Historical sources, including the ancient chronicle Mahavamsa, a record that the Buddha visited the Mahiyangana area in the ninth month after he attained enlightenment, which was his first visit to the country.[4] According to the Mahavamsa, Sri Lanka was inhabited by yakshas at the time. It says that the Buddha subdued the yakshas there and held a discourse on Dhamma with them. They were then sent to an island named Giri so that the country would be "purified" and Buddhism could be established there later on, where it would prevail "in all its glory".[4]
HistoryEdit
A Yakka chieftain named Saman (who is now regarded as a deity) attained Sotāpanna (Sovan) after listening to the Buddha's discourse, and asked for a token from the Buddha that they could worship in his absence. The Buddha had given him a handful of hair from his head, which Saman later enshrined in a small stupa, 10 feet (3.0 m) in height. This was the first stupa to be built in Sri Lanka.[5]
According to the Mahawansa, King Devanampiyatissa caused his brother Moolabhaya to deposit the relic of Griwah-Dawtoe (a neck bone) and enlarge it to a height of 30 Cubits.
Several kings have since renovated and enlarged this stupa, including Dutthagamani[6] who raised it to a height of 120 feet (37 m). Other rulers such as Voharika Tissa, Sena II, Vijayabahu I and Kirti Sri Rajasinha have carried out repairs and maintenance work at the temple. In 1942, a society was formed for the renovation of the temple under D. S. Senanayake. Reconstruction work began in 1953 and ended in 1980 with the completion of a new pinnacle for the stupa.[5][7]
mahiyangana, raja, maha, vihara, ancient, buddhist, temple, mahiyangana, lanka, believed, site, gautama, buddha, first, visit, country, solosmasthana, sacred, religious, locations, lanka, currently, this, temple, been, declared, archaeological, site, lanka, මහ. Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara is an ancient Buddhist temple in Mahiyangana Sri Lanka It is believed to be the site of Gautama Buddha s first visit to the country and is one of the Solosmasthana the 16 sacred religious locations in Sri Lanka 3 Currently this temple has been declared as one of archaeological site in Sri Lanka 2 Mahiyangana Raja Maha Viharaමහ ය ගනය රජ මහ ව හ රයMahiyangana Stupa is the first stupa of ancient Sri Lanka 1 ReligionAffiliationBuddhismDistrictBadullaProvinceUva ProvinceLocationLocationMahiyangana Sri LankaGeographic coordinates07 19 19 4 N 80 59 26 9 E 7 322056 N 80 990806 E 7 322056 80 990806ArchitectureTypeBuddhist Temple Contents 1 Buddha s visit 2 History 3 Images 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBuddha s visit EditHistorical sources including the ancient chronicle Mahavamsa a record that the Buddha visited the Mahiyangana area in the ninth month after he attained enlightenment which was his first visit to the country 4 According to the Mahavamsa Sri Lanka was inhabited by yakshas at the time It says that the Buddha subdued the yakshas there and held a discourse on Dhamma with them They were then sent to an island named Giri so that the country would be purified and Buddhism could be established there later on where it would prevail in all its glory 4 History EditA Yakka chieftain named Saman who is now regarded as a deity attained Sotapanna Sovan after listening to the Buddha s discourse and asked for a token from the Buddha that they could worship in his absence The Buddha had given him a handful of hair from his head which Saman later enshrined in a small stupa 10 feet 3 0 m in height This was the first stupa to be built in Sri Lanka 5 According to the Mahawansa King Devanampiyatissa caused his brother Moolabhaya to deposit the relic of Griwah Dawtoe a neck bone and enlarge it to a height of 30 Cubits Several kings have since renovated and enlarged this stupa including Dutthagamani 6 who raised it to a height of 120 feet 37 m Other rulers such as Voharika Tissa Sena II Vijayabahu I and Kirti Sri Rajasinha have carried out repairs and maintenance work at the temple In 1942 a society was formed for the renovation of the temple under D S Senanayake Reconstruction work began in 1953 and ended in 1980 with the completion of a new pinnacle for the stupa 5 7 Images Edit nbsp Mahiyangana Raja Maha Viharaya sub gate nbsp Mahiyangana Pagoda closer look nbsp Mahiyangana Viharaya Bodhi Tree nbsp Mahiyangana MuseumSee also EditList of Archaeological Protected Monuments in Sri LankaReferences Edit Upali Salgado 29 June 2008 Tales from the hills of Uva The Sunday Times Retrieved 30 September 2014 a b Protercted Monument List 2012 12 12 PDF Department of Archaeology 12 December 2012 Retrieved 27 March 2016 Garnier Anjalie 2009 05 13 Ruwanweliseya Architectural wonder of rich cultural heritage Daily News Archived from the original on 2009 10 03 Retrieved 2009 09 29 a b Wijesooriya S 2006 A Concise Sinhala Mahavamsa Participatory Development Forum pp 5 6 ISBN 955 9140 31 0 a b Ratnasinghe Aryadasa 2002 01 28 Mahiyangana Cetiya The first of its kind in Sri Lanka PDF Budusarana Archived from the original pdf on 2011 07 27 Retrieved 2009 09 28 Aves Edward 2003 Sri Lanka Footprint Travel Guides p 292 ISBN 978 1 903471 78 4 Dassanayake M B 2002 03 30 113th Birth Anniversary Sir Bennet Soysa the philanthropist of the hills Daily News Retrieved 2015 01 11 External links EditOfficial Facebook Page Mahiyanganaya Rajamaha Viharaya Official YouTube Channel Mahiyanganaya Rajamaha Viharaya Mahiyanganaya Esala Perahara Mahiyangana Rajamaha Viharaya Official Website Mahiyangana Cetiya the first of its kind in Sri Lanka Restoration of Mahiyangana stupa begins Miyuguna Seya the first Dagaba in Sri Lanka permanent dead link Mahiyangana Cetiya the first of its kind in Sri Lanka The first place visited by Buddha First ever stupa built by an Arhant EARLY amp MIDDLE HISTORICAL PERIODS 250BC 1250AD Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara amp oldid 1106320396, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
