History of Nagadeepa Viharaya
The Battle Of Naga Kings
The Nagadeepa Viharaya is one of the 16 most sacred places of worship in Sri Lanka. According to the chronicles, in the 5th year after enlightenment, the Lord Buddha visited Nagadeepa to settle a dispute between two Naga Kings - Chulodara and Mahodara, regarding the possession of a gem studded throne. The Bak Maha Amawaka Poya Day commemorates the Lord Buddha's visit to Nagadeepa.
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The daughter of the Naga king Mahodara was married to his sister’s son Chulodara, another Naga king. As the dowry Chulodara was given a gem studded throne and at the sudden death of Naga princess, Mahodara asked for the gem studded throne back from his son in law, Chulodara. Since he refused to give it back, a terrible dispute started between them.
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When the Lord Buddha came over from Jetavanaramaya in the city of Sravasti, He was accompanied by God Sumana , a protective deity residing on a Kiripalu tree at the entrance to the Viharaya. The Lord Buddha preached the virtues of non-violence to the two Naga kings and urged them to forget hating each other and be united. The two kings surrounded by their followers listened patiently to the Lord Buddha and decided to end their enmity.
After the two warring kings made peace the throne was offered to the Lord Buddha, who returned it to the Naga kings. It was later enshrined in the Nagadeepa Stupa and soon became a place of Buddhist veneration.
Modern History
The temple was affected by ethnic strife and the civil war and was targeted several times. Following 1958 riots [6] Tamil mobs that came from boats destroyed parts of the temple including a gold plated Buddha statue gifted from Burma which was beheaded and its arms removed and thrown to the sea and stupa which was blown up using dynamite.[7] The government censored the incident at the orders of Governor-General Sir Oliver Goonetilleke who feared that the news would lead to further violence and restored the temple in secrets and the then head priest Rajakeeya Panditha Brahmanawatte Dhammakithi Tissa Mahanayaka Thera cooperated considering it an 'exercise of deception' in the interest of humanity.[8][9] In 1986 the LTTE attacked a boat bringing food to the temple by placing bombs and blowing up the jetty. The explosion was set off prematurely due to a navy patrol and the enraged naval personal nearly went on a shooting spree that was averted by Dhammakithi thera who accosted them and calmed the soldiers who then returned to their barracks. [9]Due to frequent threats the temple was given military protection and a bunker was built for senior monks during attacks and junior monks were given self-defense lessons by the navy.
