Gonagolla Vihara ( Sinhalaː ගොනාගොල්ල විහාරය) is an ancient cave temple situated in Ampara District,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The vihara is also known as Punchi Seegiriya (''Little Sigiriya'') by the locals since the temple contains ancient frescoes similar to those in Sigiriya. The site is in Kotmale Canal Settlement in Wewagampattuwa Division and lies about east of Kohombana Junction on

Ampara Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council. It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa. Hi ...

– Gonagolla Road. 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.

History

There is clear evidence that the rock caves of the temple were occupied by ancient Vedda people as their paintings can be found nearby in the rock caves. Two more caves in the Vihara premises contains Brahmi rock inscriptions dating back to 3-5th centuries. The remains of two ancient ponds, and the

Stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

of Anuradhapura era, next to the frescoes cave, are examples of some constructions in the Vihara belong to the third century BC. Among other ruins a

Vatadage A vaṭadāge ( si, වටදාගෙ) is a type of Buddhist structure found in Sri Lanka. It also known as a ''dage'', ''thupagara'' and a ''cetiyagara''. Although it may have had some Indian influence, it is a structure that is more or less uniq ...

, Chatra stones, remains of large scale buildings with carved stone pillars and rock stairways can be seen around the vihara premises.

Frescoes

In 1956 the Archaeological Department found out some remnants of frescoes belong to the 3rd century AD on the vaulted ceiling of a cave in Gonagolla temple. The frescoes have been drawn on a special plastered surface and depict a scene of a young female dancer and a man who is alleged to be a Bodhisattva. The female figure is almost identical to famous Sigiriya maidens (5th century) and both figures have been painted using red, yellow, green and white colors with sharp margins. Due to the frescoes, this temple is called Punchi Sigiriya (''Little Sigiriya'') by locals. There are also some pre-historic paintings drawn by Vedda people in a few rock caves of the temple premises.

Vihara inscriptions

Rock inscriptions set 1

Rock inscriptions set 2

References

Notes

* {{Refend Buddhist temples in Ampara District Buddhist caves in Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Ampara District Sri Lanka inscriptions Sinhala Inscriptions