Arattana Tampita Viharaya is also known in few other names, Bogahakotuwa Viharaya or Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya. It is said that this temple was built with the initiative of villagers of Arattana thus the name Arattana for the temple.
The Tampita Viharaya of this temple is built on six stone stumps measuring 2 feet above the ground. This viharaya has been renovated in 1815 by a priest called Dumpola Thero. The Bo tree you see today too has been planted by this thero. The painting inside the image house has been restored in 1982 by the Department of Archaeology.
The seated Buddha image inside the Tampita Vihara-Ge is similar to those found at Gadaladeniya Rajamaha Viharaya. Among the other paintings fifteen disciples can be seen drawn on the inner wall.
The temple is found on the village of Eladetta in Kandy. The road leading to the temple commences from the Ambalama at Daulugala and is called Eladetta road. The temple is located about 1 km from this junction.
by Dr H.A.P Abeyawardana
Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya
During the ancient Kandyan period, there was a unique type of vihara called the “Tampita Vihara”, also known as “Deva Matha Viharaya“. “Tampitha Vihara” is a temple on pillars. Its most prominent feature is that it is mounted on monolothic pillars or dwarfed rock pillars.
This type of viharaya that stood on raised platforms of wood standing on stone pillars was constructed this way in order to prevent white ants or other vermin from entering it and damaging it.
“Tampita Vihara” has yet another name- the “Deva Matha Vihara“. Deva here means timber and matha means amidst a vihara of timber. On a recent tour around the interior of Kandy, not far away from the city, I came to know that there are only two such Deva Matha Viharayas in the Uda Nuwara and Yata Nuwara areas.
These archaic monuments are preserved by the Department of Archaeology. In my ramblings around Kandy, I was fortunate to come across one such Deva Matha Vihara at a place called Meenimarupitiya (its derivation being a place where a murder had occurred in the past) in Eladetta about seven miles from Kandy on the road to Dalugala.
The superstructure of the Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya is composed of wattle and daub and is square in shape.
The height of the doorway is about four feet and its dimensions are 10 feet by 15 feet, standing on six stone dwarf pillars. The doorway is so small that one has to bend down as if in obeissance, to enter the Vihara. Such Deva Matha Viharas enshrine Buddha statues and are places of worship. The walls are adorned with murals and the roof is thatched with flat tiles.
There is a gilted statue of the Buddha in a sitting position made out of terra cotta which is similar to ones found in Gadaladeniya and Lankatillake viharas in the vicinity. Exquisite designs depicting Jataka stories cover the walls while on the ceiling there is a painting of flowers and creepers with tendrils which is fast deteriorating.
Behind the Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya is a large bo tree with bowers that have given shade to many.
Interestingly, the home gardens of the villages are abundant in pepper vines which are seen festooning the jak, mango and coconut trees. Sadikka is also found in abundance.
Alternate names : Bogahakotuwa Viharaya , Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya, Araththana Tampita Viharaya, Arattana Tampita Viharaya
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Map of the Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya
The above location shows an approximate area of the viharaya. Please see the directions above to locate the temple.
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites.
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Driving Directions to Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya (Kandy)
Route from Kandy to Minimarupitiya Tampita Viharaya
|Though : Peradeniya|
distance : 14 km
Travel time : 30 mintutes
Driving directions : see on google map