Madukanda Sri Dalada Viharaya (Sinhala: මඩුකන්ද ශ්රී දළදා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated near Madukanda Wewa in Madukanda village in Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka.
History
Although the reliability is low, locals believe that Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha used this temple site as a stopover while transporting the Tooth Relic of the Buddha (Dalada relic) from Lankapatuna Port to Anuradhapura during the reign of King Kitsirimeghavanna [(301-328 A.D.) Haramoto et al., 2015; Medhananda, 2003].
The site
The site consists of the ruins of an ancient monastery. A pair of guard stones with the relief of Nagajara, a heavily damaged Buddha image, and a urinal that was used by monks are found within the premises. A pair of guard stones with the design of Purnaghata (filled-pot) and a Siri Pathul Gal (stone-carved footprints of the Buddha) which were unearthed from this site are presently on the display at Vavuniya Archaeological Museum (Haramoto et al., 2015).
A protected site
The ruins of two Stupas, the image house and stone pillars on the Madukanda archaeological premises (Pimbura 2154 lot no. 7931) in Vavuniya Divisional Secretary’s Division are archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 13 July 1951.
References
1) Medhananda, E., 2003. Pacheena passa - Uttara passa: Negenahira palata ha uturu palate Sinhala bauddha urumaya (In Sinhala). Dayawansa Jayakody & Company. Colombo. ISBN: 978-955-686-112-9. pp.391-394.
2) Haramoto, T.; Inouchi, C.; Koizumi, Y.; Fukuyama, Y., 2015. Survey Report on the Protection and Utilisation of Cultural Property in the Northern and Northeastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage. pp.65-66.
3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 10270. 13 July 1951.
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This page was last updated on 14 April 2023
