Divaguhawa - cave temple visited by the Buddha
Divaguhawa become a major Buddhist pilgrimage site recently, as it is believed to be the cave where the Buddha rested when visiting Siri Pada (Adam’s Peak). Thereby, Divaguhawa cave housing a temple in the Kandyan style is one of the 16 Solomasthanas. Apart from the Tooth Temple in Kandy, the 16 Buddha-visited places are the most sacred Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka. The cave temple high above ground level offers perfect views to Adam’s Peak. Divaguhawa is a prehistoric cave too, known under its former name as Batathota Lena, also spelt Batatota Lena or Bathatotalena.
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Divaguhawa (other spellings include Diwaguhawe, Diva Guhava, etc.) is a cave between Kuruwita and Erathna. Divaguhawa is both a temple and a prehistoric cave. Among archaeologists, the cave is known as Batathota Lena, it’s the finding place of 10,000-year-old stone tools of the Balangoda culture. For the Veddas, the cave is the heritage of their ancestors. However, for pious Sinhalese visitors, Divaguhawa is one of Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist cave temples today, albeit it has become so only relatively recently.
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The cave is located in the foothills of Adam's Peak. A pilgrimage to this sacred mountain Siripada from the lowland side is often combined with a visit to Divahuwa by devout Buddhists. On clear days, one can get a good view of the summit of Adam's Peak from the terrace in front of the cave.
The appearance of this cave temple markedly differs from the usual monastery caves on the island, namely due to the dimensions of the cave chamber. The natural rock niche here was not transformed into a closed interior space by an outer wall. This cave chamber, with its proud 18 meters, is simply too high, and the cave opening is too large to create the usual form of a Sinhalese cave temple.
Due to its depth, Divaguhawa also resembles much more closely a true caves, much more so than the usual „caves“ of other temples, which are actually only rock shelters. The floor area of the Divaguhawa cave extends over 6800 square meters.
Inside the cave chamber, there is a small pond with fish, it’s called Manduka Vila. Water constantly drips from the cave ceiling. Because this doesn't stop even in dry periods, pilgrims consider it evidence of the miraculous powers of this holy place.
The most striking architectural adornment is a Makara-Thorana, which has been restored with the help of local residents after decay and destruction. This gateway is unusual due to its size and slight asymmetry. Like the reclining Buddha and the remnants of wall paintings in the interior behind it, this gateway is often dated to the Polonnaruwa period, to connect it with the pilgrimage of King Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa. However, it is more likely a work of the Kandy era.
In the rear cave chamber, which is also brightly restored, one can see a representation of a Hindu god, namely Vishnu. He is recognizable by the blue colour. Vishnu has always been one of the four highest deities in Sri Lankan Buddhism, whereas Shiva has almost no significance for Sinhalese Buddhists. Vishnu is considered a great benefactor. Many present-day Sinhalese believe that through his help for humans he accumulates good karma, allowing him to become a future Buddha in his next rebirth. However, this does not entirely correspond with the traditional notion that the future Buddha is Maitreya, who currently resides in the Tushita Heaven in his penultimate rebirth.
The ascent to the main cave is a several hundred meter-long covered staircase. Less easily accessible are the Istripura Caves, just 200 meters away (not to be confused with the caves of the same name in Badulla District).
The steps become quite steep just before reaching the main cave, because the main sanctuary is located quite high on a rock face. In the flatter lower section, the staircase is flanked by stalls selling devotional items.
The only cave of the Solosmasthana (Buddha-visited Places)
Divavaguhawa has become a popular pilgrimage destination for Sinhalese Buddhists in recent times. It is believed that the Buddha rested here with his disciples after leaving his footprint on Adam's Peak. Thus, Divaguhawa is among the holiest places in Sri Lanka, blessed by the Buddha's presence.
The first chapter of the Mahavansa chronicle recounts three miraculous visits of the Buddha to the island. Verse 78 mentions a rest of the Buddha with his disciples at the feet of Sumanakuta (seen in the clouds in the photo). "Kuta" means mountain peak, and Sumana is the god of the Subaragamuwa province and of its highest mountain, which Buddhists call Siri Pada, "Sacred Foot," after the footprint on the summit, which they regard as the Buddha's legacy. The mountain, of course, is better known as "Adam’s Peak" to foreigners.
