi tree on the temple grounds. It is believed that the Bodhi enclosure seen now is the same one built by Narendrasinha. Subsequently, the king enriched the temple by offering villages and designating villages to construct a pandol for the viharaya.
Attacks on the Kandyan Kingdom and the Tooth Relic
As a confusing situation regarding the lands owned and offered to Araththana Viharaya by King Senarath re-emerged, King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe re-clarified those lands and offered them to the temple. According to the account, King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe enshrined the Sacred Tooth Relic in a beautiful Dalada Mandiraya (Temple of the Tooth Relic) at Medapitiya (i.e., Araththana) and appointed a minister named Kottava to oversee the affairs of the Tooth Relic.
The reason for bringing the Tooth Relic, which had been deposited in Kandy until then, to the Araththana Viharaya in Hanguranketha was the Dutch invasion of Kandy in 1765 C.E. In 1765 C.E., the Dutch were able to capture Kandy through an invasion via Galagedara. Due to this incident, King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe fled to Hanguranketha with his retinue. Andreas Nell mentions that when Van Eck captured the capital, the Tooth Relic, treasures, and the queen had been taken to a safe place in the interior of the country. A Tudapatha (a type of document) at Asgiriya Viharaya also contains the news of the Tooth Relic being taken to Hanguranketha. Dolapille mentions that the king fled to Hanguranketha with his treasures and the Tooth Relic and from there went to Badulla. During the invasion of Kandy, the Dutch were able to seize the empty Tooth Relic casket and the golden canopy, which were later sent to Hanguranketha by Governor Iman Willem Falck.
As the enemy disturbances subsided, the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought back to Kandy. However, during the English invasions in the reign of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, the Tooth Relic was once again taken to its old place of refuge, Hanguranketha. As a result of the battles waged against the Dutch, by the end of the 18th century, the English had established their power in the Kandyan Kingdom. Therefore, a contemporary palm-leaf manuscript mentions that in Saka year 1746 (C.E. 1802), King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe fled Kandy to save the Tooth Relic from enemies and deposited the Tooth Relic in a village. As enemy fear reached Hanguranketha, the Tooth Relic was moved from Kitulpe to the Wegama Cave Temple and returned to Kitulpe as the enemy fear subsided.
It is also mentioned there that during this period, the Tooth Relic was taken to Araththana Medapitiya Viharaya in Hanguranketha, Walliwala, Kundasale, and other places. According to the poetic work Ingirisi Hatana (Battle with the English), the Tooth Relic brought to Araththana Viharaya in Medapitiya near Hanguranketha was enshrined by Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe in a beautiful Sadaham Maduwa (preaching hall), and he made it a custom to go to Medapitiya daily for the purpose of venerating the Tooth Relic.
In the year 1818, Kappetipola held a Tooth Relic exhibition in Hanguranketha to encourage the rebels who had gathered to revolt against the English. However, it is not certain whether this Tooth Relic exhibition was held at the Araththana Viharaya in Medapitiya itself.
Image House
The most magnificent monument on the grounds of this temple is the image house. Apart from the Hewisi Mandapaya (drummers’ pavilion), which is said to have been added to the front of the image house in the early or late 19th century, the rest of the image house appears to belong to the 17th century. The image house consists of a middle floor, an open verandah bounded by half walls running around the middle floor, and a front pavilion (the Hewisi Mandapaya) with half walls. The entire building measures 14.35 meters in length and 6.60 meters in width.
The image house is built on a platform 80 centimeters high from ground level and projecting 40 centimeters outward from the outer wall of the image house. The upper and lower parts of the face of this platform consist of curved, simple molding strips, and the vertical frieze between the moldings consists of pilasters spaced at intervals. Slightly outside this platform, there are 13 short stone pillars, each 85 centimeters high, planted around the image house. These pillars, with Kudumbi at the top, were made square in the middle and at the top and octagonal at the bottom and top, and there is evidence that they were plastered and then painted red and yellow.
In the middle chamber is a seated Buddha statue 1.50 meters high, placed on a seat 70 centimeters high. On either side of it are two standing Buddha statues, each 2 meters high, displaying the Vitarka Mudra with one hand raised.
On the back wall behind the seated Buddha statue, the sun is painted on one side and the moon on the other in the spaces not covered by the statue. The eastern side wall is divided into five tiers of paintings. The topmost tier depicts twelve Buddha figures representing the Suvisi Vivaranaya, the tier below depicts standing Arhat figures holding lotuses in their hands, and the three tiers below illustrate the Vessantara Jataka according to the paintings.
The western side wall is divided into four tiers of paintings. The topmost tier depicts twelve Buddha figures representing the Suvisi Vivaranaya, the next tier below depicts standing Arhat figures holding lotuses in their hands, and the two bottom tiers depict the Telapatta Jataka. The scene of a miracle depicted as one episode of the Telapatta Jataka is very captivating.
