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Image Source : Suriyakantha Centre for Art and Culture
Ilupandeniya Raja Maha Viharaya lies in the District of Kandy and its origins are believed to go as far back as the era of King Devamnampiyatissa (250-210 BC). History records that there was a Buddhist education center (Pirivena’) during the reign of Queen Kalyanawathi (1202-1208 AD) and again it appears in the records during the reign of King Wickramabahu III ( 1357-1374) when the land was donated to the temple by the king.
The current Bodhi tree has been planted during the period of King Viraparakrama Narendrasinha (1707 – 1739). In the beginning, this temple was constructed as a Tampita Vihara (built on a platform above ground level). But during the 1933 renovations, the temple lost the Tampa Vihara section and it has been rebuilt to look like a modern-day temple. However the remains of the stone columns that constituted the base of the Tampa Vihara still can be seen in the temple premises.
Of the remains of the ancient temple, a carving of a dog and a crow on a stone slab takes an important place. This slab is used to inform the travelers to the temple that anybody who disrespects the holiness will be reborn as a dog and crow in the next life. Another stone slab shows a Gajasinghe (elephant-lion) carving. Both these are believed to be from the Kandyan Era.
Also See
Map of Ilupandeniya Rajamaha Viharaya
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Traveling Directions to Ilupandeniya Rajamaha Viharaya
| Route from Kandy to Ilupandeniya Temple |
| Distance :16 km Travel time : 30-45 mins Driving Directions : see on Google map |
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