Sēruwila Wilgamwehera Rajamahā Vihāra
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| Sēruwila Wilgamwehera Rajamahā Vihāra(Wilgamwehera Somawathiya Maha Stupa) | |
|---|---|
සේරුවිල විල්ගම්වෙහෙර රජ මහා විහාරය(විල්ගම්වෙහෙර සෝමාවතී මහා සෑය) | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Theravada Buddhism |
| Sect | Mahamevnawa Maha Sanga Sabha-Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery Network ( Under the Amarapura Sri Kalyaniwnsa Nikaya) |
| District | Trincomalee |
| Province | Eastern Province |
| Location | |
| Location | Seruwawila, Sri Lanka |
| Geographic coordinates | 8°23′47.4″N 81°18′49.6″E / 8.396500°N 81.313778°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Buddhist Temple |
| Founder | King Giriabhaya State king of Somapura - King Kavantissa Period 2 century BC |
| Completed | 2 century BC |
| Website | |
| https://mahamevnawa.lk | |
Sēruwila Wilgamwehera Rajamahā Vihāra also known as Wilgamwehera Somawathi Raja Maha Viharaya(විල්ගම්වෙහෙර සෝමාවතී රජ මහා විහාරය)is Ancient Buddhist Temple.It is the temple where the Wilgamwehera Somawathi Maha Stupa is located.Wilgamwehera Somawathi Maha Stupa is a Relic Stupa which house a special relic of Lord Buddha and located in Seruwila area near the Seruwila Mangala Maha Stupa.The Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery Network has the custody of Wilgamwehera Somawathi Maha Stupa.
According to Datuvamsa-Great Chronical of the Forehead Relic; a local king named Giriabhaya at the end of Seruwila Lake built the Right Tooth Relic of Gautama Buddha(Right Lower Canine Tooth) in the name of his queen and built the stupa called "Somavathi Stupa". The Sri Lanka Department of Archeology has now recognized that the Somavathi Stupa is the Stupa called Wilgamvehera.[2][3] Accordingly, the Stupa enshrined in the Right Tooth Relic, Seruvila is called "Wilgamvehera Somavathiya Maha Stupa".
Main four tooth relics of Gautama Buddha
[edit]According to The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, there are only four tooth relics in this world. They are left upper canine tooth, left lower canine tooth, right upper canine tooth, and right lower canine tooth. Apart from the four canine teeth, the remaining 36 teeth, hair relics, and skin hair relics are numerous were carried by the deities who came from the universe, at the time of cremation after the offering of the Buddha. According to sources, only one relic was carried per universe.
According to Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, their locations are as follows.
| Tooth Relic Name | Previous location | Current location |
|---|---|---|
| Left Tooth Relic (left upper canine) | Gandhara-in present-day north west Pakistan ana north east Afghanistan | Not specifically identified |
| Left Tooth Relic (left lower canine) | Kalinga (historical region) as Kingdom of Kalinga in East India | Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy, Sri Lanka |
| Right Tooth Relic (right upper canine) | Silumini Stupa in Heaven of Tawtisa (Pali Tāvatiṃsa), who ruled by God Sakra | Silumini Stupa in Heaven of Tawtisa (Pali Tāvatiṃsa) |
| Right Tooth Relic (right lower canine) | Kingdom of Naga King Jayasena from World of Nāga in Buddhism | Somawathi Maha Stupa (Either Wilgamwehera Rajamaha Vihara in Seruwila or Somavathiya Rajamaha Vihara in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.) |
History
[edit]Right Tooth Relic (Right Lower Canine)-Tooth Relic of Wilgamwehera Somawathi Stupa in Seruwila, Sri Lanka
[edit]On hearing that the Blessed One had passed away, Naraju Jayasena of the Naga world became very sad and thought, "I will see Lord Buddha for the last time and worship him." During the distribution of relics, Jayasena Naraju saw how Drona Bamuna threw down the other right tooth and covered it with his foot. Unbeknownst to him, he took the tooth from Ridi and took it to the Naga Bhavan, built a gem in the middle of the Naga Pura, placed the right tooth there and performed great sacrifices. During the reign of King Kavantissa of Sri Lanka, Mahinda, who was a student of Mahadeva Maha Thera, went to Naga Bhava and took Buddha's right tooth and went to Sri Lanka. The local king named Giri Abhaya treasured the right tooth that Mahinda Thera had and made a stupa. It is called "Somawatiya Stupa".
