Lahugala Kota Vehera ( Sinhalaː ලාහුගල කොට වෙහෙර) or Kota Vehara Raja Maha Vihara is an ancient

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

situated in Lahugala, 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 temple is located in Pansalgoda Grama Niladari division of Lahugala DS and lies on Colombo -

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

main road about far from Pothuvil 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. The protected monuments include the ancient Dagaba, building sites with stone pillars, flight of steps carved on natural rock plain and drip ledged caves. 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 ...

in the Vihara has been identified as one of four Kota Vehera Styled structures found around Sri Lanka.

Kota Vehera inscriptions

Inscription no. 1

Inscription no. 2

References

{{reflist Buddhist temples in Ampara District Buddhist caves in Sri Lanka Stupas in Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Ampara District Sri Lanka inscriptions Sinhala Inscriptions

Kota Vehera inscriptions

Inscription no. 1

Inscription no. 2

See also

References