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Tampita Vihara Heritage

Viharagama Kumbaloluwa Tampita Viharaya

Central Province

Kandy District

7°12'04.9"N 80°33'36.4"E

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STAND INSIDE IT — 360°

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THE PLACE

Viharagama Kumbaloluwa preserves a Tampita image house raised above the ground on a combination of timber and stone supports. The posts and beams are mostly plain and square-cut, though small floral carvings survive on some timbers, and the interior chamber walls carry paintings mainly in the Kandyan style. A short wooden stair provides access to the shrine. It is one of only two surviving tampita viharayas in the Udunuwara region of Kandy District, the other being Eladetta Minimarupitiya.


The temple is connected with an earlier cave site, Bavus Lena, which stood to the east and no longer survives in its original form. A record known as the Thudapatha credits its construction to two brothers from Kurunegala, Kuruwa Ayanta and Deyantha. The Nampotha, a Kandyan-period listing text, mentions the temple, evidence of its standing during that period.

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PROVINCE

Central Province

DISTRICT

Kandy District

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COORDINATES

7°12'04.9"N 80°33'36.4"E

THE PHOTOGRAPHS

THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTES

Ask the resident monk or custodian before entering. Use the small stair carefully, remove footwear and do not touch the old timber, paintings or religious images.

- Viran de Silva

ONWARD

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UNIQUE SRI LANKA

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SOURCES

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CONTACT

Photographs © Viran de Silva
info@virandesilva.com
uniquesrilanka.com

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