Dagoba, Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara

The Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara

Sanjeewa Padmal (Seerendipity)

Tissamaharama raja maha vihara had been perceived as a pre-prominent Buddhist educational centre of southern Sri Lanka from the third century B.C. to the eleventh century A.D. The Tissamaharama Dagoba which is built in the premises of the temple is one of the biggest stupas in Sri Lanka. The current chief occupant of Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara is Ven. Devalegama Dhammasena Nayaka Thera. Venturing on a Sri Lanka south coast tour is the best way to visit Tissamharama Raja Maha Vihara along with many other interesting places such as Mirissa, Galle Fort, madu river estuary, Udawalawe national park, Katargama Temple etc.

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Where is Tissamaharama raja maha vihara?

The Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara is an old Buddhist temple in Tissamaharama, Southern Sri Lanka. Southern Sri Lanka is one of the very popular holiday destinations in Sri Lanka. A large number of tourists travel to the south coast of Sri Lanka in search of pristine beaches, national parks teeming with leopards and elephants, ancient temples and forts, and other colonial remnants. Sri Lanka’s south coast is packed with many interesting places such as national parks, temples, beaches, patches of forest and many more. Therefore, south coast Sri Lanka is included in most multi-day Sri Lanka tour packages such as 10 days Sri Lanka tour and 7 days Sri Lanka trip.

How to visit Tissamaharama raja maha vihara?

Venturing on a southern Sri Lanka tour is the best way to visit Tissamaharama raja maha vihara leisure. Sri Lanka’s south coast tour is available in many forms such as one day Sri Lanka south coast tour, 2 days southern Sri Lanka tour and 3 days Sri Lanka south coast tour. Most Sri Lanka tour operators such as Seerendipity Tours offer these tours at an affordable rate. Usually, the south coast tour includes not only important Sri Lanka historical monuments but also national parks like Udawalawe and Yala national park, Galle Fort, pristine beaches on the south coast, whale watching tours and many more.

How to book Sri Lanka south coast tour?

Sri Lanka south coast tour can be booked or get more information on the trip by writing to admin@seerendipitytours.com. WhatsApp at 0094774440977.

What is the best Sri Lanka south coast?

Sri Lanka 2 days tour to the south coast is the most popular trip to Sri Lanka Southern Province. The trip is also called Sri Lanka’s south coast nature tour as it covers many places to watch wildlife. A large number of travellers choose this option from Colombo and many beach resorts on the west coast.

What includes in Sri Lanka south coast tour

The 2 days tour includes many interesting activities as below,

  • Yala national park
  • Galle fort
  • Mirissa Beach
  • Bentota Beach
  • Hikkaduwa Beach
  • Balapitiya/Madu river

What are the activities included in Sri Lanka south coast tour

  • Whale watching tour in Mirissa
  • Yala national park safari or Udawalawe national park safari
  • Madu river safari
  • Hikkaduwa glass bottom boat tour
  • Mask museum tour
  • Galle Fort walking tour
  • Guided tour of spice/herbal garden

Importance of Tissamaharama raja maha vihara

It was one of the four significant Buddhist monasteries laid out in Sri Lanka, after the appearance of Arhant Mahinda Thera on the island. The site of the Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara was visited by Buddha himself, who spent time in meditation at the temple with 500 arhats (monks who have arrived at enlightenment), during his third visit to Sri Lanka. Tissamaharama raja maha vihara had been perceived as a pre-prominent Buddhist educational centre of southern Sri Lanka from the third century B.C. to the eleventh century A.D. The Tissamaharama Dagoba which is built in the premises of the temple is one of the biggest stupas in Sri Lanka. The current chief occupant of Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara is Ven. Devalegama Dhammasena Nayaka Thera.

History of Tissamaharama raja maha vihara

During the rule of King Asoka of India (304-232 BCE), numerous conspicuous Buddhist monks were sent as ministers to adjoining countries to proliferate the Buddhist way of thinking. As a result of these missions, Arhant Mahinda Thera, the child of King Asoka showed up in Sri Lanka during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura in the third century BC. After the foundation of Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka, significant Buddhist monasteries, for example, Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya and Mihintale Raja Maha Viharaya were laid out in the North central province of the country while Tissamaharama Raja Maha Viharaya and Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya were laid out in the Southern regions. As per the Mahawamsa, this temple was implicit in the second century BC as Silapassa Pirivena, by then Ruler Kavan Tissa (186-161 B.C.) of Ruhuna (Southern Sri Lanka) and under the rule of King Ilanaga (38-44 A.D.) the temple had been extended and renovated. However, as per a few students of history, the temple was first worked by ruler Mahanaga in the third century BC and later it was extended as a significant temple by ruler Kavan Tissa in the second century BC.

The Ruhunu Kingdom southern Sri Lanka

The start of the kingdom of Ruhuna traces all the way back to the reign of ruler Devanampiyatissa in the second century BC. His younger brother Mahanaga gave us the then capital of Anuradhapura to escape from a death threat and moved toward the southern region of the island and turned into the leader of the area. Mahanaga is viewed as the primary ruler of Ruhuna, where the capital was Magama. King Mahanaga did extraordinary service to further develop farming and was liable for raising quiet and prosperous human progress in the Southern Region of Sri Lanka. He was prevailed by his child Yatala-Tissa, who had the option to prudently run the territory. After Yatala-Tissa his child Gothabhaya turned into the ruler of the south, and at this point, the kingdom of Ruhuna was deeply rooted and well-developed. After Gothabhaya, his child Kavan-Tissa ascended to the throne. King Kawan Tissa is viewed as the organizer behind numerous Buddhist monasteries situated in the Southern and Eastern areas of Sri Lanka.

