Karambewa Sri Sudarshanarama Purana Tampita Viharaya

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Karambewa Sri Sudarshanarama Purana Tampita Viharaya

Karambewa is a remote village lying between Alankulama and Siyambalewa in Anamaduwa. Sri Sudarshanarama Purana Viharaya in Karambewa is an ancient temple with a Tampita Viharaya built during the era of the Kandyan kingdom. Although the history of this Tampita Viharaya is not known, most temples in this area go as far back as the reign of King Walagamba. These temples were revived again during the reign of King Wimaladharmasuriya (1592 – 1604) of the Kandyan Kingdom.

A Tampita Viharaya is a special building constructed on a wooden platform supported by several stone stumps, typically around 3 to 4 feet tall. Its roof is supported by a timber frame, and the walls are often made of wattle and daub, a mixture of woven branches and clay. Inside, the chamber walls are usually adorned with paintings, often in the Kandyan style, depicting religious themes and stories.

The Tampita Viharaya at the Karambewa Purana Viharaya is built upon 13 granite pillars which are about 3 1/2 feet high. These pillars are decorated with wooden pillar heads. The end of wooden cross beams which lie on top of the pillars are too carved. The tampita viharaya is 17 feet 2 inches long and 12 feet 2 inches wide. The inner chamber (image house) is 9 feet 11 inches long and 7 feet 5 inches wide.

The door frame at the entrance to the building is carved with flowers and creepers on the side beams. Once you enter from this door, you enter into a narrow circumambulating path around the inner chamber. Sunlight to the path is channelled through small windows on the sides. The circumambulating path is 4 feet 2 inches wide at the front and 1 feet 9 inches wide on the two sides and the rear.

The outer walls of the inner chamber indicate that it was covered in murals but most of it has faded with time. The entrance to the inner chamber is through another carved wooden door frame built in chandrawanka design. This door is flanked by two Naga guardian deities with 5 hoods. The right-hand side deity has collapsed and is no more. Only the statue on the left-hand side remains today. Inside this chamber lies a 4 feet 3 inches high seated Buddha statue at the centre with a 6 feet 2 inches tall statue of the deity Vishnu (protector of the island Sri Lanka) on the left and a 6 feet 2 inches high statue of deity Natha on the right facing each other. Next to these two statues lies 5 feet 11 inches tall two standing Buddha statues. All the statues inside this viharaya seem to have been rebuilt during later times.

The walls of the inner chamber as well as the wooden roof is covered in murals although most of these show advanced stages of decay. The stupa and the Tampita Viharaya at the temple were declared as protected archaeological monuments by the gazette dated 23 January 2009 which describes the site as below ;

“The Tempita vihare and ancient dagoba belonging to the Sri Sudharsanarama vhiare premises situated in the Grama Niladhari Division of Karambewa in the Divisional Secretary’s Division of Anamaduwa, in Puttalam District, North Western Province. “

This temple lies 8.5 km from Anamaduwa town. To reach the temple take the Galgamuwa road for 5.7 km up to Thalgaswewa and take the right turn (Thalkolawewa road) just before the Thalgas Wewa reservoir. Travel 1 km on the road and take the gravel road on the left. Travel 1.8 km towards Karambewa Wewa Reservoir to reach the temple.

References

Thalgahawela Sumedha Thero, 2021. පුත්තලම දිස්ත්රික්කයේ ටැම්පිට පිලිමගෙවල් සහ ටැම්පිට දේවාල. 1st ed. Chilaw: Thalgahawela Sumedha Thero.

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