Selawa Raja Maha Viharaya

Selawa Raja Maha Viharaya Salawa Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: සැලව රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Selawa village in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka. It has been built on the slope of Selawa Kanda mountain bordering Gampola. History A rock inscription by King Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe (1798-1815 A.D.) is found in the Vihara premises (Ranawella, 2015). It records a grant of lands by the king to Ven. Moratota Dhammakkhandha Mahanayaka Thera, the Buddhist monk who was responsible for building the temple at Selawa (Hettiarachchi, 1991; Jayawardhana, 1991; Ranawella, 2015). As further mentioned in it, the construction work of the temple was begun in 2322 B.E. (1779 A.D.) and completed in 2349 B.E. [(1806 A.D.) Ranawella, 2015]. Therefore, the history of this temple can be dated back to the reign of King Kirti Sri Rajasinghe [(1747-1782 A.D.) Jayawardhana, 1991; Ranawella, 2015]. The Sangharaja Sadhucariyava, a contemporary work composed in Sinhala, mentions the Moratota Dhammakkhandha…