Bodhimaluwa Raja Maha Viharaya (Raluwa)

Bodhimaluwa Viharaya is a Buddhist temple in Raluwa village. The site consists of an old Buddha shrine containing valuable sculptures and murals.
Not to be confused with Bodhimaluwa Raja Maha Viharaya (Bentota)
Bodhimaluwa Viharaya
The Samadhi Buddha statue in the image house

Bodhimaluwa Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: රළුව බෝධිමළුව රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Raluwa village near Medamulana in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka.

The Buddha Shrine

The site consists of an old Buddha shrine containing valuable sculptures and murals following the traditional art style of the Kandyan Period. A seated Buddha statue accompanied by two figures of Sariputta (left) and Moggallana (right), the chief disciples of Gautama Buddha is found inside the shrine. Two standing statues of Buddha are also found facing each other on both left and right walls. The inner walls of the shrine are filled with paintings of Buddhist themes and various decorative motifs. A boundary stone around the Chapter House of the temple is engraved with the year 2484 B.E (1940 A.D.)

There is a plot of land known by the name Elagawa-watta located towards northwest about 500 m from the Bodhimaluwa temple premises. The ruins of an ancient building along with a newly-built shrine dedicated to God Iswara are found there.

A Protected Site

The ancient Buddha shrine in the premises of Bodhimalu Raja Maha Vihara in Medamulana in Weeraketiya Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government gazette notification published on 1 November 1996.

Bodhimaluwa Viharaya
The sculptures and murals in the image house
Bodhimaluwa Viharaya
The Stupa and the Bodhi tree
Bodhimaluwa Viharaya
Ruins at Elagawa-watta

Related Posts

Read Also

References

Government Gazette Notifications

1) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 948. 1 November 1996.

Location Map

Dynamic Google Map

Attribution

To Whom

LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to V. M. Vidanapathirana for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.

Post a Comment

Cookie Consent
We serve cookies on this site to analyze traffic, remember your preferences, and optimize your experience.
Oops!
It seems there is something wrong with your internet connection. Please connect to the internet and start browsing again.
AdBlock Detected!
We have detected that you are using adblocking plugin in your browser.
The revenue we earn by the advertisements is used to manage this website, we request you to whitelist our website in your adblocking plugin.
Site is Blocked
Sorry! This site is not available in your country.