Metikotumulla Tempita Viharaya in Gampaha blends 19th-century Tempita architecture with Kandyan murals; built on nine granite pillars.
Metikotumulla Tempita Viharaya M etikotumulla Tempita Viharaya , also known as Sri Saddharma Thilakarama Viharaya (Sinhala: මැටිකොටුමුල්ල ටැම්පිට විහාරය, ශ්රී සද්ධර්ම තිලකාරාම විහාරය), is a Buddhist temple situated in Essella village in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. History Metikotumulla The history of the Metikotumulla area, according to folk, is connected with Sakalakala Wallabha (or Sakalakala Wallakabahu), a provincial king appointed during the Kotte Period . Several historical sources such as Rajavaliya and Alakeshwara Yuddhaya (The battle of Alakeshwara) reveal that King Sakalakala Wallabha, one of the sons of King Vira Parakramabahu VIII (1490-1509 A.D.) had ruled this region. According to locals, Sakalakala Wallabha planned to construct a new irrigation tank in the Essella and the clays used to construct the dam were extracted from the area where the present temple is situated. After that, the area became to known as Meti-ketu-mulla (clay-ploughed-corner) and it was later evolved to the present name Meti-kotu-mul…
