The Vidyodaya Pirivena was one of the prominent '' piriven'' (a monastic college, similar to a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, for the education of

Buddhist 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 ...

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

) in

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 was founded in 1873 by Ven.

Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera ( si, හික්කඩුවේ ශ්‍රි සුමංගල නාහිමි; 20 January 1827 – 29 April 1911) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, who was one of the pioneers of Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalis ...

and later in 1959, the pirivena was granted the university status by the Government of Sri Lanka.

Name

From 1958 to 1972, it became known as the Vidyodaya University and from 1972 to 1978 as the Vidyodaya Campus of the University of Sri Lanka during which time it became a secular state university. The renaming of the Vidyodaya Campus in 1978 as the University of Sri Jayewardenepura led to the re-emergence of the Maligakanda Pirivena, which has since claimed to be the successor to the Vidyodaya Pirivena.

History

The Vidyodya Pirivena was founded due to the efforts of

, who is considered to be one of the pioneers in the revival of Buddhism and the tradition of oriental education during the 19th Century in Sri Lanka. The land at Maligakanda (a suburb 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 funds for its foundation were donated by the philanthropist

Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana Muhandiram Lansage Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana (19 November 1809 – 24 January 1890) was a Sri Lankan businessman, a philanthropist and a pioneer of the Buddhist revival movement. He was the grandfather of Anagarika Dharmapala. He owned ext ...

. Both Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera and Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera, following their success in the Panadura Debate, played a key roles in its development. Their aim was to train educated orator monks to save Buddhism from the decline it was undergoing due to colonial rule,Sri Lanka Department of Government Information
''Vidyalankara Pirivena: Its contribution to cultural and educational development''. Retrieved 1 July 2011 and for that purpose it was made the study of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...

compulsory in ''pirivena'' education. The Pirivena taught Buddhist studies as well as pseudo-sciences such as astrology, which were widely accepted and held in high esteem in traditional society. Through a change to a new government in 1956 under Prime Minister

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப� ...

which had a policy of promoting national languages and culture, two new universities were established by conferring university status on the Vidyodaya Pirivena and Vidyalankara Pirivena.University of Sri Jayewardenepura - History
Retrieved 1 July 2011 Under the ''Vidyodaya University and Vidyalankara University Act No 45'' of 1958, the two universities were established as the Vidyodaya University at Maligakanda, and the Vidyalankara University at

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 tem ...

. Ven. Welivitiye Soratha Maha Thero, Principal of the Vidyodaya Pirivena, was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of the Vidyodaya University. The university was ceremonially opened on 16 February 1959. However, the transition from Pirivena to University gradually converted it to a secular center of learning. The University was moved to Gangodawila, some 10 miles to the south east, in 1961 and in 1978 it was renamed as the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

References

{{coord missing, Sri Lanka Buddhist universities and colleges Piriven in Sri Lanka Buddhism in Sri Lanka Schools in Colombo District University of Sri Jayewardenepura