Niyamgampaya Viharaya

Niyamgampaya Viharaya
Niyamgampaya Viharaya (Sinhala: නියම්ගම්පාය විහාරය, නියම්ගම්පායස්ථානය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Gampola in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. History Folklore links the history of this temple to the reign of King Devanampiyatissa [(247-207 B.C.) Rajapakse, 2016]. It is also considered one of the temples built at the bank of Mahaweli Ganga river by King Suratissa [(247-237 B.C.) Rajapakse, 2016]. Another tradition says that a king named Motatissa erected the temple and donated it to the pupillary succession of Bhikkhu Gautama (Abeyawardana, 2004; De Silva & Chandrasekara, 2009). According to some, Motatissa is no other than King Kanitthatissa (167-186 A.D.) of Anuradhapura (Abeyawardana, 2004). The temple received the patronage of King Vijayabau IV (1270-1272 A.D.) of the Dambadeniya Kingdom (Abeyawardana, 2004; Rajapakse, 2016). It is said that he restored the " Nigamaggama-pasada " or the present Niyamgampaya temple (Nicholas, 1963). The Niyamgampaya inscription of 1373 A.D…