Sri Sudharmarama Purana Viharaya (Sinhala: ඕබඩඇල්ල ශ්රී සුධර්මාරාම පුරාණ විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Obada Ella village in Bandarawela, Sri Lanka. The site can be reached by travelling about 3.5 km distance along the Diyathalawa road from Bandarawela town. It is one of the temples belonging to the Amarapura Chapter.
History
The temple is believed to have been established by a Buddhist monk between 1880-1900 (Dissanayaka, 2015). As mentioned over the entrance door under the Makara Thorana (the Dragon Arch), the image house was constructed in 2439 B.E. (1895 A.D.). Although the murals adorning the inner walls of the image house and the Makara Thorana show the artistic features of the Kandyan Era, they belong to the British colonial period (Dissanayaka, 2015; Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017).
The Image House
The image house built with Sakka stone and clay is 10 m in length and 7.5 m in width (Dissanayaka, 2015). The walls are around 16 inches thick and the small shrine inside the building is 4.3 m in length and 4.2 m in width (Dissanayaka, 2015). The ceiling is adorned with various murals and the entrance of the inner shrine is decorated with a Makara Thorana flanked by two figures of guards and two lions. Above the head of the Makara are six miniature figures of deities.
Inside the inner shrine, a seated Buddha statue and two standing Buddha statues are found. The inner walls and the ceiling are filled with murals following Buddhist tradition. The outer walls of the inner shrine are adorned with paintings depicting four hells, heavens and the Suvisi Vivaranaya (Buddha receiving the blessing from 24 previous Buddhas). The images of the gods Visnu, Kataragama, Saman and Suniyam are also found in the image house (Dissanayaka, 2015).
A Protected Site
The ancient Buddha shrine belonging to the Obadella Sudharmadarama Ancient Vihara premises in the Grama Niladhari Division No. 65-F–Obadella, in Bandarawela Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government notification published on 6 June 2008.
See Also
#) Obada Ella FallsReferences
1) Dissanayaka, S. B., 2015. Administration report of the director-general of archaeology for the year 2015 (Sinhala). Department of Archaeology. ISBN: 978-624-5840-24-3. p.51.
2) Priyadarshani, S. A. N.; Gunasena, I. P. P., 2017. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Badulla Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-48-8. p. 52.
3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, no: 1553, 6 June 2008. p. 530.
