|
Rambadagalla Swarnagiri Viharaya |
Swarnagiri Viharaya, also known as Rambadagalla Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: රම්බඩගල්ල ස්වර්ණගිරි විහාරය), is a Buddhist temple situated in Rambadagalla in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka.
History
Renovated during or around the Kandyan Period, this temple is believed to have been established long before the beginning of that era (Mendis et al., 2019). The cluster of stone pillars around the Stupa testify that they were part of some kind of building in ancient times (Mendis et al., 2019). The preaching hall, the image house and the Bodhi tree are considered the other monuments in the temple with historical value.
The Preaching Hall & the Image House
The preaching hall of Swarnagiri Viharaya is considered a notable structure. Covered by a short side wall, it can be entered through two entrances. Its hip roof has two tiers. The lower tier is held by 12 stone pillars erected on the ground along the periphery of the hall while the upper tier is bored by 4 tall stone pillars fixed in the middle part of the building (Mendis et al., 2019).
The image house is connected to the preaching hall through a wall which acts as the side wall of both structures. Consisting of an inner chamber and an ambulatory around it, the features of the murals in the image house are similar to the paintings drawn by renowned artist M. Sarlis [(1875-1955) Mendis et al., 2019]. The main Buddha statue in the inner chamber is said to be a modern creation.
|
The preaching hall is connected with the image house at the right |
Related Posts
Read Also
References
Books
1) Mendis, D.T.; Wijepala, W.M.T.B.; Harshajith, D.M.N., 2019. දැදුරු ඔය සහ මී ඔය අතර කලාපයේ පුරාවිද්යාත්මක ස්ථාන පිළිබඳ මූලික විමර්ශනයක්. මධ්ය දැදුරු ඔය හා මී ඔය නිම්නයේ ජනාවාස පුරාවිද්යාව. Research and Publication Fund, Rajarata University Of Sri Lanka. ISBN: 978-955-0189-14-1.pp.33-103.
Location Map
Dynamic Google Map
Attribution
To Whom
LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Ankumbure Chandananda Thero for providing the necessary photographs required for this article.