Handagala Raja Maha Viharaya declared sacred place
The ancient Handagala Raja Maha Viharaya situated in a forest area
East of Kebithigollewa in the Anuradhapura District has been declared a
sacred place, at a special festival held at that ancient temple, Sunday
under the leadership of the Ven. Maha Sangha of the Three Chapters and
Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne.
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Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne planting a sapling of the Jaya
Sri Maha Bodhi. Chief Incumbent of the temple Ven. Kendawe
Samitha, Minister Tissa Karaliyadda, Deputy Minister Duminda
Dissanayaka and Provincial Council Minister H.B. Semasinghe
were also present. |
Handagala Raja Maha Viharaya which is said to date back to the era of
King Devanampiyatissa consists of an old Chaitthya, caves built for
monks to meditate and stone scripts and old buildings, with the
declaration as a sacred place, facilities are supplied to develop it.
Enshrinement of relics in new Buddha statue at Handagala Viharaya and
planting a sapling of the sacred Bo-Tree at the temple premises were
done under the patronage of the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne said that temples in North and East
will be developed under the vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The
Prime Minister said that devotees were unable to reach ancient temples
like Handagala as the attention of the people had been focused on
temples in the Northern and Eastern areas with the ending of the war.
Buddhist temples in the North, East and South will be renovated and
reconstructed on the President's directives, the PM said.
The Prime Minister further said, "It is because of the Bhikkhus that
Buddhism was protected.
'We can bravely say that people were protected by the Security Forces
and the Maha Sangha during terrorist attacks.
"People in these areas struggled to protect the land. It is not a
secret that the Maha Sangha guided and propped up the people. A large
number of innocent civilians were killed by the terrorist bus bomb blast
in Kebithigollewa. The President visited the place when it happened.
The President and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa left the
place with the determination to end the Tiger problem.
Now, we have no fear of terrorists. The aim of the President is to
build an economically strong country. The necessary steps for that have
been taken. The President has taken steps on how to develop 10 million
families," he said.
Minister of Child Development and Women's Affairs Tissa Karaliyadda
said, that no party can find fault with the government for protecting
Buddhism. He said that the government has fulfilled that duty.
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