In it are depicted, in order, a person engaged in a rabana game, a getabera player, an actor wearing a headdress and mask with a cobra hood, two individuals each holding a sword, a person balancing something like a bowl on their head, a dancer preparing to somersault while standing on their head, a dancer wearing a Raksha mask, a davul player, and a thammattam player. At both inner ends of the eastern and western walls are paintings of the two chief disciples of the Buddha, Sariputta and Moggallana, in a posture of worship towards the seated Buddha statue on that seat.
On the front wall leading to the image house, there are two paintings of the gods Vishnu and Vishwakarma on either side of the doorway. Below the Vishwakarma figure, in the strip of paintings, a part of the Telapatta Jataka, continuously flowing from the western wall, is depicted.
The outer side of the doorway leading to the middle floor has recently been completely modernized (by replacing what might have been the old Makara Thorana, and a new Makara Thorana (dragon arch) and paintings have been added. However, the front face of the stone step used as the doorstep has a creeper carving.
Hewisi Mandapaya
The interior of the Hewisi Mandapaya at the front of the image house appears to belong to the original period of the image house, while only the front part seems to have been added in the 19th century (or perhaps in the late 18th century). In the inner part, which appears to be the oldest part of this pavilion, there are two carved wooden pillars on either side.
The Hewisi Mandapaya, which projects about 5.45 meters forward from the outer wall of the inner chamber, has a doorway on the front and eastern sides. The remaining part is constructed with walls only up to the level of semi-circular arches, with circular columns made of stone, brick, or clay rising from half walls.
At the foot of the flight of steps used to enter the Hewisi Mandapaya from the east, there is a Sandakada Pahana, now invisible due to being covered by soil. The front faces of the stone steps belonging to the flight are adorned with beautiful creeper patterns. On either side of the doorway accessed from this flight of steps are two very exquisite stone slabs embedded in the half walls of the pavilion, depicting Raksha figures, each holding a sword in a raised hand. These two stone slabs, 75 centimeters wide and 1.10 meters high, can be appreciated as artistic creations on par with the Raksha figures connected to the image house and are very similar to them in appearance, except for their size. Evidence still remains that these stone slabs, without appearing to be made of stone, were painted yellow and detailed with red lines.
On the eastern side of the image house, there is a flight of steps to access the narrow verandah, only about 85 centimeters wide, with half walls running around the inner chamber. On the front face of the topmost stone step used for this flight of steps, there is a flower in the center and a creeper flowing from it to both sides.
Within the two four-cornered panels at both ends of the step, there is a Narilatha figure holding two flowers in its hands in each panel. The lower part of this step is covered by the step below it.
The carvings on the lower step are shallower than those on the upper steps and are slightly different. The difference is that instead of Narilatha figures in the two four-cornered panels on either side of the step, there are two female figures holding their hands up as if supporting the building.
On the face of the next step in the flight, there is a flower in the center, with creepers bearing flowers extending to both sides, and a Narilatha figure holding two flowers in its hands in each of the two panels at the ends. The creeper patterns on the lowest step begin with two Makara mouths on either side, meeting each other in the center.
Next is a beautifully carved moonstone, 2.10 meters wide and projecting 1.50 meters forward. The central circle of the moonstone is covered with a creeper pattern, and its outer edge is bordered by a strip of petals. The strip outside the circle has a creeper pattern. The strip further outside is formed by a pair of creepers originating from the Makara mouths at both ends of the moonstone, flowing forward and ending in the center with a traditional floral pattern.
This moonstone is close to a triangular shape in its basic form. It is highly doubtful whether this beautiful flight of steps was built at the same time as the image house. This is because, as mentioned earlier, the lower half of the topmost step of the flight is covered by the step below it, two Kudumbi holes (which supported the door frame) are visible on either side of the surface of the topmost step, and the use of an intermediate flight of steps to access the verandah is architecturally inconsistent. Furthermore, it can be assumed that this alteration was a work of King Narendrasinha, who is said to have rebuilt this image house (originally built by King Senarath) at some point during the Kandy period, and that this architectural inconsistency may have arisen because he used stone carvings that were at this place or brought from elsewhere to create this flight of steps.
Immediately after ascending this flight of steps, on either side of the doorway opening between the half walls of the verandah, are two carved stone slabs with a lion figure each, embedded in the half walls. These are the 14 pillars, with Pekada supporting the roof from the verandah’s half wall, as well as the pillars within the Hewisi Mandapaya. In the four-cornered panels with recessed sections of these pillars, imaginary and semi-imaginary figures such as Herunda, Gurulu, Narasimha, Ethkanda Lihini, Diya Kanduru, Hamsa, Gajasingha, Sevu, and other bird species are very delicately carved. In addition to these animal figures, which are significant examples of Kandyan period wood carving, the remaining parts of the pillars, namely the four sides of the topmost section of the pillar, are decorated with a traditional bird figure (Hamsa?), and the lower spaces with floral and geometric patterns. Although many carvings are slightly eroded, it is clearly visible that the craftsman has managed to present even the fine details in these.
