
Buddhist Heritage Sites
Wendaruwa Kirivehera Rajamaha Viharaya
Central Province
Kandy District
7°13'28.7"N 80°49'26.1"E
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STAND INSIDE IT — 360°
THE PLACE
Wendaruwa Kirivehera Rajamaha Viharaya is a Buddhist temple in Udagammedda, in Medadumbara Divisional Secretariat's Division, Kandy District, set within a paddy field. The name identifies both the temple and its Kirivehera shrine, but dependable published detail about its founding date or patron is limited.
The image house is a rectangular Kandyan-style building, its verandah carried on sixteen wooden pillars set at even intervals — six along each long side, two at each end. The pillars alternate square and cylindrical sections and are left plain, but the base and top beams are carved with Gonas, a stylized bull-and-horn motif. Inside stand one seated and two standing Buddha statues, and the walls carry paintings of the Vessantara Jataka.
In 2016 the Department of Archaeology gazetted the shrine and its surrounding archaeological remains as a protected monument, in two separate notifications. Visit it as an active place of worship rather than as a fully interpreted monument.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS
THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTES
Dress modestly, remove footwear where requested and ask before photographing worshippers or interiors. Confirm local access before making a special journey.
- Viran de Silva
UNIQUE SRI LANKA
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CONTACT
Photographs © Viran de Silva
info@virandesilva.com
uniquesrilanka.com

