Welipillewa Viharaya, built in 1874 near Ganemulla, features a Kandyan-style image house with murals and Buddha statues; declared protected in 2002.
Welipillewa Purana Viharaya W elipillewa Purana Viharaya or Welipillewa Sri Maha Purana Viharaya (Sinhala: වැලිපිල්ලෑව පුරාණ විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple in Welipillewa village near Ganemulla in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. History The temple was constructed in 1874 (Dissanayaka, 2024) Image House The image house is the main attraction of this temple with an archaeological significance. It consists of an inner shrine and a narrow ambulatory around it. The main statue of the inner shrine is a seated Buddha in meditating posture. Four standing Buddha statues are also found facing each other on both the left and right walls. These statues shows features of Kandyan art tradition (Dissanayaka, 2024). The walls as well as the ceiling of the ambulatory have been adorned with murals depicting Buddhist themes. Of them, the earliest paintings belonging to the Kandyan tradition are found on the inner walls of the ambulatory. They include murals depicting certain incidents from the life of the Buddha and Jataka stories (stories o…
