Veheragalakanda Purana Viharaya , also known as Weragalekande Purana Viharaya (Sinhala: වෙහෙරගලකන්ද පුරාණ විහාරය, වේරගල කන්දේ පුරාණ විහාරය), is a Buddhist temple situated in Pothuwila village near Payagala in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka. The ancient Samank Khandha Viharaya is located about 1.2 km west of this temple.
History
Locals connect the history of this temple to King Saddhatissa (137-119 B.C.) of Anuradhapura (Abeywardana, 2002). It is said that he established this temple while in hiding after his defeat by Dutugemunu (Abeywardana, 2002). The Payagala Viharaya that is mentioned in the Gira Sandeshaya of the Kotte Period is thought to be this temple (Abeywardana, 2002). The Viharaya, which had been forgotten for long, was restored and developed again in the early part of the 19th century (Abeywardana, 2002).
A protected site
The image house, ponds, meditation chamber and the Stupa in the Veheragalakanda Purana Vihara in Pothuwila village in the Beruwala Divisional Secretary’s Division are archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 8 July 2005.
.
Attribution
#) LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Lalith Kekulthotuwage 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., 2002. Heritage of Sabaragamuwa - Major Natural, Cultural and Historic Sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, p.106.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1401. 8 July 2005.
Explore Other Nearby Attractions
Location Map (Google)
This page was last updated on 30 September 2023