Wilpita Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: නැදිගම්විල විල්පිට රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Nedigamwila village in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka.
History
This temple is believed to have been constructed by Mahanama, the brother of King Devanampiyatissa (247-207 B.C.).
Remains of several ancient building structures belonging to an ancient Buddhist monastery such as a Stupa, an image house, and a Bo tree can be seen on the temple premises (Abeyawardana, 2004; Somadeva, 2006). Of them, the Stupa is considered special due to its rare pot-shaped (Ghatakara) dome (Abeyawardana, 2004).
A protected site
The ancient Stupa at the Viharaya in Nedigamwila village situated in Tissamaharama Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government gazette notification
published on 1 March 1974.
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. p.107.
2) Somadeva, R., 2006. Urban origins in southern Sri Lanka. Doctoral thesis in Archaeology at Uppsala University. pp.129-130.
2) Somadeva, R., 2006. Urban origins in southern Sri Lanka. Doctoral thesis in Archaeology at Uppsala University. pp.129-130.
3) The government gazette notification. no: 101. 1 March 1974.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 12 March 2023