The first chapter of the Mahavansa chronicle recounts three miraculous visits of the Buddha to the island. Verse 78 mentions a rest of the Buddha with his disciples at the feet of Sumanakuta (seen in the clouds in the photo). "Kuta" means mountain peak, and Sumana is the god of the Subaragamuwa province and of its highest mountain, which Buddhists call Siri Pada, "Sacred Foot," after the footprint on the summit, which they regard as the Buddha's legacy. The mountain, of course, is better known as "Adam’s Peak" to foreigners.
Neither the Mahavansa nor the slightly older Dipavansa explicitly give a name for the place of the Buddha’s rest rest below the mountain. Contrary to other claims, the old chronicles do not mention the name "Divaguhawa." Furthermore, there is a rock shelter also called Divaguhawa only around a hundred meters below the summit of Siri Pada on its eastern flank.
The list of the island’s 16 places that the Buddha is said to have visited, called Solosmasthana, was compiled only in the 14th century, significantly expanding the brief descriptions of the older island chronicles. It is only in this context that the toponym "Divaguhawa" is mentioned, meaning nothing other than "Heavenly Cave" or "Divine Cave." (The Sinhalese word "divya" for "divine" is etymologically related to Latin "deus.") However, it was not clear at the time which location this symbolic name referred to.
It was only in 1995 that the cave located seven kilometers north of Kuruwita, was identified with this mythical Divaguhawa. Until then, the cave had only been referred to as Batatota Lena (also spelled Batathotalena). This original name is still in use today, especially in archaeological research, as mentioned above, but the name is also used for the local monastery.
In the context of Buddhist modernism, a deliberate reaction to Christian missionary practices, many former monastery caves in Sri Lanka were resettled by hermits in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the present-day Divaguhawa in 1908 by a monk named Sri Subethi. He restored the sanctuary, which must have been a pilgrimage site even during the Kandy period. However, Sri Subethi did not name his residence after the mythical Divaguhawa, even though many sites of legends from the chronicles were identified by wandering hermits like him, sometimes accurately, sometimes fancifully. After the hermit's death, the cave was forgotten for a long time and was visited not by pilgrims but by treasure hunters, causing damage.
Only during the time of the civil war with the Tamil separatists did a second wave of Buddhist reinterpretations of older sanctuaries occur on the Sinhalese side. In this context, in 1995, the clergyman Balangoda Ananda Maithreya Mahanayake interpreted the old Batatotalena as the legendary Divaguhawa. The reasons for this are as follows: According to the chronicles, the Buddha was accompanied by 500 students on his third visit. In the area around Siri Pada only the cave of today's Divaguhawa indeed provides enough space for so many people at the foot of the mountain. Moreover, the legend says that this heavenly cave was illuminated throughout the day. Indeed, the cave opening is so large that the usual daylight naturally penetrates into the entire huge rock niche, so it never sinks into complete darkness during the day due to the opening of the cave room being too large.
Despite the religious character of this reasoning to identify the settings of acient stories, which is by no means unique to devout historiography in Asia (one may compare the Christian interpretations of relics from the late antiquity in Nazareth), the localization of the Buddha's resting place holds a certain credibility. Undoubtedly, stories of the Buddha constantly visiting Sri Lanka are legendary, because not known from the Tipitaka. The historical Buddha almost certainly never left the Gangetic plains. (Of course, one should not express this too loudly in Sri Lanka, as Buddha's visits are so deeply ingrained in the national identity, akin to the Jewish and Christian belief in a great kingdom of King David in Israel, that actully never existed.) However, during the time when tales of Buddha's visits and his rest below Adam's Peak were embellished, there were, of course, specific places envisioned as the settings of the events. And now, at the foot of Adam's Peak, there is hardly another "heavenly cave" that would be as suitable as a sheltered resting place for a large group of meditating monks as the one now called Divaguhava.
