Bollegama Raja Maha Viharaya

Bollegama Raja Maha Viharaya

Bollegama Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: බොල්ලෑගම රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Maha Oya town in Ampara District, Sri Lanka (Withanachchi, 2013). History Folklore attributes the establishment of the  Stupa  of this temple to King Saddhatissa ( 137-119 B.C. ) of Anuradhapura (Medhananda, 2003). However, the site was later abandoned and neglected mainly due to foreign invasions that occurred in successive periods. Hence, the temple remained hidden within the wild for centuries until the area was cleared to lay the Peradeniya-Batticaloa road during the British Period (1815-1948). In about 1911, villagers re-discovered the ruined temple site (Medhananda, 2003). In 1916, a monk named Aralupitiye Sri Sobitha restored the dilapidated Stupa of the temple and re-erected it to a height of 21 Riyan  (Medhananda, 2003). After that, one of his students, Kekirihene Seelawamsa Thera restored and enlarged it again to a height of 31 Riyan (Medhananda, 2003). The site As a result of the constructi…