Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara

Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara

Among the known ancient rock temples of Sri Lanka Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara (Mulkirigala Great Royal Temple) comes close behind Sigiriya in architecture and style. While not as famous as the Lion Rock this temple is even more ancient by almost a couple of centuries. Today this temple has been recognized as an  archaeological site by the government, and is a marvel of architecture, paintings and sculptures.

Location

Mulkirigala is about 2 km (1.2 miles) from the Mulkirigala junction and is reachable from either the Dikwella or Tangalle towns. The temple itself is embedded into a giant 205 m (673 ft) tall rock and surrounded by four other rocks called Benagala, Kondagala, Bisogala and Seelawathiegala.The site is known as ‘Punchi Seegiriya’ or Little Sigiriya.

History

Also referred to as Mulgirigala, Muvathitigala, Muhudungiri and Dakkhina Vihara in the current world Mulkirigala has been identified to be the temple known as Giriba Vihara in the ancient religious chronicle Bodhi Vamsa. Through this it has now been know that Mulkirigala is a temple where one of the 32 seedlings germinated from the original Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi (the holy bo tree branch that was brought by Sangamitta and planted in Sri Lanka, when she introduced Buddhism to the country) was planted.

Mahavamsa, another religious chronicle states that the Mulkirigala Temple was built in the 3rd century AD by the King Saddhatissa. The temple continued to receive royal patronage and was renovated by many of the following kings. During the 461-479 AD time period a stupa was added to the temple by King Datusena; and it was further developed by King Kirti Sri Rajasinghe who reigned during the mid 18th century. During the 18th century, under the reign of the Dutch, the Mulkirigala rock attained fame as ‘Adam’s Berg’. The Dutch believed that tombs of Adam and Eve were located here.

Structure

The site comprises of seven smaller temples and has been constructed within five areas; the Siyambalamaluwa, the Lower Temple Compound, Bomaluwa, the Royal Temple Compound, and the Upper Temple Compound. There are also caves with figurines and murals within them

Siyambalamaluwa

This area comprises of the museum, lower temple and the rest house.

Lower Vihara compound

This includes of the Royal Temple, Tombs, Seemamalakaya, Monastery and Paduma Rahath temple. Paduma Rahath Vihara contains the largest reclining Buddha image of the entire temple. There is also a small painted pagoda found inside a cave and a modern information centre built on a terrace.

Bomaluwa

The Bomaluwa is an area with the Vesak hall compound, the Majjhima Nikaya cave (Bhanaka

Om Hambantota-distriktet

Hambantota er en landlig by i det sydøstlige kystområde af Sri Lanka. Det er også hovedstaden i Hambantota-distriktet i den sydlige provins i Sri Lanka. Hambantota, cirka 240 km fra Colombo, er midt i en omdannelse til et strategisk havne- og handelscenter og gennemgår omfattende infrastrukturudvikling. Omgivet af vidtstrakte sandstrande er Hambantota et bekvemt sted at besøge nærliggende seværdigheder.

Bundala Nationalpark ligger 20 km øst for Hambantota, og Weerawila-helligdommen ligger lidt længere væk. Ruhuna Nationalpark og Kataragama-templet er andre attraktioner, der er let tilgængelige fra denne by.

Om den sydlige provins

Den sydlige provins i Sri Lanka er et lille geografisk område, der består af distrikterne Galle, Matara og Hambantota. Selvforsynende landbrug og fiskeri er den vigtigste indtægtskilde for langt de fleste af befolkningen i denne region.

Vigtige vartegn i den sydlige provins inkluderer naturreservaterne i Yala og Udawalawe Nationalparker, den hellige by Kataragama og de gamle byer Tissamaharama, Kirinda og Galle. (Selvom Galle er en gammel by, er der næsten intet bevaret fra før den portugisiske invasion.) I den portugisiske periode var der to berømte singalesiske digtere ved navn Andare, som var fra Dickwella, og Gajaman Nona, som var fra Denipitiya i Matara-distriktet, som komponerede digte om almindelige mennesker.

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