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Image courtesy of Dr. Ashan Geeganage
Once a great monastery of Bhikkhunis, The Mullikulam (Mullikulamalai) monastery stands abandoned, destroyed and desecrated amidst the jungles that cover the ruins today.
Situated miles away from Deegawapiya the Batuwawu Kanda or Mullikulamalai (Mullikulammalai) is an unassuming rocky mountain the tallest middle of a three-peak mountain range. Yet the climb upwards amidst towering rock boulders reveals a stone stairway leading upwards towards the stone foundation of a building, which stands no more.
On the second peak is a stupa, destroyed by treasure hunters and another stone stairway leads to two large dripledged caves and a meditation pavilion. The inscription near the stairway records that it was built by a minister called ‘Sidham’ while the caves carry no inscription.
On the Eastern face of the mountain are more drip-edged caves, which are been destroyed with dynamite. The inscriptions within these caves speak of no other than Viharamaha Devi, the legendary queen of King Kawanthissa and the mother of Great King Dutugamunu and his brother King Saddatissa.
The inscriptions found within the cave at the Batuwawu Kanda speak of a cave built for a person known as ‘Shavera’, similar to the Madanakanda inscriptions, yet at this stage, she is identified as a ‘Shamaniya’ or a Bikkhuni, who is also the mother of the Eastern province ruler and the daughter of Maha-Tissa. Thus the inscription at this dripledged cave, which is being destroyed by religious extremists, is the only clue to the last years of a great Queen of Sri Lankan history.
This site has been declared a protected archaeological site by the Government with the Gazette issued on 26th December 2014, and describes the location as follows ;
“Rock plane with ancient signs (signs of a mortar) and rock plane with evidence of ancient buildings belonging to Kuduwil village situated in Grama Niladhari Division No. 5-2-34-005-07, Irakkamam in the Divisional Secretary’s Division, Eragama (Irakkamam) in Ampara District in Eastern Province. (Latitude 07º16´ 09´´ N and longitude 81º49´ 20´´ E).”
Also See
Map of the Mullikulam Monastery Ruins
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites
Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.
Travelling Directions to the Mullikulam Monastery Ruins
| Route from Akkaraipattu to Mullikulam Monastery Ruins |
| Through : Akkarapattu – Kalmune road Distance : 9.5 km Travel time : 20 mins Driving directions : see on google maps |
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