Muthiyangana 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 ...

located in the middle of

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

town in the Badulla District of

Uva Province Uva Province ( si, ඌව පළාත, Uva Paḷāta, ta, ஊவா மாகாணம், Uvā Mākāṇam) is Sri Lanka's second least populated Provinces of Sri Lanka, province, with 1,259,880 people, created in 1896. It consists of two dis ...

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 ...

History

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

believe that this site has been visited by Gautama Buddha, and it is regarded as one of the Solosmasthana, the 16 sacred places in the country. On the 8th year after attaining the Enlightenment, the Buddha made his 3rd visit to

Kelaniya Kelaniya ( si, කැලණිය ta, களனி) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo District. The templ ...

on the invitation by a king of Naga people named ''Maniakkitha''. During this visit, a local chieftain named ''Indaka'' invited Buddha to visit his place in Badulla. At the end of sermons made by Buddha there, ''Indaka'' had wanted something to worship in memory of Buddha's visit. The Buddha is said to have given him a few of his hairs and a few drops of sweat that turned into pearls (''mukthaka''). ''Indaka'' had enshrined these sacred hair and pearls in a

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 ...

, believed to be the stupa here. ''Indaka'', the chieftain of then

Deva people The Deva are a mythical people of Sri Lanka according to the Sanskrit epics. According to the Mahavamsa and Ramayana they lived among the Naga, Yakkha and Raskha. They ousted their arch enemies the Raskha from Sri Lanka, with the help of Lor ...

is now regarded as a deity, reigning the

Namunukula Namunukula, literally "Nine Peaks" in Sinhala language, is the name of a mountain range in Sri Lanka's province of Uva. Its main peak is high. The nearby town is also sometimes called Namunukula Town. During the Ming treasure voyages of the 15 ...

mountain range and Muthiyangana Raja Maha Viharaya. This site is not cited in well known historical chronicles such as Mahavamsa,

Bodhi Vamsa The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect ...

or Dhātuvansa but mentioned in the

Samantapasadika Samantapāsādikā refers to a collection of Pali commentaries on the Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is ...

which is older than the former documentaries. It states, "The Lord Buddha visited this island thrice. Third time He arrived with 500 monks. Being entered into ''Nirodha Samapatti'' (attainment of ceasing of feeling and perception) He stayed here...", turning the site into most sacred religious one for the Buddhists. This is also regarded as one of 32 Buddhist religious sites wherein the saplings bred from Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi have been planted.

Refurbishment

King Devanampiya Tissa (307 - 266 BC) further developed the original stupa and turned the site into a temple complex. Thereafter King Jettha Tissa I (266 - 276 AD), King

Dhatusena Dhatusena was a king of Sri Lanka who ruled from 455 to 473 AD. He was the first king of the Moriyan dynasty. In some records, he is also identified as Dasenkeli. Dhatusena reunited the country under his rule after twenty six years, defeating t ...

(459-477 AD), King Vijayabahu I (1055–1110 AD) and King Parakramabahu I (1153–1186 AD) have renovated the stupa.

Attractions

SL Badulla asv2020-01 img06 Muthiyangana Temple

SL Badulla asv2020-01 img11 Muthiyangana Temple

The site consists of (a) ''Thorana'' (b) Makara ''thorana'' (c) Main image house (d) Center image house (e) ''Sath sathi viharaya'' (f) Statue of deity ''Indaka'' (g) Statue of Maithri Bodhisathva (h)

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 ...

and (i) ''Bo'' trees (

Bodhi The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect ...

Thorana

This ''thorana'' (pandol) is at the entrance to the temple. It has six levels and Makara (

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

) is visible on the second level.

Makara ''thorana''

This has been built at the entrance to the main image house.

Image houses

There are two image houses – main and center. Ancient appearance of these two buildings has been vanished due to refurbishment in 1960's and 1970's.

The stupa

The present stupa was constructed with the height of and diameter of on the ruins on ancient one in 1956.

''Bo'' trees

There are four ''Bo'' trees (

) remaining in the temple. One is named after

Maliyadeva Maliyadeva was a monk who is said to have lived in Sri Lanka during the 2nd century BCE and to have attained nirvana. According to the Mahavamsa, part of Theravādin tradition, Maliyadeva was the last well-known arhat who had high psychic powers ...

''Thera'', a disciple believed to be the last one who had attained the state of ''Arhant'' in Sri Lanka. Another ''Bo'' tree is called ''Ananda bodiya'' as it had been brought from Jetavana monestey in

Sravasti Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...

in India wherein a ''Bo'' tree with the same name still remains. Another ''Bo'' tree which remains in this site has been considered as it originated from Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and planted by King Devanampiya Tissa.

Procession

An attractive procession (''Perahera'') will be held at site annually.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara Buddhist temples in Badulla District Stupas in Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Badulla District Buildings and structures in Badulla