Historical Knowledge of my City - Yudaganawa Temple

Sri Lanka is famous for its stunning scenery, breathtaking landscapes, and natural beauty, but there's much more to discover here. Our island has a rich cultural heritage with over 2,500 years of proud history. There are many sites to explore the unique architecture and ruins of the ancient kingdoms, especially those associated with Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

My home town Buttala is also rich with those ancient tales, span from those ancient times. The name itself comes as Bath Hala which means the area where rice is produced/ paddy cultivation was done in mass amounts. I will talk about those happenings in our history shortly. But today it's all about a unique historical and cultural place nearly, Yudaganawa Raja Maha Viharaya. This will be my entry for my contest!!!

///loiterers.donned.mucking

The origin of Yudaganawa Raja Maha Viharaya dates back to the Anuradhapura kingdom (around 2 BC). At the time, the main kingdom was ruled by an invading South Indian king Elara. King Kavantissa of Sri Lankan origin ruled the kingdom of Ruhuna in the southern part of Sri Lanka. He has two sons named Gamini and Thissa.

Prince Gamini was vigorous and impatient in his youth and wanted to regain power in the country defeating Elara. but as his father wouldn't allow him that, and after arguments, Prince Gamini fled the palace and secretly gathered an army.

Anyway, after King Kavanthissa's death, the two brothers had a dispute over the succession. So, according to the historical tales and sources the two brothers with their armies met in this location for the battle. The word Yudaganwa in Sinhala means the place of battle.

In this battle, Prince Gamini won and Prince Thissa fled and hid in another historic temple near my hometown. Gamini was crowned later as Prince Dutugemunu and then he defeated King Elara and united the country. He is considered as one of the greatest leaders in Sri Lanka.

The place here was later developed as a temple. The iconic structure here is its Stupa. As you can see in the images, it's very huge but partially created. To be precise it has a circumference of 317 m (1,040 ft). Even a drum sound from one side, can't be heard from the other side. Anyway, the stupa was not fully constructed. If the same design went up, it would be the biggest and highest in the world.

Here a small stupa has been built on the top of the main one.

Apart from this, there are many ancient ruins like pillars, carvings, and drawings in the area. Even with the recent developments, those historical things have been preserved and protected well. Annually, a procession is organized for 05 days, with many traditional dancing items as well.

Near the temple, there is the Yudaganw lake which is around 150 acres. It's a treasure to the area mainly for agricultural activities, fishing, and as well as for domestic uses. Tales say that the clay and soil from the lake area have been used in constructing the stupa.

So, that's the history of the place. To be honest, currently, even with many potential tourist destinations in my area, it's not used in the optimal state. Hope things will be better soon for the food.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yudaganawa

Thank you.
Best Regards!