Kadawedduwa Thunbodhi Viharaya (Sinhala: කඩවැද්දුව තුන්බෝධි විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Kadawedduwa village in Matara District, Sri Lanka.
History
This temple was established in 1754 on a plot of land known as Thunbodhi Watta (Ranaweera, 2015; Wikramaratne, 2015). The Buddhist monk Wataraggoda Dhammapala Thera is said to have pioneered its establishment (Ranaweera, 2015). It is said that the modern structures of the present temple were constructed over the ruins of an ancient temple which is believed to have been destroyed during the Portuguese Period [(1597-1658 A.D.) Ranaweera, 2015].
The paintings and sculptures in the Vihara-ge (image house) as well as in the Dhamma-sala (preaching hall) show the features of the art tradition of the Kandyan Period (Wikramaratne, 2015). Among the murals in the image house, the Saka year 1778 (1856 A.D.) is mentioned. Also, the Saka year 1819 (1897 A.D.) is mentioned on the painted wooden Mandapaya in the preaching hall (Wikramaratne, 2015). The Stupa at the site is believed to have been constructed more than two hundred years ago (Ranaweera, 2015).
A fragment of a pillar inscription is found within the Stupa terrace (Wikramaratne, 2015).
References
1) Ranaweera, D. D., 2015. Matara Urumaya (in Sinhala). ISBN: 978-955-30-6285-7. S. Godage & Bros. pp.209-211.
2) Wikramaratne, I., 2015. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Matara Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-54-2. p.35.
