Tirtha Atlas

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

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Ancient · Buddhist · Sri Lanka

Yatala Vehera

Deberawewa, Tissamaharama, Hambantota District, Southern Province · 6.2856°, 81.2758°

Buddha (relic caskets recovered from the stupa)Ruhuna
Sacred since
300 BCE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
c. 3rd c. BCE (Ruhuna)
Ruhuna

History & significance

A stupa at Deberawewa near Tissamaharama in the Hambantota District, dated to roughly the third century BCE and credited either to Yatala Tissa of Ruhuna or to his father Mahanaga. A large number of relic caskets has been recovered from it, and the restoration begun in 1883 took over a century to finish.

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.

The stupa is said to have been raised over the place where the prince was born, and by another account to have been offered to Arittha, the first Sinhalese arahant.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Ruhuna