GUHARAMAYA

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

The -guha- (Sanskrit: cave) called Guharamaya or, to be precise, Maliyadeva Guharamaya, is not a cave at all but a megalithic dolmen (note 1). SITUATION: In the heart of a village called Padavigampola (DEVENDRA 1937) or Padawigampola (N07°21': E080°22' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) about four miles (6.4 km) north of Rambukkana (Rambukkana Bazaar N07°18'59”: E080°23'26” WGS84). CULTURAL HISTORY: Local legend associates the curious structure of stone like the table of some giant of the good old days (note 2) with the dwelling of the last great initiate of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.The -guha- (Sanskrit: cave) called Guharamaya or, to be precise, Maliyadeva Guharamaya, is not a cave at all but a megalithic dolmen (note 1). SITUATION: In the heart of a village called Padavigampola (DEVENDRA 1937) or Padawigampola (N07°21': E080°22' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) about four miles (6.4 km) north of Rambukkana (Rambukkana Bazaar N07°18'59”: E080°23'26” WGS84). CULTURAL HISTORY: Local legend associates the curious structure of stone like the table of some giant of the good old days (note 2) with the dwelling of the last great initiate of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.