Sri Dharmaguptha Pirivena, also known as Mula Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: පයාගල ශ්රී ධර්මගුප්ත පිරිවෙන, මූල මහා විහාරය), is a Buddhist temple situated in Payagala in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka. It is the headquarters of the Ramanna sect of Buddhist monks.
History
The temple was originally known as the Duva Temple. In 1864, a monastic centre was established at this premises by Ambagahawatte Indrasabhawara Gnanasami Thera (1830-1886), the founder of Sri Lanka Ramanna Nikaya, one of the three major Buddhist orders in the country (Goonatilake, 2009). It gradually became the centre for the growing number of novice monks of the Ramanna Nikaya (Goonatilake, 2009).
A protected site
The monks' dwelling, preaching hall and the tomb of Ambagahawatte Thera located in the premises of Mula Maha Viharaya in Payagala village in Beruwala Divisional Secretary’s Division are archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government gazette notification published on 8 July 2005.
References
1) Goonatilake, H., 2009. Sri Lanka-Myanmar Historical Relations in Religion, Culture and Polity. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, 55, pp.77-114.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1401. 8 July 2005.
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This page was last updated on 5 February 2023