Kelani Viharaya - A Short History

During that first visit when the King was first privileged to listen to Buddha’s dhamma sermon, he became greatly impressed by Buddha and his teachings.

During the second visit, King Mani Akkhitha found himself becoming even more knowledgeable as to the validity of Buddha’s teachings and invited Buddha to come to Kelaniya.

Buddha accepted his invitation and promised to come to Kelaniya. When the time came Buddha made his way to Kelaniya along with a large number of rahathan hamuduruwo – රහතන් හාමුදුරුවෝ – in attendance. This day fell on the Wesak Poya (වෙසක් පෝය) of the eighth year after Buddha attained enlightenment.

King Mani Akkhitha had prepared everything in advance for Buddha’s arrival including setting up lodgings for Buddha and his disciples to stay in during their sojourn in Kelaniya.

In the place where the present day Kelani Vehera stands now, Mani Akkhitha had set up a Mandappa (මණ්ඩපය) – a specially decorated dais – from which Buddha would be able to give his dhamma sermon.

Within this mandappa was the gem and jewel encrusted throne (මිණි පළඟ) that had been presented to Buddha on his second visit, by the Kings Chulodara (චූලෝදර) and Mahodara (මහෝදර).

It is this throne – now considered a Sacred Relic by the fact that Buddha was seated upon it when giving his sermon (පාරිභෝගික ධාතුන් වහන්සේ) – that is said to be enshrined within the confines of the Kelani Vehera.

Note:Whether or not this still stands true after the arrival of, and the consequent sacking of the Kelani Vehera by the Portuguese, is a valid question indeed.

The reasons for this rampant destruction and the mass murder that followed on the heels of it are manifold. However, one reason stands tall above all else, and this is the fear the Portuguese invaders had concerning the influence the Kelani Viharaya and its Sangha population had over the Sinhala people.

This, along with the close proximity of the Kelani Viharaya to the Portuguese stronghold – the Colombo Fort – (and the fact that there was a constant stream of people in and out of the Vihara grounds, making the Portugese commanders nervous) played a strong part in this sacking.

Another noteworthy event to occur during Buddha’s visit to Kelaniya was the fact that he was said to have bathed in the Kelani River before delivering the Dhamma sermon on that Wesak Poya day.

According to the belief of many people this makes the Kelani river one of the purest rivers to run through Lankawa – in fact most believe that the waters of the Kelani river have been sanctified by this one simple act.

And indeed in the days of old there was a Vehera built there to pay homage to this fact. These days however, neither hide nor hair of this Vehera or the exact spot where it stood can be found. There can be only speculation as to where exactly it stood, and to where exactly it was that Buddha sanctified the river by bathing in it.