Gangaramaya Temple

Overview

Gangaramaya Temple is one among the foremost well-known Buddhist temples in Colombo. It’s exceptionally beautiful with the Beira Lake on one side and statues & carvings paving the way inside. The main sanctuary features a huge and exquisite Buddha statue while the ceilings portray his stories. The temple also has training centers, a museum and far more to admire.

History

Don Bastian (de Silva Jayasuriya Goonewardane, Mudaliyar), a famous 19th century shipping merchant who was trying to find an appropriate land to create a temple for the Matara Sri Dharmarama thero, bought a gorgeous piece of land belonging to 3 Moors, and filled and prepared the land at a great expense. The land bordered on two sides by the Moragoda Ela and the Pettigala Ela was used to build the temple, which was subsequently named the Padawthota Gangaramaya Viharaya. The Mudaliyar, with the help of the people built an excellent 'Chaitya' (Dagaba) of 30 Riyans, and built a great decorative arch (thorana) and a 'Sandakada pahana' modeled on the ones found at Anuradhapura, at the entrance to the temple. A 'Bo' sapling brought from Sri Maha Bhodiya in Anuradhapura, was also planted by his own hands and looked after. He also built a three-storied preaching hall and the walls, railings and therefore the moat around the temple.

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