Galmaduwa Viharaya (Kandy)

Not to be confused with Galmaduwa Viharaya (Hingurana)

Galmaduwa Viharaya, Kandy
Galmaduwa Viharaya, also known as Gedige Viharaya or Gal Viharaya, is a Buddhist temple situated in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. The site can be reached by travelling along the Kalapura road about 850 m distance from the Kalapura junction on Kandy - Mahiyangana road.

History
The temple is believed to have been constructed by Meegastenne Maha Adikaram under the direction of the queen of King Kirti Sri Rajasingha [(1747-1782 A.D.) Rajapakse, 2016]. However, bricks containing masonry marks in Brahmi Letters of the Anuradhapura Period have been found at the site (Abeywardana, 2004; Senanayaka, 2018).

Image house
The stone-built image house of Galmaduwa Viharaya is the main attraction of the temple. A Hindu architectural design based on the Tanjore tradition is prominent in this building (Abeywardana, 2004; De Silva & Chandrasekara, 2009). 

The square-shaped building is about 80 feet in width and length (Rajapakse, 2016). The lower story is built of stone and the upper stories are of brick and stone masonry in seven diminishing steps to represent a Vimana (Seneviratna, 1983). A large seated Buddha statue is found inside the shrine room. The masonry-work roof and interior walls of the shrine room have been decorated with Kandyan Era paintings (Rajapakse, 2016).

A protected site
The Galmaduwa Viharaya situated in the village of Naththaranpotha in the Pathadumbara Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 27 August 1948.

Attribution

References
1) Abeywardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. pp.110-111.
2) De Silva, N.; Chandrasekara, D.P., 2009. Heritage Buildings of Sri Lanka. Colombo: The National Trust Sri Lanka, ISBN: 978-955-0093-01-4.  p.52.
3) Rajapakse, S., 2016. Pauranika Sthana Ha Smaraka: Mahanuwara Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. ISBN:955-9159-34-8. pp.101-102.
4) Senanayaka, P., 2018. Senkadagala Mahanuwara pradeshaye peranima Bauddha Vihara Arama (In Sinhala). Samodhana, The Journal of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Vol.7 (1). pp.55-83.
5) Seneviratna, A., 1983. Kandy: An Illustrated Survey of Ancient Monuments, with Historical, Archaeological, and Literary Descriptions Including Maps of the City and Its Suburbs (No. 10). Central Cultural Fund, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka. p.148.
6) The Gazette notification of Ceylon. No: 9898. 27 August 1948.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 14 January 2023
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