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Nagadeepa Temple in Jaffna

Nagadeepa Rajamaha Viharaya

Nagadeepa Devalaya (Nagadeepa Ancient Temple) is an ancient Buddhist temple located on the island of Nagadeepa (Nainathivu) off the coast of the Jaffna Peninsula. It is one of the 16 holy Buddhist shrines in Sri Lanka and is known as “Solosmastana”.

The Nagadeepa Devalaya is said to have been the site of the second visit of the Lord Buddha to Sri Lanka to mediate between two Naga kings, Chulodara and Mahadara, for possessing a throne full of gems. Legend has it that after listening to the sermons of the Buddha, the two warring kings made peace and offered the throne equally to the Buddha and returned it to the Naga kings.

The Rajayathana Stupa was built by the two Naga kings at the place where the Supreme Buddha preached the Dhamma and the throne full of gems was placed in the stupa and it became a place of Buddhist reverence. Manimekala, an ancient Indian Tamil epic, mentions a throne full of gems and a stone with the footprints of the Buddha at Nagadeepa.

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Later history records that the Nagadeepa Devalaya was developed by kings Devanampiyatissa and Dutugamunu. During the Portuguese colonial period, the temple was destroyed and the devotees lost their place. The temple was later renovated by Buddhists in the 1930s under the leadership of Randombe Somatissa Nayaka Thero. Archaeological and religious relics, such as the recently carved stone statue of the Buddha, are still found at the site.

Photos & video sponsored by Vishwa Karma

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