Weedagama Raja Maha Viharaya in Bandaragama, Sri Lanka, is a historic Buddhist temple dating back to King Parakramabahu IV's reign.
Weedagama Raja Maha Viharaya W eedagama Raja Maha Viharaya , also known as Veedagama Sri Ganananda Pirivena (Sinhala: වීදාගම රජ මහා විහාරය), is a Buddhist temple situated in Bandaragama in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka. History As recorded in the chronicle Mahavamsa, the history of this temple runs back to the reign of King Parakramabahu IV (1302-1326 A.D.) of Dambadeniya (Abeyawardana, 2002). It is said that this temple was bestowed to a Cholian monk who had received the title "Rajaguru" (royal preceptor) from the king (Abeyawardana, 2002). During the Kotte Period , this temple became one of the most popular monastic colleges in the country (along with Padmavathi Pirivena at Keragala, Sunetradevi Pirivena at Pepiliyana, Vijayaba Pirivena at Totagamuwa and Siri Perakumba Pirivena at Kotte) for oriental languages such as Pali, Sinhala, Sanskrit and subjects such as medicine, astrology, oriental sciences and arts (Abeyawardana, 2002). The scholar-monk Veedagama Maitreya Thera who is highly commended for his wor…
