Sri Dharmendrarama Raja Maha Vihara
Sri Dharmendrarama Purana Raja Maha Vihara (also known as Mayadunna Pansala) (Sinhala: ශ්රී ධර්මේන්ද්රාරාම පුරාණ රජ මහා විහාරය හෝ මායාදුන්න පන්සල) is an ancient Buddhist temple in Mayadunna, Sri Lanka. The temple is located in the Gonagolla village on Ampara – Maha Oya road approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) distance from Uhana town. The temple has been formally recognised by the Government as an archaeological site in Sri Lanka. The designation was declared on 10 October 2014 under the government Gazette number 1884.[1]
| Sri Dharmendrarama Purana Raja Maha Vihara | |
|---|---|
ශ්රී ධර්මේන්ද්රාරාම පුරාණ රජ මහා විහාරය | |
 The Stupa at the Vihara | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhism |
| District | Ampara |
| Province | Eastern Province |
| Location | |
| Location | No.30, Mayadunna, Gonagolla |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Geographic coordinates | 07°25′37.6″N 81°38′02.3″E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Buddhist Temple |
The temple
The temple in Mayadunna has been constructed on a natural rock plateau is belonged to the Uhana DS. Most buildings stand today at the temple are recent constructions but some of the ancient structures such as slabs of Buddha footprint, pieces of Sandakada pahana, bases of buildings and pillars still can be found within the premises. Before the construction of Buddha statues, people used various objects such as Asanaghara and Sri Pathul Gal (Buddha footprint) to represent Buddha. Therefore the presence of Sri Pathul Gal or Asanaghara in a temple is considered by the archaeology as an indicator that the temple was there before the Buddha statues were built in the country.[2] Also a rock inscription, engraved on the rock plateau between the image house and the pond has been protected by the archaeological department.
References
- Gazette 1884 & 10 October 2014, p. 922.
- Wijethunga, Sirisaman (20 March 2017). "සිරිපතුල් වන්දනාව (in Sinhala)". Budu Sarana, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
ඉතාම පැරණි පුදබිමක් ලෙසින් හඳුනා ගැනීමට නිශ්චිත පුරාවිද්යාත්මක සාක්ෂියක් ලෙසින් පුරාවිද්යාඥයෝ සිරිපතුල් ගල් හඳුන්වති
External links
- "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. 1884. 10 October 2014.