Kasagala Purana Viharaya (Kumbukgete)

Not to be confused with Kasagala Raja Maha Viharaya (Angunukolapelessa)

Kasagala Purana Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: කුඹුක්ගැටේ කසාගල පුරාණ රජ මහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Kumbukgete village in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka.

History

The history of the Kasagala temple runs back to the Anuradhapura Period. Two inscriptions belonging to the 2nd century A.D. and 6th century A.D. have been found on the temple premises (Dias, 1991; Kannangara, 2022). Of these two, the one belonging to the 2nd century A.D. has been erected in front of the image house. It was copied by the Department of Archaeology on 8 March 2017 and documented under register no. 4405 (Kannangara, 2022). This inscription reveals the ancient name of the temple as "Naga Pabbata Viharaya".

Kasagala Vihara Slab Inscription

Period: 2nd century A.D.               Language: Old Sinhala               Script: Later Brahmi
Transcript: (1) [S]iddhama naka pavata (2) viharahi
Translation: Hail! of the Naga Pabbata Vihara.
References: Kannangara, 2022.

The other inscription is found engraved on the rock behind the monks' dwelling. The Department of Archaeology copied the inscription in 1932 and documented it under register no. 812  (Dias, 1991).

A Protected Site

The ancient image house belonging to Kasagala Purana Raja Maha Vihara premises in Kumbukgete village in Ibbagamuwa Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government gazette notification published on 1 November 1996.

References

1) Dias, M., 1991. Epigraphical notes (Nos 1 -18). Colombo: Department of Archaeology. pp.85,87.
2) Kannangara, T, N., 2022. අභිලේඛන සංග්‍රහය-2 (Abhilekhana Sangrahaya-2). Department of Archaeology. ISBN: 978-624-5840-15-1. pp.98-99.
3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 948. 21 November 1996.

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