Morape Kataragama Devalaya

Morape Kataragama Devalaya
Morape Kataragama Devalaya (Sinhala: මොරපෙ කතරගම දේවාලය) is a Devalaya Shrine situated in Kotmale in Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka. It has been dedicated to God Kataragama, one of the patrons of the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka. Legends According to local beliefs, the history of this Devalaya is related to God Kataragama and Henakanda Biso Bandara , a beautiful woman who is said to be born out of a Beli fruit (Kehelgamuwe, 1935). Due to her unparalleled beauty, she received many marriage proposals from princes but bad luck came upon them. As a result of that, she went to live in Sinduran-Kanda in Udunuwara and where she used to visit Embekke Devalaya to worship God Kataragama (Kehelgamuwe, 1935). Mesmerized by her beauty, God Kataragama started to love her but it was not tolerated by Henakanda Biso Bandara. Avoiding God Kataragama, she left for Kotmale and settled in the area known as Meddegoda (Kehelgamuwe, 1935). By knowing where the Henakanda Biso Bandara is, God Kataragama also …