Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Purana Pothgul Tampita Viharaya (වටගෙදර ශ්‍රී සුධර්මාරාම පුරාණ පොත්ගුල් ටැම්පිට විහාරය)

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Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Purana Pothgul Tampita Viharaya - වටගෙදර ශ්‍රී සුධර්මාරාම පුරාණ පොත්ගුල් ටැම්පිට විහාරය — Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Purana Pothgul Tampita Viharaya – වටගෙදර ශ්‍රී සුධර්මාරාම පුරාණ පොත්ගුල් ටැම්පිට විහාරය

Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Purana Pothgul Viharaya is an ancient temple with a Tampita Viharaya built during the Kandyan era. This temple lies 4 km from Godagama exit on the Southern Expressway and 8 km from Matara.

To reach Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Ancient Temple from Matara take the Godagama road for 5 km traveling past the Southern expressway and take the Watagedara road which lies in front of Palatuwa Gunarathna Madya Maha Vidyalaya. Travel for 3 km on the Watagedara road to reach the temple.

A Tampita Viharaya is a special building constructed on a wooden platform supported by several stone stumps, typically around 3 to 4 feet tall. Its roof is supported by a timber frame, and the walls are often made of wattle and daub, a mixture of woven branches and clay. Inside, the chamber walls are usually adorned with paintings, often in the Kandyan style, depicting religious themes and stories.

The Tampita Viharaya at Sri Sudharmaramaya Purana Pothgul Viharaya was constructed by Toṭagedara Gaṇninānsē during King Sri Vijaya Rajasinge’s reign (1739–1747) of the Kandyan Kingdom. It stands on 8 relatively short granite pillars, each just about 2 feet tall. Surrounding the temple at ground level is a broad circumambulatory path, supported by pillars and fully enclosed by a wall. Both the temple and its circumambulatory path share a single roof. (Chandrasekara & Silva, 2021)

The exterior walls of the Tampita Viharaya are painted with scenes depicting the significant events from Buddha’s life. Meanwhile, the interior walls showcase images of the suvisi vivaranaya—illustrations of Bodhisattva Gautama receiving blessings from 24 previous Buddhas—as well as representations of the asu maha shraawaka, 80 primary disciples carrying flowers.v(Chandrasekara & Silva, 2021)

References

Wickramaratne, I. (2005) පෞරාණික ස්ථාන හා ස්මාරක : මාතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.
Chandrasekara, D. P., & Silva, K. D. (2021). The Ṭämpiṭavihāras of Sri Lanka: Elevated Image- Houses in Buddhist Architecture. Anthem Press.

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Map of the Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Purana Pothgul Tampita Viharaya

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Driving Directions to Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Purana Pothgul Tampita Viharaya

Route from Matara to Watagedara Sri Sudharmarama Purana Pothgul Tampita Viharaya

Though : Godagama exit
distance : 8 km
Travel time :20 mins
Time to spend : 20 – 30 mins
Driving directions : see on google map

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