Buduruwagala | Temple of Mahayana Buddha

Buduruwagala (Sinhala: බුදුරුවගල; Tamil: புதுருவகல) is an ancient Buddhist monastery complex situated in Monaragala District in Sri Lanka. The temple is located about 2.5 km far from the Buduruwagala junction on Wellawaya-Thissamaharama main road.

Buduruwagala is a protected archaeological reserve consisting of two sites (Nimal, 2011). The first site, located adjacent to the Buduruwagala Wewa, is a ruined monastery complex. It contains a Stupa, remnants of a boundary wall, and several other buildings. The second site contains the famous Mahayana sculptures carved on the Buduruwagala rock which is located about 0.5 km far from the first site.

A group of colossal figures is found cut on the face of the Buduruwagala rock. There are seven figures sculptured in a bas-relief manner and the size of them is comparable to that of the Buddha statues at Avukana and Sesseruwa (Nicholas, 1963). Among the seven statues, six are Bodhisattva images while the other is a Buddha statue (Deegalle, 1998). The figures were originally given a coating of paint, traces of which are still visible in some places (Nicholas, 1963). These figures are thought to be a work of Mahayana tradition belonging to the 7-9 centuries A.D. 

The central figure of the group is a standing Buddha statue showing the Abhaya Mudra by its right hand. While holding the robe, the left hand depicts the Kataka Mudra. The statue is about 13 meters tall and believed to be the tallest Buddha image (ancient) found so far in Sri Lanka (Deegalle, 1998). It represents a similar style and workmanship to that of the standing Buddha statues at Avukana in Anuradhapura (Wikramagamage, 1990) as well as Dowa Raja Maha Viharaya in Ella (Deegalle, 1998). It is considered a special piece of work found in the country as it shows the features of the Pallava-Sri Lankan tradition of Buddhist art (Wikramagamage, 1990). According to Senarath Paranavitana, this is a statue of Dipankara Buddha belonging to the 6th century A.D.

To the right-hand side of the central Buddha statue are three standing Bodhisattva images: Avalokiteshvara Natha (7.16 m), Tara (5.98 m), and Sudhanakumara [(6.53 m) Deegalle, 1998]. Avalokiteshvara is in the centre accompanied by Tara at the left hand and Sudhanakumara at the right (Nicholas, 1963). The figure of the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha is visible on the headdress of the Avalokitheswara (Nicholas, 1963). 

To the left of the central Buddha are also three male images of Bodhisatva: Maitreya (7.3 m), Vajrapani (6.4 m), and an unidentified figure which is believed to be a variation of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara [(6.17 m) Deegalle, 1998]. The figure of Dhyani Buddha Amitabha is not visible on the headdress of the Bodhisatva Maitreya (Nicholas, 1963).