Building Name: | Mawaragala Forest Hermitage |
Native Name: | මාවරගල ආරණ්ය සේනාසනය |
Location: | Dambana, Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka |
Coordinates: | 7.3982°N 81.0966°W |
Province: | Uva Province |
District: | Badulla |
Heritage Designation: | Archaeological protected monument[1] (22 November 2002) |
Architecture: | yes |
Architecture Type: | Buddhist Temple |
Architecture Style: | Cave temple |
Mawaragala Aranya Senasanaya or Mawaragala Forest Hermitage (Sinhalaː මාවරගල ආරණ්ය සේනාසනය) is an ancient Buddhist temple in Mahiyangana, Sri Lanka.[2] Situated in Dambana, the temple locate about 15km (09miles) away from the ancient temple Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara. The temple has been declared as one of archaeological sites in Sri Lanka.
It is believed that the history of Mawaragala Forest Hermitage dates back to the reign of King Valagamba (103 BC and c. 89–77 BC) and arhat Maliyadeva and 60 Buddhist monks have lived here during that period.[3] Cave inscriptions written in early Brahmi script and Old Sinhala Prakrit have been discovered at this site.[4]