The Polonnaruwa king, Nissanka Malla, embarked on a pilgrimage to Adam's Peak. This is known from epigraphical records and the earliest documented pilgrimage to Sri Lanka’s sacred mountain. It is also said that he rested in Divaguhava. However, whether the Buddha statues and even the Makara arch above a doorway in the cave date back to the Polonnaruwa period, as often claimed, remains questionable. It is probable that the cave was indeed utilized in early times, but more likely as a dwelling of hermits. The embellishment of the cave into a shrine most likely occurred during the Kandy period.
The list of the island’s 16 places that the Buddha is said to have visited, called Solosmasthana, was compiled only in the 14th century, significantly expanding the brief descriptions of the older island chronicles. It is only in this context that the toponym "Divaguhawa" is mentioned, meaning nothing other than "Heavenly Cave" or "Divine Cave." (The Sinhalese word "divya" for "divine" is etymologically related to Latin "deus.") However, it was not clear at the time which location this symbolic name referred to.
It was only in 1995 that the cave located seven kilometers north of Kuruwita, was identified with this mythical Divaguhawa. Until then, the cave had only been referred to as Batatota Lena (also spelled Batathotalena). This original name is still in use today, especially in archaeological research, as mentioned above, but the name is also used for the local monastery.
In the context of Buddhist modernism, a deliberate reaction to Christian missionary practices, many former monastery caves in Sri Lanka were resettled by hermits in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the present-day Divaguhawa in 1908 by a monk named Sri Subethi. He restored the sanctuary, which must have been a pilgrimage site even during the Kandy period. However, Sri Subethi did not name his residence after the mythical Divaguhawa, even though many sites of legends from the chronicles were identified by wandering hermits like him, sometimes accurately, sometimes fancifully. After the hermit's death, the cave was forgotten for a long time and was visited not by pilgrims but by treasure hunters, causing damage.
Only during the time of the civil war with the Tamil separatists did a second wave of Buddhist reinterpretations of older sanctuaries occur on the Sinhalese side. In this context, in 1995, the clergyman Balangoda Ananda Maithreya Mahanayake interpreted the old Batatotalena as the legendary Divaguhawa. The reasons for this are as follows: According to the chronicles, the Buddha was accompanied by 500 students on his third visit. In the area around Siri Pada only the cave of today's Divaguhawa indeed provides enough space for so many people at the foot of the mountain. Moreover, the legend says that this heavenly cave was illuminated throughout the day. Indeed, the cave opening is so large that the usual daylight naturally penetrates into the entire huge rock niche, so it never sinks into complete darkness during the day due to the opening of the cave room being too large.
Despite the religious character of this reasoning to identify the settings of acient stories, which is by no means unique to devout historiography in Asia (one may compare the Christian interpretations of relics from the late antiquity in Nazareth), the localization of the Buddha's resting place holds a certain credibility. Undoubtedly, stories of the Buddha constantly visiting Sri Lanka are legendary, because not known from the Tipitaka. The historical Buddha almost certainly never left the Gangetic plains. (Of course, one should not express this too loudly in Sri Lanka, as Buddha's visits are so deeply ingrained in the national identity, akin to the Jewish and Christian belief in a great kingdom of King David in Israel, that actully never existed.) However, during the time when tales of Buddha's visits and his rest below Adam's Peak were embellished, there were, of course, specific places envisioned as the settings of the events. And now, at the foot of Adam's Peak, there is hardly another "heavenly cave" that would be as suitable as a sheltered resting place for a large group of meditating monks as the one now called Divaguhava.
The Polonnaruwa king, Nissanka Malla, embarked on a pilgrimage to Adam's Peak. This is known from epigraphical records and the earliest documented pilgrimage to Sri Lanka’s sacred mountain. It is also said that he rested in Divaguhava. However, whether the Buddha statues and even the Makara arch above a doorway in the cave date back to the Polonnaruwa period, as often claimed, remains questionable. It is probable that the cave was indeed utilized in early times, but more likely as a dwelling of hermits. The embellishment of the cave into a shrine most likely occurred during the Kandy period.