Pohoya Geya
To the east of the image house is a Pohoya Geya measuring 8.50 x 5.50 meters in length and width. Although its initial period is unknown, it is certain that this building also belongs to the Kandyan Kingdom period. Built on a platform 90 centimeters high from ground level and projecting 45 centimeters outward from the building wall, the front of the Pohoya Geya has a 1.45-meter-wide uncovered narrow verandah. The entrance to the Pohoya Geya is a doorway with an uncarved wooden frame with a Surya Wanka shaped lintel. The front of the verandah has four circular columns. Around the Pohoya Geya, slightly outside, there are four square stone pillars, each 90 centimeters high, planted in the ground, and square and octagonal pillars similar to those seen around the image house are also found there. The square and octagonal pillars, like those around the image house, were plastered and painted. However, unlike the pillars around the image house, there are only two pillars here, with Kudumbi at the top.
The retaining wall on the north and east sides of the courtyard containing the image house and the Pohoya Geya is said to be of ancient construction. Access to the temple courtyard from the upper courtyard was through a flight of steps in the middle of the northern retaining wall. On either side of this flight of steps are two large stone slabs embedded in the retaining wall, carved with Raksha figures. These carved slabs, 1.05 meters wide and 1.50 meters high, can be appreciated as artistic creations on par with the Raksha figures connected to the image house and are very similar to them in appearance, except for their size.
The fact that stone artifacts belonging to old buildings within the Araththana Viharaya premises, displaced from their original locations, are scattered here and there can be taken as evidence that this place was once richer in buildings than it appears today. Moreover, these artifacts are sufficient to gain an understanding of the past prosperity of this place, albeit not in its entirety. Another monument that still exists, unchanged on the temple grounds, is a bathing area with a stone spout shaped like a Makara mouth at the end.
Pethikada Chithra (Cloth Paintings)
Araththana Viharaya possesses three very valuable painted Pethikada that reveal mature artistic skill. These are generally believed to be donations from King Senarath. The events depicted and the painting style of these Pethikada are largely similar to the temple mural paintings of the Kandyan period. However, the inherent result of having to paint on a much smaller surface than a wall and the need to include many of the themes usually painted on the walls of a temple within these three Pethikada‘s was that each of these events had to be depicted on a very small scale compared to temple murals, yet the result was magnificent. Although the space was very limited, the artists managed to paint all the details found in a temple mural very finely and completely on these Pethikadas. The colors used for painting are red, yellow, blue, black, white, and their intermediate variations.
The first Pethikada described here is the most exquisite and best-preserved among the three. Measuring approximately 2.60 meters in height and 2.04 meters in width, its upper central section depicts a figure of the Buddha seated under a beautiful Makara Thorana.
Above the Makara Thorana are six deities, including Indra, Brahma, and Vishnu, and on either side of the Makara Thorana are two Chamaradhari divine figures. The Buddha, seated within the Makara Thorana, displays the Vitarka Mudra with his right hand. The two vertical strips on either side of the Buddha figure panel are further divided into horizontal strips, depicting a series of Jataka stories. The entire space below these Jataka stories and the Buddha figure panel is used to depict the Vessantara Jataka in great detail. Divided into 9 horizontal strips, each about 13 centimeters wide, this painting of the Jataka story is a magnificent creation displaying the highest maturity of Kandyan painting art.
The second Pethikada, in terms of excellence, cannot be described as being as exquisite as the first, nor is it as well-preserved as the first. Measuring 1.47 meters in width and 2.80 meters in height, it is divided into three horizontal panels. The topmost panel, 1.27 meters wide, depicts the Devaradhana. The Bodhisattva is seated within a beautiful five-tiered Makara Thorana surrounded by 18 deities standing and seated in poses of worship in the sky and on earth. Below this is a 90-centimeter-wide panel depicting the Vajrasana-seated Buddha figure surrounded by the chief disciples Sariputta and Moggallana and two other disciples. He displays the Vitarka Mudra with his right hand. Below this, the lowest part of the Pethikada is divided into two horizontal strips. The upper strip, 24 centimeters wide, depicts a Jataka story that can be assumed to be the Sama Jataka, and the lower strip, 25 centimeters wide, shows a few parts of the Vessantara Jataka.
The third Pethikada, measuring 1.46 meters in width and 2.55 meters in height, is equal in artistic skill to the second Pethikada but is not as well-preserved as the first. It consists of four main sections. The top two strips, each 17 centimeters wide, depict the Solosmasthana. Below this is a 30-centimeter-wide strip depicting the figures of the four Buddhas. On either side of each Buddha figure are two disciple figures in a pose of worship surrounding them. The larger, 1.76-meter-high narrow panel is dedicated to depicting the Buddha seated under a Makara Thorana, displaying the Vitarka Mudra. Above the Makara Thorana on either side are six deities, including Indra, Brahma, and Vishnu. Within the Makara Thorana are two Chamaradhari divine figures. The lowest strip of the Pethikada, 25 centimeters wide, briefly depicts the Vessantara Jataka.
References
- Dissanayake, S. B. (1997). දියතිලක නුවර : පැරණි ස්මාරක හා ස්ථාන. Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.
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