Maligawila - a naturally beautiful, religious site

By Mahil Wijesinghe

I had a cherished ambition to photograph the massive Buddha statue in Maligawila one day. That day finally came last month. Across the barren paddy fields a soft cool breeze blows through the leaves of the massive Bo tree.

The shade and the soothing swishing sounds of the Bo leaves kept me mesmerised. I closed my eyes to take in the serenity that pervaded my being. My companion Jagath Sirisena, Range Forest Officer of Moneragala and I were at the Dematamal Vihara, on the Buttala-Okkampitiya road at the Helagama village in Moneragala. Our destination was Maligawila and Yudaganawa in Buttala.

We first stepped into Dematamal Vihara because it lies on the way to Maligawila. The temple precincts were adorned with many white Frangipanni trees laden with blossoms. Heaps of fallen Araliya flowers had been freshly swept into piles giving a glorious fragrance.

This is a chaitya of historical significance, set amidst paddy fields. It is supposed to be the place where Prince Saddatissa took refuge, when he fled after losing a battle for the throne with his brother Dutugemunu. The Bhikkhus at Dematamal Vihara had intervened to make peace between them.

The landscape is incredibly varied with abandoned chena fields, irrigation tanks, dense tall dry zone forests, thorny scrub jungle and vast rocky landscapes.

It hardly occurs to you that Maligawila, you pass on your way to more interesting places around there, is girdled with the most historic, archaeological, naturally beautiful, religious sites which are inspiring, enchanting and wholly occupying.

Your wanderings could take you to at least 16 places of interest.

There is Pahala Uva, rich in natural resources and beauty - water bodies and parklands, forests and valleys undulating terrain, birds and animals and national parks. The ruins of ancient temple complexes and their chaityas spread around in several acres where modern temples have sprung up.

The most awe-inspiring are the colossal Buddha statue and other figures of the Buddhist pantheon, such as Maligawila. Only about 30 minutes drives from Buttala or 20 minutes from Moneragala, is the site of the massive Maligawila Buddha statue similar to the Avukana and Sasseruwa statues and said to be one of the tallest free-standing Buddha statues in the country. It stands 42 feet on its pedestal.

This 7th century colossus dominates a 40-acre thick wildness park and was the centre of a huge temple complex, a flourishing pilgrimage site in the Uva province, where hundreds of people visit this sacred place once a day.

Slumped to the ground in three pieces when former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, first saw it and it was restored to its former majesty, with the help of the well-known artistic Bhikkhu Ven. Mapalagama Vipulasara Thera. It was open to the public in September 1991 in line with the Gam Udawa program held in Buttala. The statue is believed to have been built by King Dappula in the 7th Century.

Nearby is the 34 feet Dambegoda Bodhisatva statue. It was also broken into a hundred pieces. Some pieces of it were found after excavations. Part of the pilgrimage with beautiful carvings too were found there.

In Buttala, we got a glimpse of another historical site known as Yudaganawa, which lies about two kilometres away from Buttala town. I think every visitor to Maligawila, should not miss visiting this place.

The massive half-completed dagaba which was once the battleground of Prince Dutugemunu and his brother Prince Saddatissa (where two brothers fought for the crown and Saddatissa lost the battle). Prince Saddatissa escaped to Dematamal Vihara at Okkampitiya, where the monks hid him. This too, is a site, which visitors should not miss. Legend has it that when prince Dutugemunu inquired from the Bhikkhu, where his brother was, the Bhikkhu told him that he was not on the bed. Instead, he was under the bed.

The battlefield is known in Sinhala as Yudaganawa. Thus the massive stupa was named the Yudaganawa chaitya". Some historians believe that an already existing chaitya was reconstructed and named Yudaganawa chaitya. The chaitya is so huge that it difficult to frame it in the camera lens.

In the vicinity of the Yudaganawa chaitya is the Yudaganawa Wewa. It is believed that the clay needed to make bricks for the chaitya was dug from here. According to historical chronicles, the wewa had been built by King Mahanaga in 300 BC. In 1950 it was renovated by the Irrigation Department. It covers an area of 150 acres and provides irrigation to 252 acres of paddy cultivation. The wewa is a picturesque sight. In the middle is a huge rock surrounded by huge trees, home to numerous birds. The villagers and also animals come here in search of water in dry season.

The ancient concept of development in our native culture is once again evident here - the village, the temple, and the wewa.