- Area: Sri Lanka
- Type: Attractions
- Group: Buddhism Viharaya
Asmadala Tampita Viharaya lies in the ancient Sugatha Bimbarama Viharaya, hidden in the remote village of Asmadala between Ussapitiya and Hettimulla in the Kegalle District.
Asmadala is a mountainous area in the Kegalle District. Urakanda and Wakirigala can be seen in the background of the village. The village is still thriving, with lush green paddy fields. There are several legends about the origin of the name Asmadala. King Rawana has seen a huge pig while hunting. Frightened by the sound of the king preparing bows to shoot, The pig ran away leaping close to a Yaksha in the king’s entourage. When the king saw that Yaksha was just looking at the animal without taking any action, he got mad and took an arrow and shot him as well. The Yaksha had fallen onto a muddy swamp bleeding. Legend has it that the blood of the Yaksha filled the swap blood and flowed all over the place. thus it became known as ‘Asmadala’ after becoming ‘As-made-le’.
According to another legend, kings who came to Malaya for protection organized hideouts and war training in this area. ‘The Horses of the armies had been trained in this area which became to known as ‘Asmadala’.
One of the unique features a visitor could observe today at this temple is the Tampita Vihara Ge. Tampita Vihara was a popular architectural feature of temples during the Kandyan era. The temple is built on top of granite stumps with a wooden platform laid across the stumps. The Tampit Viharaya on this temple is built on granite stumps about 3 feet high and comparatively quite small. Unfortunately, the granite stumps of this viharaya cannot be seen today since they have been buried in concrete, probably an attempt to keep the Tampita Viharaya intact after falling to despair at a later date.
To reach the temple take the Aranayake road from Mawanella and travel 4.5 km up to Ussapitiya and take the Hettimulla road. Travel 150 meters on this road and take the narrow concrete road towards Arawpola and travel 5.5 km to reach this remote temple.
A prehistoric burial site has been discovered on the edge of the village of Asmadala. The site is located on the land called Marawahena Watta in the Asmadala Watte Gedara village.
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