Uggal Alutnuwara Kataragama Devalaya (or Uggal Aluthnuwara Kuda Kataragam Devalaya) is a Devalaya Shrine situated in Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka. It has been dedicated to Kataragama Deviyo, a local deity who is believed to be one of the guardians of Buddhism in the country.
History
This shrine is said to have been constructed in the Saka year 1304 (1382 A.D.) by Surya Maha-raja of Surya Mahanuwara (Medagama) who is a descendant of the royal lineage of Sena Sammata (Gnanawimala Thera, 1967). After about 200 years, the shrine was developed by Yapa Maha-raja of the same royal lineage (Gnanawimala Thera, 1967). It is said that Constantino de Sa, the Governor of Portuguese Ceylon from 1618 to 1622, destroyed Medagam Nuwara (Uggal Alutnuwara) when it was the temporary kingdom of Mayadunna the second (Gnanawimala Thera, 1967).
A palm-leaf manuscript (Tudapatha), which is preserved in the Devalaya reveals certain offerings granted to the Devalaya by Pilimatalawe Adikaram in the Saka year 1736 (1814 A.D.), or the 16th regnal year of King Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe [(1798-1815 A.D.) Gnanawimala Thera, 1967].
A protected site
The Kataragama shrine in Aluthnuwara Perani Uggal Kataragama Devala
premises situated in Alutnuwara village in the Divisional
Secretary’s Division, Imbulpe is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 3 September 1999.
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References
1) Gnanawimala Thera, K., 1967. Saparagamu Darshana (In Sinhala). S. Godage Saha Sahodarayo. pp.254-255.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. no: 1096. 3 September 1999.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 9 June 2022
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map