The Purana Totagamuwa Raja Maha Vihara (Ancient Totagamuwa Royal Great Monastery) is situated inside the sanctuary at Telwatte, 400 metres inland from the Galle Road, near the 94th kilometre-post, between Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa. Its approximate co-ordinates are 6°10'14.00"N 80° 5'29.00"E.
Totagamuwa Vihara image house (Vinod Moonesinghe)
The monastery dates back nearly 2500 years, apparently to the time of King Devanampiya Tissa.
Carved stone pillars (dating back to before the 9th century AD), part of the original buildings, still lie in the grounds.
Ancient stone pillars (Vinod Moonesinghe)
Inscription on pillar (Vinod Moonesinghe)
King Vijayabahu I founded the Vijayaba Pirivena (Vijayabahu Buddhist University) in c. 1051-1106.
The ancient chronicle the 'Culavamsa' (Part II) mentions a long pasada (palace) of 20 metres (created by King Vijaya Bahu III (1232-1236 A.D). As it had fallen into decay, King Parakrama Bahu VI (1410-1468), had later built a long two-storey pasada of 14 metres. The Culawamsa (Tr. Geiger) refers to it thus:
In the vihara of Titthagama where the big,long pasada forty-five cubits in size erected by the great Vijayabahu, had fallen into decay, King Parakkamabahu himself built a beautiful, long pasada of thirty cubits in size, two storeys high, provided with lofty spires, glorious with bright-hued painting, and assigned it then to the venerable Grand thera Kayasatti who dwelt in the Vijayabahu-parivena. He also granted him a village, called Salaggama, on the banks of the river forming the boundary (of the monastery), making it a possession of the parivena. In fair Titthagama he had a park laid down, provided with five thousand cocopalms.
By way of comparison, the Bible mentions that the Temple of Jerusalem built by Solomon was sixty cubits long. I Kings 6.2
The river mentioned here is probably the modern Hikkaduwa river. The park with the cocopalms represents one of the earliest mentioned coconut plantations in the world - the earlist was possibly that laid out by Aggabodhi I (5th-6th century AD) near Mannar.
In the Kotte era, the Vijayaba Pirivena was one of the most famous universities in the Orient. The celebrated poet-monk Totagamuwe Sri Rahula (1408-1491) was the chief incumbent during the rule of King Parakramabahu VI.
At this time the Vijayaba Pirivena taught Mahayanic and Tantric practices, dabbled in sorcery and astrology and instituted the worship of Mahayana-derived deities, such as Natha, Tara, and Vibishana. Reference
In the 16th century, the superstitious Portuguese conquistadors destroyed the monastery and the university, killing many monks in the process.
In 1765, the Ven. Wehella Dhammadinna Thera recognised some of the ruins and instructed his pupil Ven. Pallatara Punyasara remain there and resurrect the temple. In 1772 it was the scene of the first ceremony of higher ordination to take place outside the auspices of the Siam sect. The
In 1840 the Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala, the star of the Buddhist-Christian Panadura debate and a leading figure in the Buddhist revival, was accepted into the order here - the building at which this occurred still exists.
The modern monastery contains the following buildings:
Natha Devale (shrine of Natha) - built in 1780.
Poyage (ordination house) - built in 1815, this was the building in which Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala was ordained.
Purana Vihara (old image house) - completed in 1799, it contains, in addition to Buddha statues in the inner sanctum, the shrines of Natha, and Ananga .
Aluth Vihara (new image house) - completed in 1805, it contains a representation of the mara yuddhe (the Mara War, in which the Buddha is assailed by the armies of death).
Dharmasalava (sermon hall) - completed in 1905.
Vishnu Devale (shrine of Vishnu) - completed in 1906.
Several more modern buildings, including a museum and a reading room, but mainly residential.
There is also a Bodhi (a sacred Bo-tree) planted in 1780.
The vihara was slightly damaged in the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, only the surrounding parapet wall being affected seriously. Reference: ICOMOS report
The vihara is the cult centre in lowland regions of the god Natha, of whom there is a statue. Natha is said to be the Bodhisatva Avalokiteshvara.
God Natha
(Vinod Moonesinghe)
God Natha (Vinod Moonesinghe) : note the two very Dutch-looking lions on either side
Additionally, the image house contains the only statue of the god of love, Ananga, (the South Asian Cupid) in the island.
God Ananga (Vinod Moonesinghe)
The god wears a full set of ornaments including a multi tiered crown and two pairs of anklets and holds his usual attributes, a sugar cane bow and five flower arrows tipped with a variety of substances including poison and honey.
Photos of painting of Wessanthara Jathakaya and of statue of Ananga,the God of Love
Gamini G. Punchihewa, ''Totagamuwa: Out of the past'', Sunday Times, 11 May 2003
Totagamu Raja Maha Viharaya - Unique Depiction of the God of Love
- Vinod Moonesinghe