Archaeological factors
[edit]Considering all the historical facts about South Dalada Stupa, it should be located from Seruvila Lalata Dhatu Stupa. m. At the other end of the Seru lake in an area of about 05 km. Accordingly, there is one big stupa which has been ruined by fulfilling all the historical and geological facts. Apart from this stupa, there is no other ancient big stupa in that area. It is 1 km from Seruvila Mangala Maha Stupa. At a distance of about 04 kilometers to the northern end of the Seru lake, bordering the Muslim village of Toppur, is the ruined ancient stupa now known as Wilgamvehera. The said Wilgamvehera has now been identified as the historical Somavathiya Stupa.
This Stupa compares with all the historical facts and geographical factors included in the 'Pali Dhatuvamsa, Sinhala Dhatuvamsa and Jinakalamali' texts about the Somavati Stupa that enshrined the Right Tooth Relic. During the archaeological excavations of Wilgamvehera Pagoda, bricks with pre-Brahmi characters dating back to the second century BC were found in the mud, and the Shailamaya Chatra and Yupa pillar which are present in the Pagodas belonging to that period were also found. Siripatul stones and Shailamaya Padmas bearing the characteristics of that era were also found in the courtyard. The pagoda is a huge structure that has been renovated over several eras and its original construction has been confirmed to be in the 2nd century BC.
This Wilgamwehera is located near the Muslim town of Toppur near Seruwila. It is the opinion of linguists that Sompura > Sompur > Thompur > Thoppur has evolved as Sompura > Sompur > Thompur > Thoppur according to the occupation of resided Muslims in that area from the 16th and 17th centuries AD. Another opinion is that Thoopapura > Thoppur. The opinion is more confirmed.
Senior Professor M. Recognizing this Wilgamwehera temple as the Somavathiya temple that treasured the Right Tooth. W. The scholarly research (Ph.D.) book written by Mr. Wimal Wijeratne named "Seruvavila Tissa Maha Viharawansaya"(about Seruvila Mangala Raja Maha Vihara) was awarded the State Literature Award for the best Sinhala independent multi-disciplinary scholarly research book in the year 2012. Further information about this can be confirmed by referring to the book titled "Identification of the Historical Somanuvara and Somavathi Temple Treasured by Sri South Dalada" written by the said professor.
Also, the Department of Archeology of Sri Lanka and the Central Cultural Fund in the year 2020 in a press conference at the site of Wilgamwehera Maha Stupa said that facts have been confirmed that Wilgamwehera Maha Stupa may be the ancient Somavathi Stupa....[4][5][6]
Seruwila Wilgamwehera Vihara is also considered by some to be a temple where a Dethispala Bodhi tree was planted, because it is mentioned as "Seruwila Ninge Wilgamwehera" in the Bodhi family.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Seruwila". Department of Archaeology. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "පුරාණ සෝමාවතිය අද විල්ගම් වෙහෙර?".
- ^ "ශ්රී ලංකා ප්රවෘත්ති | සිරස ප්රවෘත්ති | සිංහල | ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ප්රවෘත්ති".
- ^ "විල්ගම් වෙහෙර රජමහ විහාර පරිශ්රයේ කැනීම්වලින් මෙරට ඉතිහාසය සම්බන්ධ වැදගත් සාක්ෂි කිහිපයක් (වීඩියෝ)".
- ^ "බුදුහිමියන්ගේ දකුණු දළදා වහන්සේ නිධන් කළ බවට සැලකෙන ස්ථූපයක්".
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=167704734873435&id=107039670939942&set=a.122701342707108
Further reading
[edit]- Seruvavila Tissa Maha Viharavansaya academic research book-Senior Professor M. W. Wimal Wijeratne
- Research book on the identification of historical Somanuvara and Somavati Stupa treasured in Sri South Dala - Prof. Wimal Wijeratne
External links
[edit]- Lankadeepa Newspaper-බුදුන්ගේ දකුණු දළදාව ඇත්තේ විල්ගම්වෙහෙරේ