Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara
An ancient Buddhist temple in the heart of Badulla town, one of the sixteen sacred places (Solosmasthana) said to have been hallowed by the Buddha, with a white stupa and old shrine rooms.
In the heart of Badulla town, a Buddhist temple carries a history that reaches back, according to tradition, to the very lifetime of the Buddha himself, making it one of the Solosmasthana, the sixteen most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites anywhere in Sri Lanka. According to the Samantapasadika, an ancient text older even than the Mahavamsa chronicle, the Buddha visited Sri Lanka for his third and final time in the eighth year following his enlightenment, accompanied by 500 Arahants, and during that visit, a local chieftain named Indaka, ruler of this area, personally invited the Buddha to Badulla to deliver sermons.
Following those teachings, Indaka reportedly asked the Buddha for something to venerate in memory of the visit, and the Buddha offered him strands of his own hair along with drops of sweat, which tradition holds miraculously transformed into pearls known as mukthaka, relics Indaka then enshrined within what became the temple's central stupa. Indaka himself, originally a mortal chieftain of the Deva people, has since been elevated to deity status, associated both with this temple and with the nearby Namunukula mountain range that dominates Badulla's skyline.
The wider Uva region carries even older layers of legend beyond the Buddha's visit, local tradition holding that the area served as the capital of the demon king Ravana himself sometime around the 19th to 18th century BCE, with place names like Seetha Eliya and Ravana Ella still tracing that association today, before Ravana's eventual defeat and his brother Vibishana's relocation of the capital to Kelaniya. Within the temple grounds, three surviving Bodhi trees, out of an original seven, each carry their own history, including the Maliyadeva Bodhi, believed to mark the spot where Maliyadeva Thero, considered the last great Arahant of Sri Lanka, once delivered his own sermons, layering centuries of continuous religious significance onto a site that locals and pilgrims alike still treat as one of Badulla's most sacred grounds.
At a glance
- Entry fee: Free
- Opening hours: Open all day
- Time needed: 30 to 45 minutes
- Best time: Early morning or the evening puja
Getting there
In central Badulla town, an easy walk or short tuk-tuk ride from the bus and train stations.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to visit Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Free.
- What are the opening hours at Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Open all day.
- How long should I spend at Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Plan for 30 to 45 minutes.
- When is the best time to visit Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- Early morning or the evening puja.
- How do I get to Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara?
- In central Badulla town, an easy walk or short tuk-tuk ride from the bus and train stations.