Sithulpawwa

Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya is an ancient Buddhist monastery located in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Situated 18 km east of the pilgrimage town Kataragama, it is believed to have been built in the 2nd century B.C by king Kavantissa. Sithulpawwa Vihara can be reached by travelling 18 miles along the Tissamaharama-Yodhakandiya road towards the Yala National Park. Sithulpawwa is known as a location where thousands of Arhaths lived at one time.

This monastery was a place of worship for devotees as well as a center of Buddhist education for Buddhist monks. A large number of rock inscriptions have been found throughout the vihara complex. All these belong to the pre Christian era and some letters in these inscriptions show localisation effects compared to Inscriptions in the Anuradhapura in the same era.

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About Hambantota District

Hambantota is a rural town in south eastern coastal area of Sri Lanka. It is also the capital of the Hambantota District in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Approximately 240 kms from Colombo,Hambantota is in the midst of transformation into a strategic port and commercial centre, undergoing extensive infrastructure development. Flanked by sweeping sandy beaches,Hambantota is a convenient location from which to visit nearby sights.

The Bundala National Park lays 20 km east of Hambantota and the Weerawila Sanctuary a little further off. The Ruhuna National Park and theKataragama Temple are other attractions that can be accessed easily from this city.

About Southern Province

The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Subsistence farming and fishing is the main source of income for the vast majority of the people of this region.

Important landmarks of the Southern Province include the wildlife sanctuaries of the Yala and Udawalawe National Parks, the holy city of Kataragama, and the ancient cities of Tissamaharama, Kirinda and Galle. (Although Galle is an ancient city, almost nothing survives from before the Portuguese invasion.) During the Portuguese period there were two famous Sinhalese poets called Andare who was from Dickwella and Gajaman Nona who was from Denipitiya in Matara District, composing poems on common man.

【LK94009391: Text by Lakpura™. Images by Google, copyright(s) reserved by original authors.】

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