Motagedara Sumangalaramaya

Motagedara Sri Sumangalarama Purana Viharaya (Sinhala: මොටාගෙදර ශ්‍රී සුමංගලාරාමය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Motagedara village in Matara District, Sri Lanka.

This temple is believed to have been established in 1814 (Abeyawardana, 2004). The image house and the residence of the monks are regarded as the old monuments of this temple (Wikramaratne, 2015).

The construction work of the image house is believed to have commenced with the establishment of the temple in 1814 and it is recorded that it took six years to complete (Abeyawardana, 2004).

Paintings and sculptures belonging to the Kandyan tradition of art are found inside the image house. Some of them have been repainted in recent times (such as the paintings in the inner chamber) and as a result, they have lost their original characteristics (Abeyawardana, 2004). However, some original paintings are still found on the outer wall of the inner chamber (Abeyawardana, 2004; Wikramaratne, 2015). Three rows of paintings depicting Suvisi-Vivaranaya (Buddha to be receiving the blessing from 24 previous Buddhas) are found on that wall (Abeyawardana, 2004).

The inner wall of the outer chamber also contains three rows of paintings depicting the life of the Buddha, but they have been repainted about a hundred years ago (Abeyawardana, 2004).

The western influence is clearly visible on some of the paintings of this temple (Abeyawardana, 2004; Wikramaratne, 2015). There is a portrait of a lady in western dress (probably Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom) over the portico which depicts the palace of King Suddhodana (Abeyawardana, 2004; Wikramaratne, 2015). Also, in the painting that depicts the procession where Queen Mahamaya is heading to her parent's home, there is a figure of a man wearing pantaloons and carrying a sward (Abeyawardana, 2004).