Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Ancient · Buddhist · Sri Lanka

Padiyadora Raja Maha Vihara

Ampara District, Eastern Province · 7.3980°, 81.2523°

Gautama Buddha (torso Buddha image, dagoba and Bodhi tree)Ruhuna (Kavan Tissa)
Sacred since
205 BCE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
2nd c. BCE (Kavan Tissa)
Ruhuna (Kavan Tissa)

History & significance

An ancient temple in the Ampara District whose construction is attributed to Kavan Tissa, prince of Ruhuna. Its remains include a dagoba and a four-foot Buddha torso, and it is still an active place of local veneration.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

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.

Its Bodhi tree is venerated as having grown from one of the saplings of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi at Anuradhapura.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Ruhuna (Kavan Tissa)