Karandeniya Shailatharama Viharaya - කරන්දෙනිය ශෛලතලාරාම රජමහා විහාරය

The road goes up the hill through cinnamon plantations to arrive at the Karandeniya Galagoda Shailatharama Viharaya, which houses the largest reclining Buddha statue in South Asia. Three hundred feet above sea level, the view from this point is a grand vista of the countryside sprawling below.
Inside the hall of the temple lies a gigantic statue - 115 feet or 35 meters in length (the famous reclining Buddha statue of Gal Vihara fame of Polonnaruwa is 46 feet or 14 meters). This statue seems to be made of cement but is supposed to be about 800 years old, belonging to the Dambadeniya period in history, in the reign of King Parakramabahu II.
Ven. Magala Somananda Thera, chief incumbent of the temple says he believes the Buddha statue had been one of the tasks undertaken in that period. He says it would have been done by Devapathiraja, the prominent chief minister of the King. This minister had been responsible for the construction of many temples down by the coast.
Dr. Vernon Mendis in his book, The Rulers of Sri Lanka, writes that “after the expulsion from the North, the Sri Lankan Kingdom established itself in Dambadeniya in the South West under King Parakramabahu the Second”.
The Chulavamsa records that King Parakramabahu II reigned from 1291-1302. The Dambadeniya era is between the Polonnaruwa and Kotte periods in Sri Lanka’s history.
Ven. Somananda Thera had come to this temple on the hill six years ago when it was an abandoned shrine, overgrown with jungle. There was jungle all around with wild cinnamon aplenty. The entire hall with the statue had been infested with bats hanging from the ceiling. They had dirtied the statue which was black with bat droppings. The place also had a terrible stench. The Thera had got the statue washed and cleaned and had the bats chased away.
He also arranged for a road to be constructed up the hill and got it tarred. Before this, villagers would come by bus and climb up 208 steps to reach the temple. The steps can still be used by those who don’t come in a vehicle and the ascent begins from Karandeniya.
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ගමන් මාර්ගය - ඇල්පිටිය අම්බලන්ගොඩ මාර්ගයේ 12 km පමන ගමන් කොට කරන්දෙණිය නගරයට පැමිණී විට මෙම විහාරස්තානයට යා හැක .