Pethigepitiya Viharaya (Mawathupola) Pethigepitiya Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: මාවතුපොල පෙතිගේපිටිය රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Mawathupola village in Kandy District, Sri Lanka. History Folklore reveals a Bodhi tree ( Ficus religiosa ) that was planted here by two Brahmins about a few hundred years ago. Also, it is believed that the present temple probably stands on the land where the ancient Ganegoda Viharaya of Mawathupola village was once located. The name of the Pethigepitiya temple can be found in the book, 'A Gazetteer of the Central Province of Ceylon (excluding Walapane)' written by A.C. Lawrie (Lawrie, 1898). It mentions that the temple fell down about the time of the accession (around 1815) and then was in a state of ruins for twenty years until villagers rebuilt it (Lawrie, 1898). The Dhamma discourse hall (preaching hall), the image house and the Bodhi tree are considered the old monuments of the temple (Rajapakse, 2016; Withanachchi, 2018). Of them, the preaching hall is of archaeolog…
