MAHIYANGANA RAJA MAHA VIHARAYA

This Cetiya (stupa) was built during the lifetime of Lord Buddha enshrining the lock of hair given by Him to God Saman an the occasion of His first visit to Sri Lanka , 9 months after attaining enlightenment. It is the first ever stupa to be constructed in Sri Lanka .

It was enlarged by Arhat Sarabhu to a Cetiya 12 cubits high after receiving and enshrining the collar bone relic of the Buddha taken from the funeral pyre. The son of King Devanampiyatissa’s brother, for greater protection, covered it over and made it thirty cubits high. King Dutugemunu -(161-137 BC). dwelling there, while fighting the invading forces of the Tamits, enlarged it to eighty cubits high. It was subsequently rebuilt by Vijayabahu 1 (1055-1110 CE) and restored again during modern times.