Dedigama Museum Archives

“Kota Vehera” – commemoration of a royal birth – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Situated approximately 15 kilometers from *Kegalle, Dedigama “Kota Vehera” also known as “Suthigara Seya” or “Suthigara Dagoba” (“suthikagaraya” meaning place of birth) is a dome-shaped shrine comprising relics of the Buddha or an *Arhat. According to *Mahawamsa, King Manabharana, a sub-king of *Ruhuna lived in exile in Dedigama. He has used “Punkhagama” (present Dedigama) as his capital city during his reign. The Suthigara dagoba (or stupa is a shrine that contains sacred relics) gets its name from the word “suthikagaraya” (meaning place of birth). Queen Rathnavali gave birth to a baby boy (who later reigned as King Parakramabahu I also known as King Parakramabahu the Great – 1153-1186) in the place where the stupa is located. This stupa has been constructed by King Parakramabahu as a memorial for the location, he was born. According to typical architectural style ...

Ingenious elephant lamp at Dedigama – marvelous craftsmanship of yesteryear By Arundathie Abeysinghe Unique elephant lamp discovered from *Dedigama Kota Vehera (Sutighara Stupa) is an ingenious creation based on hydro static principles displayed at the Dedigama Museum. The elephant lamp has been excavated from the upper relic chamber of Sutighara Stupa at Dedigama in 1951. There are three stupas of the Kota Vehera type in Sri Lanka; Sutighara Cetiya at Dedigama, *the stupa at Yudaganawa (largest stupa in the south and east of Sri Lanka) and the Damila thupa at Polonnaruwa which date to the 12th century and are attributed to King Parakramabahu I. According to scholars, during the Polonnaruwa Era, the oil lamp has been an integral element of art and religion of Sri Lankan society and various artistic elements had been added to adorn the structure of the oil lamp. Oil lamps had often been made with ...