The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
Hambantota District, Southern Province · 6.1484°, 80.7848°
A monastery in the Hambantota District laid out on the Pabbata Vihara plan with panchayatana features and seven stupas, its founding credited to the kings Gotabhaya and Mahananga. Rock inscriptions at the site have been dated to the third to fifth centuries, and its Bodhi tree is counted a sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi planted by an arahant.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
King Mahananga is said to have been led by a great snake to a pool of water during a drought, and the place took the name Naigala, the rock the snake showed.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Anuradhapura (Gotabhaya and Mahananga)
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