Dematamal Viharaya - Buttala, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has a proud history of 2500+ years, especially centering around Buddhism. It has been home to many ancient sacred places, each with a unique cultural significance and story.

Dematamal Viharaya is such a place in the island connected with many historical tales and currently rising in the community for the spiritual development of people.

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The Location

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It's located in Okkampitiya Grama Niladhari Division, Buttala Divisional Secretariat, in the Monaragala District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. From Buttala, you take the Okkampitiya road for around 4km, and on the horizon, you will see the rise of the above stupa across the paddy fields.

The area is very peaceful and beautiful with forests, fields, and rural serenity. It's always a treat to the eyes and mind for the travelers and pilgrims. As you can see in the images below, there are Buddhist flags along the nearby route, and at the entrance, there's a huge a beautiful structure to greet people.

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Historical Background

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According to the archaeologists, Dematamal Viharaya is one of the oldest Stupas in Sri Lanka, dating back to the 3rd century BC, in the Anuradhapura period. It's said that it was built by King Mahanaga, son of King Mutaseeva, and the brother of King Devanam Piyathissa.

Anyway, the most famous tale of this place is the story of Prince Dutugemunu and Prince Saddhatissa. After the death of their father, King Kavanthissa, the two brothers had a dispute over the succession, and these two battled at Yudaganawa Temple with a great army. Anyway, after losing it, Prince Saddhatissa fled and hid at the Dematamal Viharaya temple for safety.

These stories are in the ancient Sri Lankan book Saddharmalankaraya as well. The place has been a home to thousands of monks and Great Arahants.

Anyway, with time, various renovations and new parts have been added and have been named as a protected archeological site.

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Architecture and Design

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As you know, there are three main elements in a Buddhist Temple: stupa (dagoba), Bo Tree, and a statue of Buddha, along with many other features.

So, the Stupa is the most prominent feature here, and has been preserved from the start of the place. It has been renovated several times, but still in the ancient shape and way. It's located around 2m above the normal soil level, and a staircase made of stone and masonry is available to climb that. And as you can see, there's a huge brick wall surrounding the stupa, and at the top, there's a walkway around it filled with sand.

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The shape, the design, and the execution of this Stupa is an Engineering marvel from 2200+ years ago, and there are typical parts of a Stupa: a base, a dome, a Square chamber, a spire, a crystal, etc.

The Bo tree provided shelter to Lord Buddha during the enlightenment, and it holds a prominent place in the temple. As you can see, it's protected with a guard wall, and there's a Buddha statue to offer flowers.

Another important place here is the image house with a Big statue of Buddha. It has a unique design with two guard stones at the entrance. The inside door is really impressive with different statues and murals. In the center, you can see the main statue of Lord Buddha, and images on the walls that show historical and religious scenes.

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Landscape and other available Features

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Well, apart from the three main places, there are many significant things across the large pilgrimage area. Most of the open areas are either filled with sand or grass. There are no separate gardens, but here and there we can see small and big plants, and well-maintained flowers.

People used to sit in the concrete structures around those trees.

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Usually, there are sermons and preaching outside as well as under the old Bodhi tree, with the little breeze. As we visited here on the Vesak Day, there were hundreds of kids and devotees who had observed the Eight Precepts.

As this is a very ancient place, we can see ruins from the past here and there. Moonstones, guard stones, and stone inscriptions are a common sight; we can see huge stone pillars on one side as well.

Ruined stone pillars

There's a donation table with a monk there, and also a shrine dedicated to Kataragama God as well.

There's a separate open building to hold sermons to the devotees, and another new one for the monks to live. It's not disciplinary to disturb their living place, so I got a picture from the outside.

As hundreds of devotees visit here daily, drinking water and sanitary facilities are available in good condition, free of charge. A huge parking area can be seen as well, to be used for free.

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Programs and Activities

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• Monthly Sil programs (Uposatha Observance) on Full Moon Poya day with sermons, meditations

• Sunday Dhamma School for the kids to educate them in Buddhist culture, values, etc.

• Special sermons once a month by reputed monks for the spiritual development of the people

• Special guides and programmes for tourists and visitors about the history and archeological importance of the place

• Daily morning and evening poojas

• Special Programmes for Vesak, Poson, Katina Pinkama, and conducting annual procession

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Worship Experience

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Well, we had a very positive experience here. Its proud history, ancient heritage, and the legacy unintentionally make a good impression when visiting here. But not only that, the calm and peaceful nature inside the temple, and the serenity of the surrounding area make things even better. We can worship freely here and engage in rituals.

And like most of the places, this is not money-centered. No tickets for parking, or anything, and no invitation or disturbance in whatsoever. If it's possible, we can donate there. So after all, it's a wonderful experience.

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So, finally, I have to say Dematamal Viharaya is a must-visit destination in Sri Lanka to explore our cultural heritage and ancient, rich history.

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The Place	Dematamal Viharaya - Buttala, Sri Lanka
Type of place	Temple
Opening days and hours	every day from 05.30 a.m. to 07.30 p.m
Location	on Google Maps, on Steem Atlas
Website/ Social Media	No official ones
Sources	Wikipedia
Time of Visit	13th of May, 2025

So, that's it for today!! I invite @mikitaly, @dove11, and @chant to join the challenge

Until the next time! Enjoy!

Thank you.
Best Regards!