HIRUWALPOLA TAMPITA VIHARAYA

The Tampita Vihara is located in the ancient village of Hiruwalpola, few miles away from the road connecting Chilaw (Salapura harbour ) and Panduwasnuwara, which was once a provincial kingdom of ancient Sinhalese Kings.

Hiruwalpola temple is known as a branch of the ancient and famous Bingiriya —Dewagiri Raja Maha Vihara. It is stated that the King of Panduwasnuwara at that period had distributed all his lands at Hiruwalpola, among the four brothers and that they have built the Tampita Vihara. It is believed that the "Ganinnanses' (elderly monks but not ordinated) of the Kandyan Period had built this particular monastery. It is also stated that the villagers built it themselves. There are four basic periods of the history of the Hiruwaipola Tampita Vihara, which are as follows.

The unknown period
The commencement of the religious activities for the second time.
The period in which the incumbents abandoned the Vihara.
Renovation of the Vihara by Tumbulle Thero.

The Tampita Vihara consists of two buildings. One smaller, which acts as an entranceway leading to the main image house. Within the main building (Image house), the seated Buddha statue is positioned in the innermost compartment.

The walls of the image house are elaborately decorated with paintings and are influenced by the style of the Kandyan period. The Tampita Vihara has a hip roof, and the entranceway consists of a gable roof. As to records, the vihara building was renovated in 1900 by Udadeniya Piyadassi Thero. The paintings on the walls were conserved in 1970, and somehow new paintings have also been added during renovations.

(Architecture of Tampita Viharas in Sri Lanka by D. P. Chandrasekara and D. M. K. D. Silva, 2002, P103)

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Hiruwalpola Sri Pushparamaya Tampita Viharaya

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