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Kandulawa Mediriya Raja Maha Viharaya |
Kandulawa Mediriya Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: කඳුලව මැදිරිය රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Kandulawa village belonging to the Ibbagamuwa Divisional Secretariat in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka.
History
The history of this temple goes back to the first half of the Anuradhapura Period as evidenced by the Brahmi Cave Inscriptions and other artefacts such as the Yantra Gala (Mendis et al., 2019; Paranavitana, 1970). The Yantra Gala indicates that there was a Buddha statue (probably standing) in the past (Mendis et al., 2019).
According to tradition, the cave temple of Kandulawa Viharaya was renovated by King Kirti Sri Rajasinha [(1747-1782 A.D.) Mendis et al., 2019].
Mediriya Vihara Inscriptions
Three inscriptions have been recorded from the temple premises (Kannangara, 2022). Of them, two are cave inscriptions while the other is a rock inscription. The first cave inscription was discovered in 1931 and it was read and published by eminent archaeologist Senarath Paranavitana in 1970 (Paranavitana, 1970).
Period: 2nd-1st century B.C.
Script: Early Brahmi
Language: Old Sinhala
Text: Tishagutasha Bata Sumanasha lene shagasha cudasha.
Translation: The cave of Tissagutta and Chief Sumana as well as Chuda was donated to the Sangha
Reference: Paranavitana, 1970. p.74.
The second cave inscription was discovered in 2017 (Kannangara, 2022). The rock inscription that was discovered from the ruined building site called Ihalapansala was copied by the Archaeological Department on 12 October 2017 (Kannangara, 2022). It records an enshrining of relics in a Stupa in January 1847 (Kannangara, 2022).
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References
Books, Journal Articles
1) Kannangara, T, N., 2022. අභිලේඛන සංග්රහය-2 (Abhilekhana Sangrahaya-2). Department of Archaeology. ISBN: 978-624-5840-15-1. pp.140-143.
2) Mendis, D.T.; Wijepala, W.M.T.B.; Harshajith, D.M.N., 2019. දැදුරු ඔය සහ මී ඔය අතර කලාපයේ පුරාවිද්යාත්මක ස්ථාන පිළිබඳ මූලික විමර්ශනයක්. මධ්ය දැදුරු ඔය හා මී ඔය නිම්නයේ ජනාවාස පුරාවිද්යාව. Research and Publication Fund, Rajarata University Of Sri Lanka. ISBN: 978-955-0189-14-1.pp.33-103.
3) Paranavitana, S., 1970. Inscriptions of Ceylon: Volume I: Early Brahmi Inscriptions. Department of Archaeology Ceylon. p.74.