Katarangala Raja Maha Viharaya
Katarangala Viharaya (Photo credit: U Edg3, Google Street View) Katarangala Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: කටාරංගල රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Halloluwa in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. History The Brahmi Inscriptions indicating the donation of caves to Buddhist monks in the large cave at the site testify that this place existed as a dwelling place for the monks in the early centuries of the Christian era (Seneviratna, 1983). The cave was later converted into a cave temple with a recumbent Buddha image in it (Seneviratna, 1983). The place Halloluwa which is referred to in the 14th-century text Saddharmalankaraya is identified as the present Katarangala Viharaya (Abeyawardana, 2004). During the Kandyan Period , the text titled Vimana-watthuprakarana was translated into Sinhala by a Buddhist monk named Gammulla Ratnapala who had lived in this temple (Abeyawardana, 2004). Gilt Buddha image The temple has got attention due to a gilt Buddha statue that is said to have been brought h…
