Weragampita Raja Maha Vihara

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Weragampita Raja Maha Viharaya (also known as Weheragampita Viharaya) is a Buddhist temple situated in Weragampita village in Matara District, Sri Lanka. 

History

This temple is believed to have been constructed during the Kandyan Period in the late 18th century (Abeyawardana, 2004). King Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1782 A.D.) is said to have contributed to the construction works of the temple (Wikramaratne, 2015).

This temple was the abode of the famous scholarly Buddhist monk Karatota Dhammarama Thera [(1735-1827) Abeyawardana, 2004]. He was one time the incumbent of Sri Pada Mountain (Abeyawardana, 2004). The tomb of this Thera has been presently designated as a protected monument by the Department of Archaeology.

A protected site

The grave monument of Karatota Thera and ancient shrine in the premises of Weragampita Rajamaha Vihara situated in the Grama Niladhari Division No. 417, Uyanwaththa North in the Divisional Secretary’s Division Matara are archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 7 July 2016.

 

References

1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Ruhuna: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. ISBN: 955-575-073-4. pp.74-75.

2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka; Extraordinary. No: 1974/16. 7 July 2016. p.2A

3) Wikramaratne, I., 2015. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Matara Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-54-2. p.22.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 20 October 2021
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map