Hi my fellow travel lovers,
How are you guys? Greetings from Sri Lanka. Yesterday morning, which was a Saturday, I, my daughter and my wife went to a beautiful and historical religious shrine in Sri Lanka. Plans were made about the destination the day before. This time we chose to worship a temple in another province. On the way to Galle, after passing Aluthgama town on the Colombo road, turn right at the Kaluwamodara bridge and travel for about one kilometer to reach this beautiful and historically valuable temple. The name of this temple, which has more historical value, is known as Kanda Viharaya. Since it is built on a small hill, it is known as Kanda Vihara. "Kanda" is what we call a mountain in Sinhala.
The ancient mountain temple is located very close to Aluthgama town. If you are coming from Colombo city, you should take the Kaluwamodara bridge and turn left after passing Beruwala town from Galle main road. There is a very old banyan tree at the Kaluamodara junction, so it can be found without difficulty.
Kanda Vihara can also be reached by coming to Aluthgama from the Welipanna interchange on the Southern Expressway. I visited this religious shrine for the first time. It goes without saying that Kanda Viharay is a very perfect sacred place. That is why this shrine ground is full of people every day. Because it is a place of worship with great respect by Buddhists, small stalls can be seen on both sides of the road selling dishes full of fruits, bunches of flowers, oil and incense sticks. Many fruit dishes are sold daily due to people's belief that it is the abode of Lord Vishnu.
Parking your vehicle will not be a problem as there are plenty of parking spaces on both sides of the road.
Here you can see the entrance gate built in the old style incorporating traditional Buddhist decorative designs. Sun, moon, devil, dragons, pots with palm flowers and Bhairava figures holding them can be observed very well.
It was around 9.30 in the morning when we reached the temple. Slowly the number of devotees coming to the temple started to increase. Some took selfie photos and video records while walking up the mountain, it must be for a beautiful memory. My camera was also ready to capture the beautiful places of this temple.
You can clearly see the entrance to worship in the grounds of the mountain temple, which is made using the most beautiful architectural features, shapes, carvings and designs. I will publish a separate content about the architectural elements included in these in the future. Because it is a bit tedious to include everything in a single content. Animal sculptures and other carvings found in ancient as well as historical temples can be seen in the Kanda Viharaya.
After the temple descends to the ground, you can see the bell tower, which was originally built with various Buddhist designs. It is built in temples to inform the villagers of a religious ceremony or emergency.
After that is the building where the monks stay. The mission of the monks to propagate Buddhism and to teach good virtues to all people and to create useful citizens for the society is excellent.
Evidence that this temple was built during the Dutch colonial period can be found in the temple itself.
The first leaders of this temple, which was founded during the reign of Rajadhi Rajasingha in Kanda Udara, were Udugama Chandrasara Thero, a student of Dedduwa Dhammananda Thero, who was a student of Weliwita Aayila Sarana Sarankara Sangharaja.
Aluthgama Kande Viharaya is a major Buddhist temple located in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. The Bo tree, which the devotees believe to have very ancient miracles in this temple, is a sacred object in a safe environment. A golden fence surrounds the upper floor. Inside and around the small stairs that contain the shapes of old stone carvings. In order to protect future generations, some instructions have been given in Sinhala language to follow.
The main temple building of the Aluthgama temple is built according to Dutch architecture. More details and clear photos will be mentioned in future content. The white painted building is ancient. Its front appearance was also seen in an old temple in Ambalangoda area.
An old stupa has been built in this temple, which is worshiped with great respect by Buddhists. Small booths have also been built to offer the required flowers. The Stupa of the Kanda Vihara, which is a bell-shaped form of ancient Dagab construction, is full of lotus flower symbols.
Inside the temple building, various sculptures are carved on the walls. The responses of all parties related to Buddhism are gathered here. It is said that the paintings on the ceiling and walls belong to the Kandy era.
Due to the safety of the Bo tree, a separate place has been reserved outside for lighting the incense sticks. Therefore, devotees can worship freely by lighting incense sticks.
Aluthgama Kande viharaya has a mandir and a museum with holy relics but it was not opened when we went there. If we actually got a chance to see inside it would be a rare opportunity for all of you to see.
In the photos above, you can see how our religious masters, the Buddha, meditated on a lotus flower after attaining enlightenment. Apart from that, I have created the opportunity to see various scenes that can be seen in the temple grounds through camera angles.
The structure of the temple, the buildings, the frescoes of the shrine, the statues of the temple and the history of the Vishnu temple are displayed here in Sinhala. This nameplate is sufficient to get some rough idea.
The recently constructed 107 cubits high and 10 storeys high Buddha statue with earth touching mudra and 10 storey interior frescoes add to the grandeur of the temple as it attracts everyone's worship.
Buddhists are not the only ones who visit this historic temple. Foreign nationals also come and take pictures and do not forget to visit the shrine.
Below the big Buddha statue, you can see a mandir full of murals and statues. There you can see the paintings of the monks who created the Buddha image as well as the stories of the Buddha. The paintings here are peeling and crumbling. If these are not reformed as soon as possible, they may be destroyed.
There are two small steps on both sides to visit the Buddha statue. A small pond was built in front of it, but there was no water when we went there. Lotus flowers, pots full of palm flowers and lion statues can be seen in abundance in this place. The statue of Buddha was also built on top of a lotus flower shape.
Another upstairs can found other side of the Kande viharaya. It has unique and historical value because it was made using stone carvings. The entrance design really similar to Indian Sanchi stupa style. After spend over one hour there we leaved from historical temple.