Rama Shrine in Divurumpola

Divurumpola, situated between Nuwara Eliya and Badulla in Uva Province, is a Buddhist temple with a Hindu shrine. Though some Buddhist Viharas do not accept worship of gods within their precincts, Hindu deities are venerated in many Buddhist monasteries in Sri Lanka. Particularly Vishnu and Skanda in their local forms of Upulvan and Kataragama are held in high esteem by Sinhalese Buddhists. However, there is something special about the Hindu shrine in Divurumpola, as it is one of the very few Buddhist temples where Vishnu is represented as Rama, his royal incarnation. Rama is the main character of the Indian epic Ramayana, that bears his name. It’s the most disseminated Hindu text in Asia, held in high esteem in Buddhist und Muslim Southeast Asia in particualt. Though the many crucial episodes of the Ramayana took place on the island of Lanka, the epic is not as popular in Sri Lanka as in other parts of Asia. As a matter of fact, some Buddhist scholars in ancient times criticized the Ramayana epic. But in the Buddhist monastery of Divurumpola, Lord Rama has a new shrine. The reason is, that Divurumpola is now said to have been the place where Sita’s fireordeal once proved her innocence. The place attracts Hindu devotees from India.

To learn more about this famous episode of the Ramayana epic, the Agni Pariksha, please visit our main Divurumpola article here...

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Rama's friend and devotee Hanuman and Rama's consort Sita