Sri Mulavasam also spelled as Sreemoolavasam was a famous

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 ...

and centre of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

on the south-western coast of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The exact location of is Sri Mulavasam unknown. Some scholars locate it in northern parts of

Kerala state Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Cana ...

whereas some at somewhere in the Alappuzha district between

Ambalappuzha Ambalappuzha is a small town in the Alappuzha district of Kerala state, India. It is located south of Alappuzha which is the district headquarters. Ambalappuzha is divided into the two panchayats of Ambalapuzha North and Ambalapuzha South. ...

and

Thrikkunnappuzha Thrikkunnapuzha is a village near Harippad in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Thrikkunnapuzha is the south-west part of Alappuzha district, Kerala, India. Renowned as Sreemoolavasam, this coastal area found in the Kerala his ...

. At its inception, it was a

Hinayana Hīnayāna (, ) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle". Classical Chinese and Tibetan teachers translate it as "smaller vehicle". The term is applied collectively to the ''Śrāvakayāna'' and ''Pratyekabuddhayāna'' pa ...

seat of learning which gradually turned into a

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

center, and later into a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

center. According to the inscription in Paliyam copper plates, also known as ''Sreemoolavasam cheppedukal'', date back to AD 929 (or AD 898), issued by Ay king Vikramaditya Varagunan, a huge number of land holdings were donated to the Sreemoolavasam (Thirumoolavadam), a Buddhist institution. It is also mentioned in the '' Mushika Vamsa'' of poet

Athula Athula (IAST: Atula) was a Sanskrit-language poet from the Mushika Kingdom in present-day Kerala, India. He composed the ''Mushika-vamsa'', a mahakavya Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian ...

. The discovery of an idol of

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

Halahala Lokeswara by M. Foucher in

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...

region with

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

inscription ''"Dakshina Pathe Mulavasa Lokanatha"'' proves that Sri Mulavasam was a famous Buddhist pilgrim centre in ancient days. Local rulers are said to have protected this famous temple from the encroachment of the

Arabian sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

by strengthening the shore. The centre perished after 10th century AD by which time the famous Chudamanivarma Vihara came into existence at

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

. Sreemoolavasam is also known as Sreemoola Ghosha Viharam in Sanskrit. It is believed to have been a university where Buddhist monks lived and studied. The first Sreemoolavasam is believed to have been taken by Arabian sea. Later another was established. It is believed that an idol of Avalokitesvara also known as known as Lokanathan and Sugathan was built there.

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Further reading