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

Devalaya A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedicat ...

, situated in Haldummulla Divisional Secretariat,

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, ...

. It lies on

Badulla Badulla (, ; ,) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is located in the southeast of Kandy, almost enci ...

–

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

main road, approximately away from the

, the capital of

Uva Province The Uva Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,500 km2 and a population of 1,266,463, making it the 2nd least populated province. The provincial capital is Badulla. Uva is bordered by the East ...

. The shrine is dedicated to the Sinhalese deity

Kataragama deviyo 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 ...

, whose main and major shine is situated at south part of the island at

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 ...

. The devalaya was formally recognised by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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 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 ...

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

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 ...

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