Sri Sudarshana Pirivena, popularly known as Atapattam Viharaya (Sinhala: අතුරලිය ශ්රී සුදර්ශන පිරිවෙණ, අටපට්ටම් විහාරය), is a Buddhist temple situated in Athuraliya village near Akuressa town in Matara District, Sri Lanka.
The image house of the temple is considered unique and rare as it has been constructed in the shape of octagon (Wikramaratne, 2015). A large pillar containing niches on its eight sides is found in the centre of the building. The pillar rises upward and ends with a small Stupa built above the roof level. Buddha statues in standing and meditating posture have been placed inside each niche. The outer walls of the image house have been painted with murals showing Jataka stories including Vidura, Sambawa, Sasa, Maha Kanha and Vessantara (Wikramaratne, 2015). The ceiling is also decorated with paintings showing various motifs including nine planetary deities and twelve zodiac signs.
A protected site
The image house with ancient paintings in the Godapitiya Sri Sudharshanarama Viharaya premises situated in the Thibbotuwawa North Grama Niladhari Division in the Aturaliya Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 23 November 2012.
.
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) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1612. 24 July 2009. p.1023.
2) Wikramaratne, I., 2015. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Matara Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-54-2. p.38.
Explore Other Nearby Attractions
Location Map (Google)
This page was last updated on 3 October 2023