Panadura ( si, පානදුර, translit=Pānadura; ta, பாணந்துறை, translit=Pāṇantuṟai) is a city in

Kalutara District Kalutara District ( si, කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය; ta, களுத்துறை மாவட்டம் ''Kaḷuttuṟai Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative ...

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

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 ...

. It is located approximately south of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

and is surrounded on all sides by water; the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, the

Bolgoda Lake Bolgoda Lake or Bolgoda River ( si, බොල්ගොඩ වැව, ta, போல்கோடா ஏரி) is a freshwater lake in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, straddling the border between Colombo District and Kalutara District. It cons ...

and river. Panadura is famed as the location of important events in the Buddhist revival movement of Sri Lanka.

Panadura Debate

The Panadura Debate, held in 1873, was the climax of the first phase of the Buddhist revivalist movement which began with the establishment of the Society for the Propagation of Buddhism at Kotahena and the establishment of the Lankopakara Press in

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

. The two key persons in the Panadura Debate were

Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera or Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thera ( si, පූජ්‍ය මිගෙට්ටුවත්තේ ගුණානන්ද හිමි) (9 February 1823, Balapitiya – 21 September 1890, Colombo) was a Sri ...

and Father David de Silva and the two key institutions were the Rankoth Viharaya and the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church of Panadura. It was the success of the Panadura Debate that prompted Colonel

Henry Steel Olcott Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...

to come to Ceylon.

Demographics

Panadura is a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city. The

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

make the majority in the city.

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

are the second largest group in the city. Others include

Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pro ...

, small numbers of Indian Tamils,

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

and

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

Ethnicity in Panadura

''Sourc
statistics.gov.lk
'.

Transport

Road

Pandura is located at the junction of the A2 (Galle Road) and the A8 (Panadura-Ratnapura Road).

Rail

Panadura railway station is located to the east of the town, and is located on the Coastal line.

Bus

Due to Panadura being situated along Galle Road, it is serviced by many bus routes terminating at Panadura as well as ones heading further south.

Health care facilities

"Kethumathi" ( si, කේතුමතී කාන්තා රෝහල) is the fourth largest hospital in the country, dedicated for

Obstetrics and Gynecology Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

. It is situated at the centre of Panadura, from the A2 road. This hospital is a comprehensive with neonatal ICU and has a 300 bed capacity. A grade-1 Base hospital situated near the Panadura police station facing A2 road. Apart from this there are wide range of health care facilities run by the Government. There is an

Ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

Treatment Centre in Pallimulla, Panadura.

Public and private schools

* Sri Sumangala College *Sri Sumangala Balika Maha Vidyalaya * St.Johns College Panadura * Lyceum International School Panadura *Leeds International School Panadura *Walana Mahanama Maha Vidyalaya *Agamathi Balika Vidyalaya Panadura *Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya Panadura *Good Shepherd Convent Pandura *Panadura Balika Vidyalaya Panadura * Panadura Royal College *Nalluruwa Siri Seevali Maha Vidyalaya *St Anthony’s Boys School *St Anthony’s Girls School *Pinwatta Maha Vidyalaya *Jeramies Dias Kanishta Vidyalaya *Kuruppumulla Sri Prakrama Vidyalaya *Dibbedda Gunawardena Kanishta Vidyalaya *Upadya Kanishta Vidyalaya *Bekkegama Kanishta Vidyalaya *Methodis’t Primary School *Malamulla Maha Vidyalaya *Thotawatta Al Fahriya central Muslim madya maha vidyalaya *Ikra international College *House Of Scholars *Ambalanduwa Ilma Muslim Vidyalaya

Notable individuals

* Celestina Dias - Entrepreneur and philanthropist * Prof.

Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera, OBE, JP, (8 November 1899 – 23 April 1973) was a Sri Lankan academic, scholar and diplomat best known for his Malalasekara English-Sinhala Dictionary. He was the Ceylon's first Ambassador to the Soviet Unio ...

n academic, scholar and diplomat * Dr.

Premasiri Khemadasa Deshamanya Kala Keerthi Dr.Premasiri Khemadasa ( Sinhala: ආචාර්ය ප්‍රේමසිරි කේමදාස ) (25 January 1937 – 24 October 2008) also known as "Khemadasa Master" was a Sri Lankan music composer. Exploring ...

- Music director, composer * Arthur V. Dias - A planter by profession he is known as "Kos Mama" * Dr.

Nalin de Silva Thakurartha Devadithya Guardiyawasam Lindamulage Nalin Kumara de Silva ( Sinhala: නලින් ද සිල්වා; born 20 October 1944) is a Sri Lankan philosopher and a political analyst. He is the current Sri Lankan ambassador in Mya ...

Theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimen ...

, philosopher and a political analyst. * Prof.

Ravindra Fernando Ravindra Fernando is a Sri Lankan forensic pathologist, toxicologist, physician, author and academic. He is the current chairman of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board of Sri Lanka. Biography Education Fernando was educated at Ananda C ...

- Forensic Pathologist, Toxicologist Physician, author and academic. * Leslie Goonewardene ( MP)- One of the founders of the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

Wilmot A. Perera Wilmot Abraham Perera (1905–1973) was a Sri Lankan statesman and philanthropist. He was declared a National Hero in 1993. A member of parliament, he was Ceylon's first Ambassador to China.Prasanna Vithanage Udaya Prasanna Vithanage ( si, ප්‍රසන්න විතානගේ) (born 14 March 1962) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of the Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature ...

- Film Director * Ravindra Pushpakumara - International Cricketer * Charitha Buddhika - International Cricketer *

Chamara Silva Lindamlilage Prageeth Chamara Silva ( si, චාමර සිල්වා) (born 14 December 1979) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all formats of the game for 12 years. He is a right-handed batsman and a leg-break bowler. After poor ...

- International Cricketer * Don Anurasiri - International Cricketer * Dilruwan Perera - International Cricketer *

Akila Dananjaya Mahamarakkala Kurukulasooriya Patabendige Akila Dananjaya Perera ( si, අකිල ධනංජය; born 4 October 1993), popularly as Akila Dananjaya, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who plays all forms of the game for the nat ...

- International Cricketer * Mohomed Dilshad -first class cricketer

References

External links

Article on Colonel Olcott, Panadura and the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka
{{Authority control Populated places in Western Province, Sri Lanka