Soragune Devalaya ( si, සොරගුණේ දේවාලය), also known as Soragune Kuda Katharagama Devalaya, is an ancient

Devalaya A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

, situated in Haldummulla Divisional Secretariat,

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 lies on

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 ...

–

Bandarawela Bandarawela ( Sinhala : බණ්ඩාරවෙල, pronounced ; Tamil: பண்டாரவெல) is the second largest town in the Badulla District which is away from Badulla. Bandarawela is away from Colombo and about away from Kandy, ...

main road, approximately away from the

, the capital 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 ...

. The shrine is dedicated to 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 ...

deity

Kataragama deviyo Kataragama deviyo (also called: Skanda Kumara, Kartikeya, si, කතරගම දෙවියෝ) is a guardian deity of Sri Lanka. A popular deity who is considered to be very powerful, shrines dedicated to Kataragama deviyo are found in many p ...

, whose main and major shine is situated at south part of the island at Kataragama. The devalaya was 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 protected monument. The designation was declared on 6 July 2007 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 ...

number 1505.

History

The temple's origins date back to the reign of King Valagamba. The current complex however was constructed in 1528 during the reign of King Mayadunne, who according to local folklore, was seeking the blessing/protection of Kataragama, while he was away from the province. The temple was destroyed during the 1818 Uva-Wellassa rebellion but was subsequently reconstructed and in 1988 was conserved in its present state by the Department of Archaeology.

Devalaya

The devalaya complex consists of a Maligava (shrine room), Sinhasana Mandiraya (chamber of throne), Digge (drummer's hall), Aramudalge (treasurery room), Gabadage,

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 ...

, Bhodhigara (Bodhi temple), Bodhi tree and a Vihara. There is also a secondary shrine, dedicated to the Sinhalese guardian deity, Pattini.

Controversies

In 2011 of land belonging to the Soragune Devalaya was sold, allegedly illegally, in order to construct a 36 hole golf course and a 1,500 room hotel. The Centre for Environmental Justice subsequently lodged a writ in the Court of Appeal against the clearing of the forest without following the proper environmental impact assessment procedures. In February 2014 a Dharma Yathra was started in Colombo, which culminated with a number of trees within the subject area being ordained by Buddhist monks on 1 March. The project has not proceeded since that time. In 2015 a further was sold to a private company, Lalan Rubbers Ltd, for the cultivation of rubber plantations.

References

{{Reflist Archaeological protected monuments in Badulla District Tourist attractions in Badulla District Buildings and structures in Badulla District

History

Devalaya

Controversies

See also

References