Yudaganawa

Yudaganawa (Sinhala: යුධගනාව) is a Buddhist temple with a colossal Stupa situated in Monaragala District, Sri Lanka.

History

Yudaganawa is thought to be the place where the battle between the two brothers, Prince Abhaya (Dutugemunu) and Prince Tissa (Saddhatissa) occurred in about 170 B.C. (Nicholas, 1963; Uduwara, 1990). In the Sinhala language, the name Yudaganawa can be broken into two words "Yuda" (meaning war), and "Anganaya" (meaning arena). Sri Lankan chronicles such as Mahavamsa records Culanganiyapitthi (or Yudaganapitiya) as the battlefield of the two princes and that place is popularly identified with present Yudaganawa (Nicholas, 1963). However, Mahavamsa does not refer to the erection of Stupa at this site during the pre-Christian era (Uduwara, 1990).

The colossal Stupa at the present site resembles architectural similarities to the Demalamahaseya at Polonnaruwa and Suthighara Stupa at Dedigama (Uduwara, 1990). Scholars such as S. Paranavithana have identified this Stupa with the Ratnavali Cetiya built by King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 A.D.) in memory of his mother (Nicholas, 1961; Uduwara, 1990).

Although the period to which the Stupa belonged is not clearly identified, an image house of the Kandyan Period is found near the Stupa.

The Stupa

Yudaganawa Stupa is considered the biggest ancient monument found in the Uva Province. It rises to a height of about 95 feet and has a diameter of about 944.6 feet.

Yudaganawa, the upper part of the Stupa (Photo credit: Lahiru Rangana, Google Street View)

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Attribution

1) Yudaganawa by AlGraChe is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

References

1) Nicholas, C. W., 1961. Additions and amendments to the Historical topography of ancient and medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol VII. Part 2). Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). p.226.
2) Nicholas, C. W., 1963. Historical topography of ancient and medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol VI). Special Number: Colombo. Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). p.53.
3) Uduwara, J., 1990. Section V: History of the Department of Archaeology: 1970-1990. (Editor in chief: Wijesekara, N.) Archaeological Department Centenary (1890-1990): History of the Department of Archaeology (Vol. 1). Commissioner of Archaeology. p.190.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 4 June 2022
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map