Sapugoda Sri Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: සපුගොඩ ශ්රී මහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Massalgoda village near Beruwala in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka.
History
This temple was established by the Buddhist monk named Sapugoda Ananda Thera who moved to Massalgoda in Beruwala during the reign of King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1798-1815 A.D.) of Kandy, the last ruler of Sri Lanka. As a make of respect for the Thera, this temple is named Sapugoda Viharaya.
Image house
The image house is the main monument of this temple with an archaeological value. As is mentioned on the wall, it has been constructed in the latter part of the 19th century. Buddha statues and paintings showing the features of the low-country art tradition of the Kandyan Period are found in this image house.
An old Vahalkada (entrance gate) and the remains of a dilapidated Kabok (laterite) wall are also found within the temple premises.
A protected site
The ancient image house of Sapugoda Sri Maha Viharaya in Massalgoda in Beruwala Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government gazette notification published on 8 July 2005.
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Attribution
#) LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Lalith Kekulthotuwage for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.
References
1) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1401. 8 July 2005.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 2 July 2022