Paramakanda Raja Maha Vihara ( si, පරමාකන්ද රජ මහා විහාරය) 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 ...

Puttalam District Puttalam is a district situated near to the west coast of Sri Lanka. It has an area of . Along with the Kurunegala District, it formulates the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. The district capital is Puttalam, which borders the Kala Oya and ...

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 Paramakanda village approximately distance from the

Anamaduwa Anamaduwa (Sinhala: ආණමඩුව) is a town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is located about away from Puttalam. Etymology There are few stories around the name of Anamaduwa. According to one such story, after ...

town. The site has been formally recognised by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

as an archaeological site in Sri Lanka. The designations were declared on 1 November 1996 and 6 June 2008 under the government

Gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

numbers 948 and 1586.

The temple

It is believed that the history of Paramakanda temple goes back to the reign of king

Walagamba Valagamba (Sinhala: වළගම්බා), also known as Wattagamani Abhaya and Valagambahu, was a king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka. Five months after becoming king, he was overthrown by a rebellion and an invasion from South India, ...

(103 BC and c. 89–77 BC). The Vihara complex mainly consists of two terraces. The lower terrace includes 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 ...

, Bodhi tree, dripledged rock caves, Bikkhu dwellings, the main image house and the bell tower. Another small image house, a Stupa and a rock carved foot print of Buddha are found in the upper temple premises. The main image house of the lower terrace is adorned with paintings and sculptures belonging to the Kandyan tradition as well as the new art style.

Inscriptions

Few rock inscriptions have been discovered in the temple premises. One inscription has been incised on the vertical face of a rock at one side of a small pool of water. Another inscription is found on a rock near Bo tree and belongs to the 7th century A.D.

The inscription near the pool

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paramakanda Raja Maha Vihara Buddhist temples in Puttalam District Buddhist caves in Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Puttalam District Sri Lanka inscriptions

The temple

Inscriptions

The inscription near the pool

See also

References

External links