Kande Vihara ( Sinhalaː කන්දේ විහාරය) is a major

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

Kalutara District Kalutara District (; ''Kaḷuttuṟai Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previo ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The temple has got its name 'Kande vihara' (Mountain temple) as it is built on top of a hill located near to

Aluthgama Aluthgama (; ) is a coastal town in Kalutara District in the Western Province (Sri Lanka), Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. Aluthgama is situated on the northern bank of the Bentota Ganga (R ...

town. The temple has been formally recognised by the Government as an archaeological site in Sri Lanka.

History

The temple was founded by Karapagala Dewamitta Thero in 1734, under the guidance of Udugama Chandrasara thero who was then chief incumbent of Galapatha Raja Maha Vihara and a pupil of

Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero Weliwita Asaranasarana Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thero (19 June 1698 – 18 July 1778) or popularly Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero was a Buddhist monk, who was the last Sangharaja of Sri Lanka. He was the pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in Sri ...

. Since then the temple was renovated and developed time to time under state patronage that lead the temple to become a major Buddhist shrine in the country. In 1904 the Kshethrarama

Pirivena A pirivena (plural: piriven) is a monastic college that educates the monks in Sri Lanka. In ancient times, they were also centers of secondary and higher education for lay people. As of 2018, 753 piriven have been founded and maintained by the Minis ...

, an educational institution for monks, was attached to the temple as a result of the efforts done by Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero. The pirivena acts as a center for Buddhist education in the country, is also conducted by the Kande Vihara. The image house,

Stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

and the sacred Bodhi tree with its enclosing octagonal shaped wall are considered as very old monuments in the temple. The Bodhi tree is believed to be more than 300 years old. The large Stupa of the temple which was erected in 1935, has been constructed as enclosing a small sized Stupa, constructed by Udugama Chandrasara Thero in 1783. In 2002, a foundation stone for a gigantic

Samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

Buddha statue depicting the Bhoomisparsha Mudra was laid in the temple premises and the completed statue was open to the public in 2007, making the temple more popular among the local devotees. The statue is in height and considered as one of tallest sitting Buddha statues in the world.

The temple

The temple comprises the

, Bodhi Tree, Relic Chamber, Image House,

Upulvan Upulvan (, ; Sanskrit: Utpalavarna), also known as Vishnu (''Vishnu deviyo'') is a guardian deity (Pali: Khettapala; Sanskrit: Kshetrapala) of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Buddhists believe him also as a protector of the Buddhism in the country. The name ...

Devalaya and the other main Devalas including

Kataragama Kataragama ( , ) is a pilgrimage town sacred to Buddhist, Hindu and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to worship. The town has the Kataragama temple, a shrine dedicated to Skanda Kumara also known as ...

and

Pattini Pattini (, ) is considered a guardian deity of Sri Lanka in both Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sinhalese people, Sinhalese folklore. She is also worshipped by Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus under the name Kannaki Amman. Pattini is r ...

Devalaya. Bodhi Tree, preaching hall and the Seema Malaka are situated outside the Vihara premises. The Stupa has been built in

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

shape and erected within an octagonal Shelter. Kande viharaya

The relic chamber of the temple is believed to be the oldest building in the temple premises. At the entrance of the chamber is sculptured with a stone moonstone and a door frame. Inner walls and the ceiling of the chamber has been adorned with

Kandyan Era Frescoes Kandyan era frescoes are mural paintings created during the Kingdom of Kandy (1469–1815) in Sri Lanka, a time when kings gave a special place to arts and literature. As there was a political instability in Sri Lanka after the Anuradhapura Era ...

belonging to the latter part of the

Kandyan period The Kandyan period covers the history of Sri Lanka from 1597–1815. After the fall of the Kingdom of Kotte, the Kandyan Kingdom was the last Independent monarchy of Sri Lanka. The Kingdom played a major role throughout the history of Sri Lanka ...

. The image house of the temple is consist of an inner chamber and an outer chamber. Entrance to the image house is a magnetic looking Thorana with three arch shaped entrances. Inside the inner chamber three Buddha images in the standing, seated and sleeping postures can be seen. The walls and the ceilings of both chambers have been decorated with

Jataka tales The ''Jātaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...

, moments of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

's journey of life and various types of other murals.

References

Sources

* {{Refend Buddhist temples in Kalutara District Archaeological protected monuments in Kalutara District

History

The temple

See also

References

Sources