Thambugala Hengawa Tampita Viharaya

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තාඹුගල හැඟව ටැම්පිට විහාරය - Thambugala Hangawa Tampita Viharaya — තාඹුගල හැඟව ටැම්පිට විහාරය – Thambugala Hangawa Tampita Viharaya
Image source : a video clip by Nara Creation

Thambugala lies in the Mallawapitiya Divisional Secretariat in Kurunegala District. Starting from Kurunegala town, you need to travel to Badagamuwa on the Dambulla road and take the Wellawa Road just before and adjoining the Badagamuwa forest patch. Traveling on this road for about 5 km will bring you to the Hengawa Tampita Viharaya Temple.

Tampita Vihara Traditon

Tampita Vihara (Temple on Pillars) was a popular architectural feature during the Kandyan kingdom, where the temple was built on a platform that was held on an array of pillars, mostly stone.

The typical plan of a Tampita Viharaya comprises of 3 spaces. The most important is the inner room. This is the main shrine room and comprises a seated Buddha statue facing the door and commonly standing Buddha statues at the sides. Statues or paintings of Sariputta and Moggallana Theros, other deities such as Saman, Vishnu, Natha, Siva, and patronizing kings and dignitaries are commonly found inside the shrine room. The walls are covered with art depicting Jataka stories or other events in Buddhist literature.

The second space is the narrow circumambulating path or a verandah that encircles the inner room. This is sometimes completely covered by an outer wall or exposed to the outside with a short timber or wattle and daub side wall.

Generally, the circumambulating path/verandah is extended in space at the front of the inner room, creating the 3rd space. This space is accessible from the ground level by a few steps, mostly taking the form of a step ladder.

Tampita Viharaya of Thambugala Hengawa

According to oral history, the temple was built by Meegasthanne Maha Adhikaram, also known as the Dumbara Maha Nilame, during the reign of Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747 – 1781 CE).

Thambugala Hengawa Tampita Viharaya is built on 17 stone pillars, which are 79 cm high. A verandah path runs around the image house. It is 66cm wide at the sides, 71cm wide at the rear. The front is 1.91 meters wide. The size of the image house is 2.92 x 2.46 meters, and the building is 5.54×3.71 meters in size.

The entrance to the temple is through a few wooden steps. This has been built in the cement pre-2000 era (see photo above) but has been removed during a later restoration.

The entrance to the inner chamber is through a door surrounded by a Makara Thorana (Dragon Arch). Two statues of guardian deities carrying pots in plenty are seen beside the doorway below the Dragon Arch.

The main seated image of Buddha lies facing the door. The statue is surrounded by a painting of a horseshoe-shaped halo using a flame design typically found on temples of the Kandyan era. Paintings of the Sun and the Moon is seen at the top of the wall. Paintings of Sariyuth and Mugalan theros are seen below these designs. Two statues of deities, Saman and Vishnu (Upuluwan) are seen beside the Buddha statue on the sidewalls. Next to these, two statues of Buddha in the standing posture can be found. These statues, too, are covered with the typical horseshoe-shaped halo using a flame design head to feet. Although this temple belongs to the Kandyan era, the statues lack some of the popular features of the Kandyan artists and may have been reconstructed at a later date.

It is also interesting to note that 300-400 meters away from this temple, a cave temple known as the Hengawa Thambugala Len Viharaya, built during the same period, has existed till recently. Now deserted and lost to the jungle, it lies hidden in a cave complex forgotten by the villagers.

තාඹුගල හැඟව ටැම්පිට විහාරය 1990 දශකයේදී - Thambugala Hangawa Tampita Viharaya in 1990's — තාඹුගල හැඟව ටැම්පිට විහාරය 1990 දශකයේදී – Thambugala Hangawa Tampita Viharaya in 1990’s

References

https://www.samkathana.lk/images/pdf/final_grid.pdf
M.S. MANAWADU, 1993. Vernacular Architecture of Sathkorale in Sri Lanka and their Preservation. monograph on Vernacular Architecture, published for the occasion of the 10th General Assembly of the ICOMOS, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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Travel Directions Thambugala Hengawa Tampita Viharaya

Kurunegala to Thambugala Hengawa Tampita Viharaya

Though : Badagamuwa
Distance : 9 km
Travel time : 15 mins
Time to Spend : about 30 minutes
Driving directions : see on Google Map

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