Medawala Raja maha viharaya
Medawala Rajamaha Viharaya is a temple much revered by local people as a Buddhist religious center. It belongs to the Malwatta Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya. It has been a quite popular place in the Kandy period. The monastery is mentioned in the Vihara Asna, also known as Nampota, which was composed in Sinhalese in the late Middle Ages (or maybe the early modern period). The Vihara Asna contains a list of the 267 principle Buddhist temples of Sri Lanka, of which 75 are located in today's Central Province, one of them being the Medawala Rajamaha Viharaya. The text was popular with villagers as it was used for educational purposes in the schools attached to Buddhist temples in the Kandy period.
The temples dates back to the period Vatthagamani (around end of the 2nd and begin of the 1st century BC), who is one of the most famous Sinhalese monarchs. One Pali inscriptions was found here, it is called "Medawala Inscription". Another text called "Medawala Sannasa" from the Kandyan period attributes the temple to the famous Kandy King Kirthi Sri Rajasingha, who reigned in the mid 18th century. He is credited with the construction of the buildings that can be seen today. The style of the wooden architecture and the roof as well as the main Buddha statue and the paintings in the interior is clearly that of the Kandyan period.
