Mihiripenna Ariyakara Viharaya

Ariyakara Viharaya (Sinhala: මිහිරිපැන්න අරියාකර විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Mihiripenna Talpe village in Galle District, Sri Lanka. History This temple is said to have been established in 1778. According to folklore, an aristocratic Dutch lady who was suffering from paralysis had taken treatments from a local doctor and subsequently got cured. Becoming happy, the lady gifted a piece of land at Mihiripenna to the doctor as a deed of gratitude. That land was later bestowed for Buddhist monks and the present Ariyakara temple is said to have been built on it. The name Mihiripenna is mentioned in ancient Sandesha Kavyas (message poems) composed in Gampola ,  Kotte Period s such as Mayura , Thisara , Paravi and Kovul (Ranchagoda, 2015). It is said that this temple was known in ancient times by several names like Padumaramaya, Piyumaramaya, Pushparamaya etc. According to the belief of some, the limestone for building the ramparts of Galle Fort has been taken from Lansiyawatta, an area…