Elamaldeniya Raja Maha Viharaya
. Elamaldeniya Purana Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: එළමල්දෙණිය පුරාණ රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist cave temple situated in Elamaldeniya village near Viharamaldeniya in Matara District, Sri Lanka. History The temple has a history running back to the early part of the Anuradhapura Period (Ranaweera, 2015). It is believed that this temple was established by King Saddhatissa (137-119 B.C.) of Anuradhapura around 415 B.E. (Ranaweera, 2015; Wikramaratne, 2015). A Shloka stating this information is found engraved on one of the stone doorframes of the cave temple of Elamaldeniya Viharaya (Ranaweera, 2015). King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 A.D.) of Polonnaruwa is said to have made a land grant to the temple (Ranaweera, 2015). The reclining Buddha statue in the cave temple shows features of the Kandyan Period (Vanarathana, 1994). The temple The temple has been constructed around a cluster of caves located within a small forest in the village. The largest cave is about 50 ft. in length and 20 ft. in widt…
