Pimbura Kukuluwa Rajamaha Viharaya

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Located in the village of Pimbura in the Ratanpura District, Kukuluwa Rajamaha Viharaya is an ancient cave temple that had been lost to time. It was rediscovered in the jungles of Pimbura in 1892, where two caves nestled on the rocks had served as habitats for various wild animals.

The larger cave on the left was the main image house, housing an ancient Buddha statue that had been concealed under a layer of clay, rendering it unrecognizable. This act of covering the statue was believed to be a precautionary measure to hide it from King Seethawaka Rajasinghe (1581-1591) and treasure hunters. Legend has it that there was a tunnel under the temple to Pothgul Vihara in Ratnapura.

Following the murder of his father, King Seethawaka Rajasinghe (1581-1591) converted to Hinduism since Buddhist priests couldn’t absolve him of this sin. The killing of his parents was deemed an irreversible “anantharya karma” by Buddhist monks, leading to conflicts between him and the clergy. Consequently, he adopted a Hindu faith and embraced an anti-Buddhist stance.

King Rajasinghe I appointed Aritta Kivendu, a South Indian, as his chief advisor and implemented his counsel. Historical records indicate that he resettled Brahmins in important Buddhist locations like Sigiriya and Sri Pada. Additionally, he ordered the destruction of numerous Buddhist religious sites. According to the Manadarampura Puwatha, there was a plot involving monks to install Konappu Bandara as the ruler of Kandy, which was uncovered, resulting in the execution of hundreds of Buddhist prelates. The Manadarampura Puwatha further documented that in a specific incident, Rajasinha was responsible for the killing of 121 monks.

The unused section of the cave at the feet of the statue is slanting downwards and shorter than the height of an average person. Therefore this part may have been used for priests to hide during the Rajasinhe era. Looking at the drip ledges of the cave, Kirielle Gnanawimala Thero believes this temple too may have been built during the Seetawaka Rajasinhge era. According to tradition, it is said that King Wattagamin Abhaya (104-101 BC) had been using this cave for some period during his exile from Anuradhapura and he had built this temple after coming back to power. However, there is no evidence to prove this tradition.

After the discovery of this temple in 1892, the Buddha statue was destroyed by treasure hunters in 1897. In 1899 the temple was reconstructed and the statue was repaired. A new devalaya was built inside the smaller cave. The temple was again renovated in 1934 (Gnanawimala,1942).

There is a natural water fountain at the top of the rock thus a continuous stream of water drips from the entrance of the temple. This water is used for the Buddha Pooja of the temple. According to a Sannasa (royal grant) by King Rajasinghe I (1581-1591), this temple has been called Kanatte Gallen Viharaya in the past and the southern border of the Niriella has been this temple. It is believed that the new name Kukuluwa Rajamaha Viharaya was used later since this temple was in Kukulu Korale (Gnanawimala, 1942).

This temple, accessible from Samanpura junction prior to reaching Kalawana town on the Ratnapura-Kalawana route, is reachable by vehicle up to Samanpura. Beyond that point, one must ascend through a jungle road to reach the temple. The recommended route to access the temple is via the Ratnapura-Kalawana road. Turn off at the Karawita junction, continue for 5 km on Palawela road, take a left at Digana junction, and proceed for an additional 0.5 km. Finally, climb 6.5 km on the jungle path leading to the viharaya (Abhayavardhana, 2002).

References

Gnanawimala, K. (1942) සපරගමූවේ පැරණි ලියවිලි . Colombo, Sri Lanka: Kirielle J. M. Samarakoon Bandara.
Abhayavardhana, E. (2002) Heritage of Sabaragamuwa : Major Natural, Cultural, and Historic Sites. Ratnapura, Sri Lanka: Sabaragamuwa Development Bank, in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
කුකුළුවා රජමහ විහාරය (1912) ජනකතා හා ඉතිහාසය . Available at: https://sinhalajanakatha.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-post.html (Accessed: 19 January 2024).

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