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Lahugala is one of the unspoilt National Parks in Sri Lanka on the Monaragala District. The Siyambalanduwa – Pottuvil Road runs on the south-eastern sector of the park. The Magul Maha Viharaya lies about 22 km off from Siyambalanduwa town and about 11 km off Pottvil.
Lahugala Magul Maha Viharaya is is made in the form of a pabbatha vihara architecture. Archaeologists believe that Pabbata Vihara were built merging with a natural rock formation. These are built by arranging several rectangular building areas (courtyards) at different levels surrounded by water. In the upper courtyard itself are the four sacred buildings arranged in specific order. In the ancient architecture book ‘Manju Sri Bhashitha Vastuvidyawa” (මඤ්ජු ශ්රී භාෂිත වාස්තුවිද්යාව) written in Sanskrit, these buildings and standards are well explained.
The basic feature of these monasteries is a large rectangular precinct or sacred quadrangle which contains the four major shrines, a stupa, a bodhighara, a patimaghara and a prasada which has been identified as the uposathaghara. Vijayaramaya, Pankuliya Asokaramaya, Pacina Tissa Pabbatha Viharaya, Puliyankulama Pabbata Viharaya (Pubbaramaya), Toluvila and Vessagiriya are the temples of this tradition in Anuradhapura. Kaludiya Pokuna (Dhakkinagiri Viharaya) in Dambulla, Lahugala Magul Maha Viharaya, Menikdena, Pulukunava in the Gal Oya valley, a group of shrines at the foot of the rock at Sigiriya and Moragoda in Padaviya are the other provincial sites where Pabbata Vihara have been identified. (Bandaranayake, 1974).
This temple is said to be built by King Kavanthissa in the 2nd Century BC on the location where the King married the pricecess Vihara Maha Devi. The foundations of the “Magul maduwa” where the wedding ceremony took place can still be seen in the vihara premises.
The entire Vihara complex had covered an extent of around 10,000 acres where ruins of a palace, moonstone , monastery, bo-maluwa, stupas, ponds etc. are found scattered all over. The moonstone here is said to be unique in the country as this is the the only location where elephants are carved with their mahouts in the moonstone .
References
- Bandaranayake, S., 1974. Sinhalese Monastic Architecture – The Viharas of Anuradhapura. Leiden: Brill.
Also See
Map of Lahugala Magul Maha Viharaya
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
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Directions to Magul Maha Viharaya
Lahugala Magul Maha Viharaya lies 1.5 km off the main Monoragala – Pottuvil road 20 km off Siyambalanduwa town.
| Route from Colombo to Magul Maha Viharaya | Route from Buttala town to Magul Maha Viharaya |
| Though : Ratnapura – Palmadulla – thanamalwila – Wellawaya distance : 317 km Travel time : 6-7 hours Driving directions : see on google map | Though : Monaragala – Siyambalanduwa distance : 77 km Travel time : 1.5 hours Driving directions : see on google map |
| Route from Pottuvil town to Magul Maha Viharaya | |
| distance : 11 km Travel time : 17 mins Driving directions : see on google map |
