Tempita Vihara

Tempita Vihara (Sinhala: ටැම්පිට විහාර) is a unique type of image house found in some Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka.

[2] According to the Medawala copper plaque, it was a two-storied shrine during the 14th century and was renovated as a Tempita Vihara by Kirti Sri Rajasinha (1747–1781) in 1755.

Perched on raised stone pillars or stumps, Tempita Viharas possess wooden platforms and wattle walls supporting a timber framed roof.

Apart from the Ihala Kadigamuwa Pushparama Tempita Viharaya that gained recognition as the Tempita Pothgula (library) and the Saddarma Poth Gabadava (Saddarma Book Store), since the main need for the construction of all the others was an image house; other features were added to their utilities at a higher point of cultural temple centric development.

This being a construction of a later period, it suggests that the ground floor had been made use of as a bana maduwa (sermon hall) and a pohoya seema (Chapter house).

While this feature is evident in the majority of the tempita viharas, its structural enhancements include arches, wooden pillars and the presence and absence of short walls.

The tam or base pillars which are the identity of a tempita vihara being covered up during later renovations was a not-so-rare and rare experience during the research.

At the twin tempita viharas in Kirielle, the base pillars have been covered up during later renovations, while their structural appearances and paintings exhibit a Sabaragamuwa identity in a mixed feature of the Kandyan Era and the Southern traditions, thus forming a valuable creation of art.

While history bears witness that this was gifted to Venerable Karandana Devarakkita Unnanse for the temple to be built, it is said that this nindagama is 8,305 acres in extent.

These two temples constructed alongside the ancient road to the kingdom from the South of Sri Lanka geographically belong to Sabaragamuwa and the central Provinces.

Hence, for over a century this troika of temples has carried the artistic features unique to each region and these have been properly established within structurally similar tempita viharas.

While the same viharaya undergoing timely modifications is a common experience, this image house which is outside of this added living data towards a new direction for this research.

The Mahalloluwa and Dodantale classified and identified as tempita viharas by the Department of Archaeology (Gamini Wijesuriya) too belong to this set.

While the literal term soldara vihara[7] ('storied temples') is practiced within the glossary of Mawanella and Kegalle in identify these, I introduce this to the research through the same.

[editorializing] These temples rising upward with the wooden floor on high arches as the ground are magnificent in appearance; spacious and are rectangular in shape.