Gokanna Viharaya Gõkanna Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: ගෝකන්න රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated within Fort Fredrick in Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka. History Gõkanna is the ancient name used to identify the present Trincomalee. According to chronicles, the landing place of Panduvasudeva in the 5th century B.C. was Gõkannatittha at the mouth of the Mahakandara River (Nicholas, 1963). On this coast, King Mahasena (274-301 A.D.) built the Gõkanna Viharaya after destroying a Brahmanical temple at the site (De Silva, 2006; Kannangara, 1984; Nicholas, 1963). King Aggabodhi V (718-724 A.D.) erected a practising house at the Gõkanna temple (Nicholas, 1963). Gokanna Sanskrit Inscription An inscription written in the Sanskrit language was found on a stone door-frame of the ancient Gõkanna ruins (Medhananda, 2003). Dated on Friday, the 14th of April 1223, it contained a record by Chodagangadeva (Medhananda, 2003; Nicholas, 1963). Arakan monks in Trincomalee & the destruction of the temple A connection …
