Sri Pushparama Vihara, Balapitiya

Sri Pushparama Vihara (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී පුෂ්පාරාම විහාරය) is a historic Buddhist temple situated in Balapitiya, Southern province, Sri Lanka. The Vihara is also known as Nayaka Pansala (Head temple) as it serve as the headquarters for the Mulaghandi Sect of Amarapura Nikaya. It is located in on the Colombo-Galle main road approximately 1.5 km (0.93 mi) away from the Balapitiya town. The temple has been formally recognised by the Government as an archaeological site in Sri Lanka. The designation was declared on 6 June 2008 under the government Gazette number 1553.[1]

Sri Pushparama Vihara
ශ්‍රී පුෂ්පාරාම විහාරය
The Dhamma discourse hall of the Vihara
Religion
AffiliationBuddhism
DistrictGalle
ProvinceSouthern Province
Location
LocationWelithara, Balapitiya, Sri Lanka
Geographic coordinates06°17′29.9″N 80°02′31.7″E
Architecture
TypeBuddhist Temple

The temple is popular among the devotees as its Dhamma discourse hall has very unusual architectural features similar to a Church. The design of front facade as well as the doors and windows of the hall are based on colonial church architecture. Inside the hall, two wooden staircases from the two sides lead into a balcony which runs round the inner hall.[2] On the top part of the facade is a British insignia with a date reading 2414 in Buddhist years.[3]

See also

References

  1. Gazette 1553 & 6 June 2008, p. 524.
  2. Nimal De Siva, D.P. Chandrasekara (2009). Heritage buildings of Sri Lanka#Preaching hall of Amarapura Mulagandhi Nikaye Mulasthana Nayaka Pansala, Balapitiya. Colombo: The national trust Sri Lanka. p. 96. ISBN 978-955-0093-01-4.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. "Not a church, but a temple". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Wijeya Newspapers. 21 November 1999. Retrieved 4 March 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.