Thuparamaya (Anuradhapura) Thuparamaya or Tubaraba (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුර ථූපාරාමය, Tamil: தூபாராமய, அனுராதபுரம்) is an ancient Buddhist monastery complex in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. It is situated about 0.55 km north of the Ruwanweliseya Stupa and near the Abhaya Wewa tank. Thuparama is considered the first historic Stupa with a monastery established in ancient Sri Lanka (Dias, 2001; Wikramagamage, 2004). History The history of Thuparamaya goes back to the pre-Christian era. According to chronicles, a temple dedicated to the Yakkha named Maheja had been erected here by King Pandukabhaya (437-367 B.C.), the first monarch of the Anuradhapura Kingdom . Following the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Arhat Mahinda Thera, King Devanampiyatissa (247-207 B.C.) built the Thuparama Stupa on this site as the first Buddhist structure in the country (Nicholas, 1963). It is believed that the right collarbone of the Buddha has been enshrined in this Stupa (Dias, 2001; Jayasuriya, 2016; Nicholas, 1963).
The ground …
