maligawila.

indika sanjeewa.

                                                                 maligawila

 

Maligawila lies about 15 kilometres off the Buttala town towards Okkampitiya. Famous for its giant free standing buddha statue of the 7th century, this monument was found fallen and broken in to pieces in 1951. An attempt was made in 1974 to raise this statue and failed. But in 1980 a local engineering team was able to raise this statue and restore it back to the ancient glory. This statue is carved out of a single limestone rock and stands about 14.5 metres high. This is the tallest free standing buddha image in the country. This statue is thought to be done by a prince called Aggabodhi who ruled the "Rohana" region of Sri Lanka in the 7th century. There has been a image house surrounding this gigantic statue. The remains of this image house can still be seen.

Just left to the stair way to the Bodhisattva statue you will find a pillar inscription protected by a newly built structure. This stone pillar has been placed by the king Mahinda IV (956-972 AD) on his 10th year of reign. This inscription records the work done by the king for the upliftment of the Buddhism and has some rules laid down by him in Administration of Buddhist sites.

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Just left to the stair way to the Bodhisattva statue you will find a pillar inscription protected by a newly built structure. This stone pillar has been placed by the king Mahinda IV (956-972 AD) on his 10th year of reign. This inscription records the work done by the king for the upliftment of the Buddhism and has some rules laid down by him in Administration of Buddhist sites.