Alawathugoda Saman Devalaya

Alawathugoda Saman Devalaya (Sinhala: අලවතුගොඩ සමන් දේවාලය) is a Devalaya Shrine situated in Alawatugoda village in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. It has been dedicated to God Sumana Saman, a Buddhist deity who is the patron of Sri Pada Mountain. 

History

This site was originally a Buddhist Vihara and a Saman Devalaya was attached to it later by a Kandyan King as a distance view of the sacred Sri Pada mountain can be obtained from this spot (Abeyawardana, 2004). However, the Viharaya was burnt down later by British soldiers (Seneviratna, 1983). During the reign of King Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1782 A.D.), the annual Perahera ceremony of this Devalaya was started (Abeyawardana, 2004). 

 

According to the belief of locals, King Valagamba had used this place as a hiding spot during the period of the Tamil invasion (Rajapakse, 2016; Senanayaka, 2018).

The site

The Devalaya shrine is small and windowless. Except for that shrine, a Stupa, a two-storeyed Viharaya building and a Bo tree can be found at the site. Several stone pillars which are believed to be the remains of ancient Buddhist Viharaya at this place are presently given evidence for the antiquity of this site (Abeyawardana, 2004). According to the belief of some, the original Saman Devalaya is buried in the land adjoining the Bo tree (Abeyawardana, 2004).

A protected site

The Alawatugoda Saman Devale premises and its ancient buildings and other archaeological remains situated within the limits of Alawatugoda Grama Niladhari Division in the Akurana Divisional Secretary’s Division are archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government notification published on 8 April 2009.

Attribution

1) This image (Alawathugoda Saman Devalaya, Akurana 002) has been released into the public domain by its creator, අනුරාධ.

References

1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.105.

2) Rajapakse, S., 2016. Pauranika Sthana Ha Smaraka: Mahanuwara Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. ISBN:955-9159-34-8. pp.143-144.

3) Senanayaka, P., 2018. Senkadagala Mahanuwara pradeshaye peranima Bauddha Vihara Arama (In Sinhala). Samodhana, The Journal of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Vol.7 (1). pp.55-83.

4) Seneviratna, A, 1983. Kandy: An Illustrated Survey of Ancient Monuments, with Historical, Archaeological, and Literary Descriptions Including Maps of the City and Its Suburbs. Central Cultural Fund. Ministry of Cultural Affairs. p.158.

5) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1597. 8 April 2009. p.445.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 7 November 2022