Malwathu Maha Viharaya (also called Malwatta temple) is a Buddhist monastery located in
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
,
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 is the headquarters of the Malwatta chapter of
Siyam Nikaya
The Siam (also Siyamopali and Siyam) Nikaya is a monastic order within Sri Lankan Buddhism, founded by Upali Thera and located predominantly around the city of Kandy. It is so named because it originated within Thailand (formerly known in Sri La ...
and one of the two Buddhist monasteries that holds the custodianship of
sacred tooth relic of
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 tradition, he was born in ...
kept in
Sri Dalada Maligawa
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which hou ...
, Kandy. The chief incumbent of the Malwathu Maha Viharaya is the
Mahanayaka Mahanayaka (also spelled as Maha Nayaka, Maha Nayake) theros are high-ranking Buddhist monks who oversee and regulate the Buddhist clergy in Theravada Buddhist countries. The title ''Maha Nayaka'' translates to English as 'Great Leader' and it is c ...
thero of Malwatta chapter of Siyam nikaya, a leading Buddhist monastic fraternity in Sri Lanka. The present chief incumbent of Malwathu Maha Viharaya is
Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thero.
History
This temple is believed to be built by
Senasammatha Vickramabahu (1473-1511) along with a stupa and a double storey ordination hall (''Uposhathagaraya'') in the late 15th century or early 16th century.
It was originally built as the residence of three monks but today it houses many Buddhist monks including the monks of ''Karaka Sangha Sabha'' (executive council) of Malwatta chapter of Siyam Nikaya. The building known as ‘poya ge’ is used as the assembly hall for the important meetings of the monastic fraternity. This building was built during the reign of king
Kirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy
Kirti Sri Rajasinha ( Sinhala: කීර්ති ශ්රී රාජසිංහ, Tamil: கீர்த்தி ஸ்ரீ ராஜசிங்கம்; 11 August 1747 – 2 January 1782) was the second Nayaka king of Kandy. He was ...
.
The monastery
Malwathu Maha Viharaya consists of two sections, the ''Uposatha Viharaya'' which is also known as ‘''Poyamalu Viharaya''’ and the other ''Pushparama Viharaya'' popularly known as ''Malwathu Viharaya''.
Poyamalu Viharaya is the oldest section of the Vihara complex which is today recognized as an
archaeologically protected monument.
Chief Incumbents
The following is a list of chief incumbents of Malwathu Maha Viharaya, Kandy who are also the Mahanayaka theros of Malwatta chapter of Siyam Nikaya. Appointment of senior Buddhist monks to the Mahanayaka position in Sri Lanka began with the re-establishment of Upasampada higher ordination in 1753 on the initiatives taken by Sangharaja
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 Sr ...
during the reign of king Kirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy.
#
Thibbatuwawe Sri Buddha Rakkitha Thero (1753–1773)br>
තිබ්බටුවාවේ ශ්රී බුද්ධරක්ඛිත හිමි(1753_-_1773)#
Medawala Sri Rathana Jothi Thero (1773–1774) -
Daramitipola Sri Dhamma Rakkitha Thero (1774–1787)දරමිටිපොල ශ්රී ධම්මරක්ඛිත හිමි (1774-1787)
# Morathota Rajaguru Sri Dammakannda Thero (1787–1811) -
# Kobekaduwe Rajaguru Siriniwasa Thero (1811–1819) -
# Welivita Sri Saranakara Thero (1819–1822) -
# Gammulle Sri Sumana Thero (1822–1825) -
# Kotikapola Sri Rathanajothi Thero (1825–1826) -
# Kandegedara Sri Rewatha Thero (1826–1829) -
# Galgiriyawe Sri Sumangala Thero (1829–1850) -
# Parakumbure Sri Wipassi Thero (1850–1862) -
# Medagama Sri Dewamitta Thero (1862–1877) -
# Hippola Sri Sobhitha Thero (1877–1893) -
# Tibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Thero (1893–1913) -
# Galgiriyawe Sri Buddharakkitha Thero (1913–1919)
# Amunugama Sri Piyadassi Thero (1919–1924) -
# Abanwelle Sri Sumangala Thero (1924–1927) -
Pahamune Sri Sumangala Thero (1927–1945)
Rambukwelle Sri Shobitha Thero (1946–1955)
රඹුක්වැල්ලේ ශ්රී සෝභිත මහාථෙර
Welivita Sri Saranankara Thero (1955–1956)
-
#Purijjala Sri Saranankara Thero (1956 -1963)
# Amunugama Sri Wipassi Thero (1964–1969) -
# Madugalle Sri Dhamma Siddhi Thero (1969–1973) - මඩුගල්ලේ ශ්රී ධම්මසිද්ධි හිමි
# Sirimalwatte Sri Ananda Thero (1973–1989)
සිරිමල්වත්තේ ශ්රී ආනන්ද හිමි
Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi Thero (1989–2004).
-
# Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thero (2004– ) - තිබ්බටුවාවේ ශ්රී සිද්ධාර්ථ සුමංගල මහා ථෙර
See also
* Asgiri Maha Viharaya
References
External links
*
Sri Dalada Maligawa
(official website)
*
Buddhist temples in Kandy
Buddhist monasteries in Sri Lanka
Archaeological protected monuments in Kandy District
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