5/5 Nalan D. 5 months ago on Google
An
ancient
temple
nearest
to
the
ethugala
temple.
A
special
very
silent
place
at
kurunegala
town.
Ibbagala
Raja
Maha
Vihara
is
an
ancient
Cave
temple
in
Kurunegala
District,
Sri
Lanka.
The
temple
is
situated
in
middle
of
the
Kurunegala
town
and
lies
in
the
mid
valley
area
of
the
Ethagala
Rock.
The
temple
has
been
formally
recognised
by
the
Government
as
an
archaeological
site
in
Sri
Lanka
Although
a
bustling
city
today,
Kurunegala
was
a
ancient
capital
of
Sri
Lanka
for
over
50
years
in
the
13th
century.
The
city
has
lost
most
of
the
ancient
heritage
with
the
urbanization,
but
most
of
the
temples
of
the
ancient
times
still
remain.
Ibbagala
Raja
Maha
Viharaya
(
Ibbagala
Cave
Temple)
is
such
a
cave
temple
which
lies
in
the
mid
valley
area
of
the
Ethagala
Rock.
Ibbagala
(
Tortise
Rock)
lies
where
Ethugala
(
Elephant
Rock)
and
the
Kurumiiya
Gala
(
Beetle
Rock)
joins
together.
The
cave
image
house
of
the
temple
is
believed
to
be
built
during
the
King
Buwanekabahu
the
second
(1293
–
1302)
for
the
priests
who
were
in
charge
of
services
of
the
sacred
tooth
relic
of
buddha
which
was
deposited
on
a
palace
closeby.
There
is
a
large
rock
cut
‘Sri
Pathul
Gala’
(foot
print
of
buddha)
in
the
temple.
It
is
said
that
the
king
Buwakekabahu
built
this
for
his
mother
since
she
was
too
fragile
to
make
the
the
trip
to
Sri
Pada.