Important Rulers of Southern Sri Lanka

Thissmaharama Vihara was the biggest Buddhist religious monastery in Southern Sri Lanka. Some of the eminent occupant Buddhist monks of this extraordinary cloister are Arhant Mahasiva Thera, Arhant Dhammadinna Thera and Arhant Pindapathika Tissa Thera. Ruler Kawan Tissa who established Tissmaharama Vihara likewise renovated the Tissa wewa or Tissa reservoir to provide the water necessary for the monastery. Many rulers in the past had likewise offered lands to the Tissamaharama cloister for the benefit of Buddhist monks who lived there. As indicated by antiquated stone inscriptions found at the site, many land gifts to the Tissamaharama Vihara were made during the rules of King Jettha Tissa, Wasabha and Mihindu. From the 3rd century to the fifth century the monastery claimed in excess of 18 000 acres of land. These land gifts were made by the Kings for the upkeep work of the cloister and the stupa as well as concerning the necessities of the occupant monks.

Restoration of Tissamaharama raja maha vihara

The first evidence of the restoration of Tissamaharama Vihara goes back to the reign of King Illanaga in 38 AD, following two centuries of its underlying development. King Voharaka Tissa (215 – 237 AD) in the third century had likewise made a few renovations to the stupa. King Mahanaga renovated the stupa in 560 AD when the situation with the stupa deteriorated again in the sixth century. It had likewise gone through renovations during the rule of King Vijayabahu I (1055-1110 AD). In the latter period, Thissamaharama Vihara was attacked by the militaries of enemies of Kalinga Magha in the thirteenth century. Apparently, no significant rebuilding work was finished on this stupa till the last part of the nineteenth century after this rifling. Anyway, according to sources that in 1662 AD, King Veera Parakrama Narendrasinghe gave two lands to the temple for maintenance purposes, when Kadurupokune Budhdha Rakkhitha Thero was the chief incumbent. Yet later in the eighteenth century, Tissmaharama Vihara was deserted after the condition of the temple weakened seriously, during the Dutch Provincial rule in the maritime region of Sri Lanka.

The Stupa of Tissamaharama raja maha vihara

Tissamaharama Stupa is the biggest stupa in the Southern region of the country with a level of 156 feet and 550 feet in circumference. As per the chronicles, King Kawan Tissa had looked for favours and guidelines from Arhant Gothama Thera, who was a profound counsellor to the king, while developing Tissamaharam stupa. The stupa was constructed to commemorate Buddha’s visit to the region, at a similar spot where Buddha spent some time in meditation with 500 arhant Buddhist monks. The stupa has a ‘Water Bubble Shape’ and was constructed mainly by utilizing bricks on a square stage made of granite stones. King Kawan-Tissa got the directions of Buddhist priests all through the development time of the stupa. The relics deposited in this stupa are exposed for debate. As per Mahavamsa, the frontal-bone relic (Lalata Dhathu) is deposited in the Tissamaharam stupa as the fundamental relic. Anyway, some accept that the frontal facing bone of Buddha was first enshrined in this stupa however later it was moved to the relic chamber of Seruvila Mangala Maha Chethiya. A newly found inscription in Kirinda discloses that the left tooth remnant of Buddha was likewise enshrined in this stupa.

The recent development of Tissamaharama raja maha vihara

The recent reconstructions of this stupa started in 1858 because of the endeavours of Wepathaira Sumana Thera, who rediscovered Thissmaharama Vihara in the wake of making a journey to the area. He constructed a cottage nearby the stupa and began living there to manage the reconstruction works without anyone else. It required 16 years to finish the restoration work of the Garbhaya, a semi-round piece of the stupa which is 86 feet tall. In any case, Wepathaira Sumana Thera couldn’t finish the reconstructions of Thissmaharama stupa in the course of his life and after the demise of Wepathaira Sumana Thera, Walpita Medhankara Thero, a devout sibling of Wepathaira Sumana Thera assumed control over the reconstructions. By 1878 Walpita Medhankara Thero figured out how to finish the restoration of Hatharaskotwa of the stupa and enshrined relics in it.

Tissamaharama raja maha vihara during teh British rule

In 1882 the English governor-general of Ceylon, Sir James Robert Longden visited Thissamaharama Vihara and named Walpita Medhankara Thero as the main chief monk of the temple. He likewise vested the capacity to Siyam Nikaya to deal with Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara. In 1895 Walpita Medhankara Thero figured out how to finish the construction of Dewatha Kotuwa and revered relics there. In 1897 the Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara improvement board was formed with the administration of Mudaliyar S. F. Jayawickrama of Matara and N. Amarasingha of Tangalle and the reconstruction works finished in the mid-twentieth century. In 1900 the Koth Kerella of the stupa was finished and putting the pinnacle (Chuda Manikya) of the stupa was finished on Poson Poya day of 1900. The pinnacle comprises a red variety pearl which was imported from Bohemia.

Tissamaharama stupa had fostered a progression of vertical breaks right around the vault of the stupa and in other parts around in 1990. The division of Prehistoric studies of Sri Lanka and State Designing Co-activity mediated on the request of the chief monk of the temple and stopped further breaking of the stupa by utilizing electrified steel links tied around the periphery of the vault in the midsection. This last fix works were finished in February 1998 at an all-out cost of 6 million Sri Lankan rupees.

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