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The ruined image house at Ganewewa Viharaya |
Ganewewa Asanagharaya (Sinhala: ගනේවැව ආසනඝරය) is one of the Asanaghara Shrines found in Sri Lanka. It is situated on the Ganewewa Purana Viharaya premises located north of Deduru Oya River and west of the Nikaweratiya town in Kurunegala District.
History
Ganewewa Purana Vharaya is the Buddhist temple where the ruins of the Asanaghara were discovered and it is surrounded by several traditional Sinhalese villages such as Ratmalawetiya, Divullegoda, Konettegama, Godayaya and Nabadewa (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). Although the temple is presently called Ganewewa, its old name is said to be Ganayawa Purana Viharaya (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). Locals link the history of this temple to Maliyadeva Thera who is considered the last Arhat of Sri Lanka (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). They believe that Arhat Maliyadeva visited this temple time to time from Katagamu Viharaya located near Deduru Oya River.
The ancient text Kadaim-Pota lists several ferry ports along the Deduru Oya River and one of them is the Kasawan-thota (Saffron Port) which is referred to in other books as "Gane Mankada" or "Ganaya Thota" (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). During the Gampola and Kandy Periods, many Buddhist temples were administered by priests known as Ganinnansela who had not received Upasampadā (higher ordination). According to local tradition, these Ganinnansela used this port for bathing, which is believed to have given rise to the name "Gane Mankada" (Pagngnawamsa, 2016).
Folklore further says that this is the port to where the monks of Ganayawa Viharaya came to bathe and dry their saffron robes during the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Periods (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). The chronicle Mahavamsa recorde that King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 A.D.) of Polonnaruwa constructed the Ridibendi Ela canal and built an image house, a Stupa, and a Bodhighara in front of it (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). Since no similar ruins exist along the present Ridibendi Ela canal, the site described in the Mahavamsa is presumed to correspond to the present Ganayawa Viharaya (Pagngnawamsa, 2016).
However, the presence of Asanaghara ruins indicates that the history of Ganewewa Viharaya dates back to the early Anuradhapura Period.
Asanaghara Shrines
Asanaghara is a type of ancient Buddhist structure erected to house an Asana (a seat or throne) which symbolizes the Adamantine throne (Vajrasana) of the Buddha on which he attained enlightenment (Perera, 1976). In the early period of Buddhism, Asanas were venerated by Buddhists as a sacred object. Up to date nearly twenty or more such Asanagharas have been discovered at a number of places scattered in various districts of the island (Perera, 1976).
Other Ruins
The ruins unearthed and preserved on the temple premises indicate that a Panchawasa-type Buddhist Viharaya existed there in the past (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). The ruined image house consisted of a sanctum, ante chamber, pavillion and an ambulatory (Pagngnawamsa, 2016). A headless standing Buddha statue which was probably placed in the image house is approximately 7 feet in height and it, along with a Yantra-gala, indicates that they were looted by treasure hunters years ago. There is also evidence of an inscription near the present Stupa site (Pagngnawamsa, 2016).
A Protected Site
The ancient image house belonging to the Ganewewa Purana Viharaya premises situated in No. 329, Diwullegoda Grama Niladhari Division in the Nikaweratiya Divisional Secretary Division is an archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government notification published on 21 October 2010.
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References
Books, Government Gazette Notifications, Journal Articles
1) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1677. 21 October 2010. p.1749.
2) Pagngnawamsa, M., 2016. පුද බිමක අසිරිය: ගනේවැව පුරාණ විහාරය හා එහි ඉදි වූ ටෙරාකොටා සමාධි බුදුරුව පිළිබඳ සටහනක්. The Development Committee of Ganewewa Purana Viharaya. pp.5-8.
3) Perera, A.D.T.E., 1976. Asanaghara Shrines of Ancient Sri Lanka: Who built them, the Buddhists or pre-historic Yakkhas?. Journal of the Sri Lanka Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 20, pp.31-41.
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Attribution
To Whom
LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Mr Navod Hemal for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.
