Kelaniya Temple, The Ancient Buddhist Temple nearest to Colombo City by Srilankaview.com

Being just seven miles from Colombo, Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya is the most sought after Temple for the Buddhists in and around Colombo. On the Eighth year after the Enlightenment, the Lord Buddha has visited this sacred site, which had been the Third and the last visit to Sri Lanka by the Gauthama Buddha. Situated on the banks of Kelani River, which is originating from Sri Pada , makes this Temple surroundings attractive for the devotees who come to worship this hallowed land. The original Temple and the Stupa or the Dageba, was built in 5th Century BC, but none of the earlier structure survive today. Mentioned in the Sri Lankan chronicle"Chulavansa" is that, the Kelaniya Temple was five stories high with traditional styling and roofing. It also states that the temple was rebuilt by King Vijayabahu III, (1232-1236) and King Parakrama Bahu II (1236-1270). In 1510 AD , the temple was destroyed by the Portuguese, who had then conquered the Maritime provinces of the country.

Historically, Kelaniya is older than the great cites of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. When Lord Buddha first visited Mahiyanganaya, Sri Lanka , after the 9th month of the Enlightenment, Maniakkitha, the Naga King of Kelaniya was one of the kings who has come there to pay homage, the Mahawamsa states. It is described in the chronicles that the ancient Stupa first built at Kelaniya enshrined a gem-studded throne on which the Buddha preached the sermons to the Maniakkitha, the Naga king, on whose invitation the Buddha had visited. in 1769 AD , the temple was reconstructed by the patronage of King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe. There are paintings belonging to Kandyan period , showing Jathaka stories .There is a large gold plated reclining Buddha Image in the Image house. A Gem studded seat is enshrined in this Dageba. The Gauthama Buddha who visited Sri Lanka for the Third time is said to be preached Dhamma to the Naga kings seated on this Gem studded seat. The height of the Dageba is presently about 90 feet.

The Dageba or the Stupa at Kelani Viharaya is called by the names ' Kalyani Chaithyaya' and 'Kelani Seya'. Embedded inside the Stupa is the gem studded chair or the carpet that Lord Buddha made the sermons sitting on , to Chulodara and Mahodara Naga Kings and the followers during the Third visit of the Lord Buddha. The shape of this 90 feet high Stupa is called 'Dhanyakara' or 'the shape of a rice grain heap'. This Dageba had been renovated several times by kings Uttiya,Yatalatissa and the Parakramabahu IX. This has been built at the place where the Lord Budda and the Arahath Bikkus had stayed.

There are four sections in the Kelaniya Temple building.They are called 'Raja Pilima Ge', or the King's Image House, 'Oth Pilima Ge' or the Reclined Buddha Image House, ' Aluth Vihara Ge' or the New Temple House and the ' Ran Pilima Ge' or the Golden Buddha Image House. The images appearing above are of the 'Aluth Vihara Ge' or the New Temple House section of the kelani Viharaya. The Image house is built on a stone plinth 3 feet high and measures 150 feet in length and 90 feet in width. This new Image House was built under the patronage of Helena Wijewardene which was initiated in 1927 and completed in 1946. The kandyan era paintings are housed in two chambers and in good condition. Other than the Kandyan era paintings, there are some what beautiful modern paintings which were done during 1927-1946 by the famous artist Soliyas Mendis.

Above images are of the 'Raja Pilima Ge' or King's Image House. The Image of King Maniakkitha with a sword in his hand is sculptured here. The oldest paintings of Kelani Vihare is found in this section.These Paintings of Kandyan era consists of seven Jataka Stories ,namely the Vessantara,Telapatta, Dahamsonda, Maha Seelava,Dammapala, Mahakanna and Sama.

There are two image houses with Buddha images. The 'Oth Pilima Ge' or the House of the The reclined Buddha image is the oldest section of the entire temple. The reclined Buddha image is very large and believed to be of the Kandyan era sculpture. There are two seated Buddha images at the left side of the image house.There is a seated Buddha image in the other image house called the 'Ran Pilima Ge' with the backgroundof the snow crested Himalayan mountains.