I had a long-cherished ambition to photograph the massive standing Buddha statue at Maligawila, one day.
We travelled along the Buttala-Okkampitiya road and saw women bathing in the Kumbukkan Oya. Some people stood at the bus halt for the bus to take them to their destinations.
Tranquil beauty
In Okkampitiya, villagers were selling vegetables at the village fair, gem merchants waited for the miners, and farmers rodebicycles loaded with goods.
People carried on with their daily activities. It was an area of tranquil beauty with lush green paddy fields and tall kumbuk trees, spanning across the plains, providing much needed shade.
Maligawila, a fifty-minute drive from Wellawaya is the site of the most awe-inspiring massive Maligawila Buddha statue similar to the Avukana Buddha statue.
A 7th century colossus
It is said to be one of the tallest free-standing Buddha statues in Sri Lanka. It stands 42 feet on its pedestal. This 7th century colossus dominates a 40-acre landmass and is at the
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| The Dambegoda Bodhisatva statue of Avalokiteswara |
centre of a huge temple complex.
The statue has been restored by joining its broken pieces. Slumped to the ground in three pieces when the former President, the late Ranasingha Premadasa first saw it, it was restored to its former majesty by Ven.Mapalagama Vipulasara Thera and was opened to the public in September 1991.
Dambegoda Bodhisatva statue
In close proximity is the 34-foot Dambegoda Bodhisatva statue of Avalokiteswara. The gigantic Avalokiteswara Bodhisatva statue which had fallen many years ago, broken into fragments and lying in the tentacles of the dense jungle was restored to its former glory on September 1, 1990.
This statue was also unveiled by the former President, the late Ranasinghe Premadasa. The Avalokiteswara Bodhisatva statue is 16 metres high, and dates back to the same period of the Buduruwagala Bodhisatva statues around the 9th – 10th century AD.
It was broken into many pieces, and some parts were found through excavations, such as the parts of a pilimage (image house) with beautiful carvings.
The ancient chronicles attribute the construction of the Maligawila Buddha statue, the Bodhisatva Avalokitesvara statue and the complex of the image house to King Aggabodhi III of the 7th century AD.
A hospital
According to archaeologists, a hospital for the blind and the sick had been built in the blindman’s village called Kanagama in the precincts of Avalokiteswara, around Maligawila, Dambegoda. The blind still worship here in the hope of the restoration of their sight.
Such beliefs were on par with the doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism, as the Avalokitesvara was the saviour of mankind and healer of the sickand the disabled.
Popular archaeological sites
At present, after the restoration of the Maligawila-Dambegoda archaeological sites, this historic place has become very popular with an influx of pilgrims and visitors enroute to Kataragama. The present place has been developed with rows of boutiques and stalls teeming with activity. These sites lie close to the northern boundary of the Ruhunu (Yala) National Park where the ruins are excavated and restored, amid the untouched jungle which has provided a parkland of forest canopies.
As we drove away from Maligawila and its many glorious sites, my companions and I contemplated silently on the tranquil beauty of the place.
Maligawila is a place that needs to be experienced, to understand and appreciate the many treasures it holds, a place etched in history but still moving ahead with time.