Weliwita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Viharaya

Weliwita Saranankara Sangharaja Viharaya
Weliwita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Viharaya (Sinhala: වැලිවිට ශ්‍රී සරණංකර සංඝරාජ විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Vegolla village in Kandy District, Sri Lanka.

History
Weliwita ancient Bo trees
This is the temple where the eminent Buddhist monk Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thera (1698-1778 A.D.) resided during the early years of his monastic life (Abeywardana, 2004).

Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thera, who is considered to be the pioneer of the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, was instrumental in re-establishing the Upasampada (higher ordination) in the country in 1753 with the support of King Kirti Sri Rajasingha (1747-1782 A.D.) of Kandy after the religion declined in the 17th and 18th centuries. He was also the last Sangharaja of Sri Lanka.

The site consists of two Bo trees, a commemorative building and four residences of Buddhist monks (Abeywardana, 2004). Of the two Bo trees, one has been planted by Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thera and the other by King Kirti Sri Rajasinha (Abeywardana, 2004). Both trees are said to be saplings obtained from Sri Maha Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapura (Abeywardana, 2004).

A protected site
The Bhikkhu dwelling house and the image house at Weliwita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Viharaya situated in Vegolla village in the Grama Niladhari Division of Weliwita, Pahalagama in Hatharaliyadda Divisional Secretary Division are archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 8 July 2005.

Weliwita Saranankara Sangharaja Viharaya
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See also

Attribution
1) LankaPradeepa.com would like to thank Vishwa Sri Jayasinghe for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.

References
1) Abeywardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Kandurata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka.  p.94.
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 8 April 2023

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