Rambukpotha Raja Maha Viharaya

Rambukpotha Raja Maha Viharaya, built in the 18th century, is a historic temple in Badulla, and a protected archaeological monument.
Rambukpotha Raja Maha Viharaya
Rambukpotha Raja Maha Viharaya

Rambukpotha Raja Maha Viharaya (Sinhala: රඹුක්පොත රජමහා විහාරය) is a Buddhiat temple situated in Rambukpotha village in Badulla District, Sri Lanka.

History

According to legends, Vasanahami Ethana, the daughter of King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1798–1815 A.D.) of Kandy, was granted 18 Nindagam land areas by the king and one of these areas was Ran-bo-patha (golden-bo-leaf) which is believed to be the present-day Rambukpotha village (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017). The book "The Chieftains of Ceylon (1936)" by Van Sanden mentions an aristocratic family in Uva Province bearing the name Rambukpotha, who claimed to be the descents of Rambukpotha Nilame, Hetapenage Nilame, Lord of the Bed-Chamber, who served the Sinhala King in 1563 (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017; Van Sanden, 1936). The same book records a Mudaliyar named Rambukpota Seneviratne, who lived in 1740, and further states that this family was perhaps one of the oldest and most aristocratic Kandyan families of the time (Van Sanden, 1936). It is said that this Mudaliyar constructed the Rambukpotha Viharaya in order to avoid difficulties his family faced when traveling to Muthiyangana Raja Maha Viharaya in Badulla (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017).

The inscription found in the Seema-mandiraya (chapter house) of this temple mentions that it was built by the incumbent of Rambukpotha Sri Seneviratne Mudalindarama and the trustee of Rambukpotha Viharaya in the Buddhist Year 2478 (14 August 1934).

A Protected Site

The Buddha shrine of the Rambukpotha Purana Vihare premises in the Grama Niladhari Division No. 80-Rambukpotha, in Badulla Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government gazette notification published on 6 June 2008.

 Rambukpotha Viharaya  Rambukpotha Viharaya

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References

Books, Government Gazette Notifications

1) Priyadarshani, S. A. N.; Gunasena, I. P. P., 2017. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Badulla Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-48-8. pp.24-25.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1553. 6 June 2008.
3) Van Sanden, J.C., 1936. The Chieftains of Ceylon. Navrang. p.37.

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Attribution

To Whom

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

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