Maha Saman Devalaya or the Great Saman Temple is a shrine dedicated to deity Saman, situated at Ratnapura, Sri Lanka who is the presiding deity of the Sri Pada Mountain (Adam’s Peak) which is also called Samanthakuta meaning the mountain of Saman which is believed to have the left foot impression of Lord Buddha which he kept in his visit to Sri Lanka.
The history speaks of a temple at Ratnapura area since the time of king Dutugamunu of Anuradhapura kingdom. The recent history starts from Dambadeniya period. The Portuguese first landed in Sri Lanka in 1505 through the Galle Port with the demise of Sithawaka Rajasinghe, the Portuguese marched towards Sithawaka destroying and looting temples on the way. These included Delgamuwa Raja Maha Viharaya, Ratnapura Maha Saman Devalaya and Pothgul Viharaya which were highly venerated by the Buddhist.
Later the King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe of kandyan kingdom recaptured the Ratnapura, destroyed the church and the Portuguese Fort at Ratnapura. The current temple is built by King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe.