Stimulating you to find a tremendous tourism destination in the world’s famous tourist paradise Sri Lanka, is the Aluvihare rock cave temple in Matale. Aluvihare is the place where the oral teachings of Buddhism, Tripitaka were written into pali on palm leaves. There is a relish story behind the origin of the temple.
It is said that there was a giant living here. The giant used three rocks as his cooking pot. So there was Ash. Still threes three rocks can be seen on the top of the climb. But today they are providing shelter for the bhikkhus. Thus you can see the Buddha images and frescoes used to embellish the large caves of the temple.
. So it is a popular tourist attraction as well as a shrine dedicated to Lord Gauthama Buddha. Especially the cave dedicated to Ven. Buddhagosa thero was used to translate the documentaries and Buddhist teachings. Gradually the Tripitaka teachings were shared by mere word of mouth by entrusting to memory by the Buddhist monks. So they had to be ensured unless the tremendous tourism destinations would have vanished. It is believed that the documentary process was carried by the King Walagamaba during his reign. Tripitakaya is divided into three parts. They are vinaya pitakaya, sutra pitakaya, and Abhidharma pitakaya. By the way, the Aluvihare temple had to face many challenges like Kalinga Magha invasion. Therefore the temple premise had to be repaired from time to time. King Kirthi Sri nishshankamalla was initiated to restore the sculptures of the Viharageya. Further King Vijaya Rajasingha, King Kirthi Sri Rajasingha, and King Rajasingha revamped the Dagoba, god statues and Buddha statues.
Make sure to leave your shoes and slippers before entering the caves. There are lots of steep stairs to the caves. 30 feet long reclining Buddha statue with lotus pattern murals and frescoes on the walls and the ceiling can be explored in the first cave. In fact, the painting of the Mara (evil) is horrible. Not only that but also the illustrations of Buddha’s journey of life and Jataka stories are gorgeous. The Aluvihara rock cave temple is worshiped by both Buddhists and Hindus. It seems to be that the sculptures have influenced the Hindu architecture of Kandyan period. Obviously, the dragon arch in the image house differs from the traditional Dragon arch due to the ornamental facts that the craftsman used.