Manikdena historical site and nature reserve
Manikdena archaeological site is situated in the central province of Sri Lanka’s central province. The historical site located in a laid back village and visited by a large number of travellers. Majority of the visitors are Sri Lankan travellers and it is not popular place among foreign travellers.
Visiting Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka
All visitors to these sacred places are supposed to dress in a particular manner to uphold their religious values. There is a set of rules that every visitor to religious sites observes while visiting sacred places in Sri Lanka. If you are wondering what these rules are, check out this article “13 RULES TO OBSERVE WHILE VISITING SRI LANKA BUDDHIST TEMPLE, SRI LANKA TEMPLE DRESS CODE TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH DRES’ CODE“.
History of Manikdena historical site
It was known as Manikdena Pabbata during the second half of the Anuradhapura period (555-573 AD), and the Buddhist temple complex was known as Buddharatagma and Butgama during the reign of King Kitsiri Mevan. Manikdena has a rare type of combination of nature, history and religion. Manikdena is not only an important historical site in Sri Lanka but also a very popular religious site. It is being visited by a large number of people every year due to historical importance and natural value.
King Kitsiri Mewan is believed to be the founder of the historical monastery complex here. According to the historical evidence, it had been used by the monks of Mahayana Buddhism. Manikdena temple had been one of the several places, where the tooth relic of Buddha was safeguarded in the past.
Manikdena historical site as a camping place
The historical temple was temporarily used as a camping site for the army of King Vijayabahu (1055-1110 AD). It had been the residence of a large number of monks and it was provided with state patronage by many successful rulers. The last monk of Sri Lanka, who attained the Arahathood lived here.
When the monk passed away, his body was placed in a beautifully gem-studded coffin and buried. The name “Manikdena” denotes the coffin decorated with gemstones.
During the reign of King Vijayabahu the 1st AD about 500 monks had been living in the monastery. A large number of constructions was discovered during the excavation at the site. Bodhigara, Dagobas, chapter houses, image houses, are some of the building among the discoveries. Dagoba of Manikdena archaeological site was known as Bojjan vehera in the past and it was encircled by a Bodhigara.
There had been 2 entrances made of granite to the dagoba. Dagoba is 30 feet in height and diameter measured to be 6 feet. Dagoba is built in the form of a bubble shape. There is 2 guard stone that is made of limestones at the entrance of the dagoba. 2 Buddha statues in meditation posture and footprint of Buddha is also can be seen here.
The chapter house was occupying a large area of the temple and had 4 stories, which is built on granite stone pillars. According to the historical information there had been about ten sautés an image house. None of the ten sculptures can be seen now and they have been destroyed during the last few centuries.
The chapter house had been ana important part of the temple and it had been 4 stores structure. However, it is completely diminished over the last many centuries and reduced to just stone pillars today.
Manikdena sanctuary
The Menikdena sanctuary is about 44 acres in extent and it adds the natural value to the site. The reserve is functioning as an important catchment area. The reserve is consisting of a large number of trees and scrubs. The bio-diversity of the reserve is considered to be very high compared to the small size of the reserve. The reserve is inhabited by a large number of animals such as deer, wild boar and civets, several species of butterfly, birds and vertebrates are also occurring here often.
The forest is an important nature reserve with many species of medicinal plants and the dominating tree can be identified as the Na-Tree (Mesua nagasurium). The forest reserve is consisting of endemic, introduced and native flora species and they have been identified and properly named with the help of the University of Peradeniya.
The archaeological importance of Manikdena historical site
Manikdena archaeological site is surrounded by several other important archaeological sites such as Dambulla cave temple, Ibbankatuwa, Potana, Nalanda Gedige and Aluvihara. Nearby natural attractions such as Riverston and Pitawala Patana can also be easily reached from Manikdena archaeological site. Poaching, collecting firewood ad relic hunting has been identified as the immediate threats to the Manikdena archaeological site and nature reserve.
There are several routes to reach the site and the most convenient route is on the Dambulla-Matale main road. One needs to turn to Badiwewa road at the Manampitiya junction on the Dambulla-Matale main road, and then drive up to Manikdena junction. From Manikdena junction it is only two kilometres to the archaeological site. It takes around four hours to reach the Manikdena archaeological site from Colombo.