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The historic Suduhumpola Rajamaha Viharaya temple was built by Mungwatte Rajakaruna Wijewardhana Navaratne Wasala Mudiyanse Ralahami under the patronage of King Keerthi Sri Ranasinghe [1747 – 1781]. The temple had been offered to the Sangha in 1771 and the first head priest was Kaduwela Nagasena Thero.
It is said that this temple was built to accommodate the Buddhist monks who came outside of Kandy to participate in Upasampada Vinaya Karma and to facilitate worshipping of the sacred tooth relic of Buddha. The temple was granted by the king, 65 amuna (52 acres) of wet and dry farm land for the maintenance of the temple and to feed all the visiting monks on pilgrimage to the capital of Kandy. Even today ⅔rd of the Suduhumpola Village belongs to the viharaya.
Also, it is said that Wariyapola Sri Sumangala Thero, who held the post of Anunayaka of the Asgiri Maha Vihara chapter of the Siam Maha Sect, went to the Dambulu forest from this temple to protect the tooth relic from the invaders.
The wooden pillars, doors and windows of this temple are carved with spectacular wood carvings of the Kandy era. The Buddha statue lies in the Dhyana mudra. The murals inside the image house depict special events of the life of the Buddha and the life of the Bodhisattva. An attractive carving of the footprint of Buddha is found on a high rock in the temple grounds. It is said that the contribution for the design work here was received from South Indian designers.
This viharaya can be reached by travelling along Suduhumpola Mawata linked to the Kandy-Peradeniya road at Katukele within Kandy city.
References
- Abeyawardhana, H. A. P. (2004) Heritage of Kandurata: Major Natural, Cultural, and Historic Sites. Kandy: Kandurata Development Bank, in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
- පිලවල B. (2016) මහනුවර සුදුහුම්පොළ රජ මහා විහාරය, budusarana.lk. Available at: https://www.budusarana.lk/budusarana/2012/11/06/tmp.asp?ID=temp02 (Accessed: 08 May 2023).
Also See
Map of Suduhumpola Rajamaha Viharaya in Kandy
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.
Driving Directions to Suduhumpola Rajamaha Viharaya in Kandy
Kandy can be reached from Colombo on the old Colombo – Kandy road (option 1) which is scenic but heavy in traffic, especially on Fridays and Sundays. However, the new Central Expressway (option 2) has opened up a new route which is longer but less cumbersome.
| Route 1 from Colombo to Kandy | Route 2 from Colombo to Kandy |
| Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala Distance :150 km Travel time: 3.20 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala Distance :150 km Travel Time: 3.20 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |
| Route From Nuwara Eliya to Kandy | |
| Through : Walapane – Raja Mawatha Distance :100 km Travel Time : 3.0 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |
| Route from Kandy to Suduhumpola Rajamaha Viharaya |
|---|
| Though : Distance : 2 km Travel time : 10 minutes Driving directions : see on google map |
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